Damn, that handsome flirt Justin is manning the wheel again. He cuts the engine and jumps off to tie up while Nora sets to work, lugging a large box off the boat. I rush over and take the box from her. “I’ve got it.”
“Thanks,” she mutters, letting go, then turning to pick up another one.
That’s the only thing she says to me until she, Justin, and I have unloaded the boat. A handful of production crew members appear. One of them is the Banana Boat enthusiast, who gives me a hang ten sign. They take the booze and rush off, presumably to set up the three beach bars they constructed yesterday.
“How’s it going here?” Justin asks, peering down the beach past me. “Looks like quite the production.”
“Extremely well, thanks to Nora.” I smile at her, but she doesn’t smile back. “Your scavenger hunt idea was brilliant. It could not be going better.” Even Carolina doesn’t have anything bad to say, not that I’m talking to her.
She bites her bottom lip and gives me a terse nod, then sidesteps me and walks towards the beach.
Damn. She’s upset.
I watch as she makes a beeline for the nearest bar and helps them unload, probably wanting to make sure she got everything they needed. Justin, who is standing next to me, says, “Do you think it’d be okay if I watch from over there?” He points at the set of director’s chairs on a wooden platform the crew set up.
“Yes. In fact, take my chair. There’s a set of headphones so you can hear what’s going on. You can watch on those small screens in front of Vincent. Just stay as quiet as possible.”
Justin nods and takes off. I wait for Nora to finish at the bar, my heart in my throat. She seems unsure of where to go, so she stands far off to the side, near the tree line that leads up the mountain.
I go over to her. “Crisis averted.”
She freezes for a split second, then says, “Sort of. Harrison managed to get enough to scrape by for tonight, but tomorrow’s not looking too good.”
“I’m sorry. This must be so stressful for you.” When she doesn’t answer, I find myself feeling desperate for something to say. “Would you like something to eat or drink? They have a nice spread in the catering tent.”
“No, thanks.”
After trying to find a good lead-in, I settle on, “It’s strange being out here with all these people. Eden sort of feels like it should be our place.”
She stiffens, then she runs her tongue over her teeth. I wait for her to respond, but she doesn’t, so I decide to dip my toe in the pool to see if the water’s really as cold as it seems. Rubbing the back of my neck, I say, “Listen, Nora, you may have guessed that I wanted to talk to you about something, based on what happened a couple of days ago. What happened was me making a fool of myself.” I do a bad imitation of my voice. “I love Banana Boat. Huge fan of it.”
“I kind of wondered.” She gazes into the distance, where Ewan MacClary, a sweaty, exhausted-looking bartender, is running to the botanist with a basket of fruit and herbs for examination. “Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me, because I’ve needed to tell you something, well, for a while, but so far I’ve been failing badly.”
She finally looks at me, and I find myself lost in her beautiful brown eyes. All thoughts other thankiss herleave my brain, but that cannot be done at this moment. “I have certain feelings for you that I shouldn’t, given my situation and how hard I’ve worked to prevent anyone else here from having feelings.”Stop talking about having feelings. It sounds creepy.“But I’m afraid I can’t help it. It’s too late. The way I feel is the way I feel.”
Her mouth drops open a little, but she doesn’t respond. She just blinks at me with absolutely no expression on her face. She could be horrified as easily as she could be delighted. No, that’s not true. She definitely doesn’t look delighted.
Raking a hand through my hair, I force myself to continue. “I know it’s complicated, but you’re the first woman I’ve met in a long time—maybe ever—that I want to get to know better.” She shakes her head, and I speak faster to get out the words I need to say before she can stop me.
“You’re an amazing woman. You have an excellent work ethic, and you’re extremely professional… other than today’s issue, that is. That was a pretty big error. But normally, you’re quite professional. More than that though, you’re a good person. Although you do carry quite the prejudice against wealthy people, but that’s understandable, given your experience.”Abort! Everything you’re saying is beyond shit.“I’m rambling, sorry. I can’t remember ever being this nervous, to be honest, but I promise to get to the point. I hope this won’t sound pathetic, but that night at Eden, playing poker with you, was the best time I’ve had in years. And the conversations we’ve had since have meant something to me. I was wondering if maybe, when all of this is over, we could see each other?”
I pause, my heart pounding and my palms sweaty. Nora scowls at me. A full-on scowl. That cannot be a good sign, unless she’s squinting because of the bright sunlight. So I do what any sane man would do when he’s in love. I keep rambling. “It would be a challenge, given that we don’t even live in the same country, but I strongly feel there’s something special between us we should explore. Maybe see where it takes us?”
“See where it takes us?” she whisper-yells, her head snapping back. “I don’t think so. I know exactly where it would take me. Nowhere fast. I’d be another conquest before you and Carolina form your super rich cyborg union and have highbrow babies together.”
What the hell is she talking about? “Carolina? I have no interest in—”
She holds up a hand. “Save it for some other sucker, because I’m not buying what you’re selling.”
Okay, now she’s just being rude. “Honestly, Carolina is nothing more than an old family friend, and that’s all she’ll ever be.” After this show ends, she won’t even be that.
Shrugging, she says, “Whatever. It makes no difference either way.”
I stare at her, shocked at her response. “Have I done something to upset you?”
“Um, yeah, you have,” she says, turning to face me, her face red with anger. “First of all, thanks for having my back this morning. It was lovely of you to tell my bosses how badly I screwed up and that I’m not ready to manage people. It was not only humiliating, but you basically obliterated my shot at the promotion I’ve been working my ass off forfor years. Years.”
