I’d like you to look into something else—someone else.
Key points only, he added, after printing Samia’s name.
‘Finished?’ she asked with a mildly disapproving look as he stowed the phone back in his pocket.
‘My world never sleeps.’
‘Poor you,’ she said as he turned for the exit.
‘I thought you were hungry. Aren’t you coming with me?’
She shrugged and held back. ‘I don’t know you from Adam. Perhaps I should split.’
‘Only you can decide. Are you hungry or not?’
‘Hungry, but—’
‘But what?’ he demanded impatiently.
‘If I do come with you, you have to take this.’
He stared at the ten-euro note she’d pressed into his hand.
‘I know what things cost in this town,’ she insisted. ‘Great for keeping your ear to the ground, but not for eating out.’
‘You’re not a newspaper reporter, are you?’
She laughed. ‘Why, do you have something to hide?’
‘Do you?’
‘Now we’re both intrigued.’ A smile hovered on her lips as she gave him a sideways look.
Warning bells started clanging loud and clear. Base instinct drowned them out. They had started leaning towards each other as their discussion grew more heated, close enough for him to detect Samia’s wildflower scent, and to absorb the warmth of her body.
‘I don’t know how you can look so serious,’ she told him. ‘I find it impossible not to smile in Saint-Tropez.’
But with shadows in your eyes, he thought as she added, ‘The sun is shining and the sky is bright blue. What’s not to like?’
‘A woman who never stops asking questions?’ he suggested.
She laughed as she swung her bulky backpack off the floor, almost taking out a couple of drunks. Fortunately, they were too far gone to notice.
‘I guess sailing isn’t just work for you?’ she said as she wove her perilous way through the crowded tables.
He glanced outside to where the bay of Saint-Tropez lay tranquil and glistening like a bright blue disc sprayed with silver in the trembling heat of late afternoon. ‘No,’ he agreed, remembering long, silent nights at sea beneath a blue-black sky littered with stars, and crazy, windy sunlit days when dolphins raced ahead of the prow. ‘Sailing isn’t just work for me.’
‘No wonder everyone’s staring at you,’ she commented when they reached the exit. ‘They’re jealous as hell, and I am too. What a wonderful life to work on board a yacht. Is the yacht where you work in the marina? Can we go and look at it when we’ve had something to eat?’
‘It’s moored out at sea.’
‘Oh.’ She sounded disappointed. ‘Which one is it?’ Shading her eyes, she followed his gaze. ‘You are kidding? You work on board theBlack Diamond? Everyone in town is talking about it. Isn’t that one of the biggest sailing yachts at sea?’
‘Thebiggest.’
‘I read an article about theBlack Diamond. If you could get me a job on board, it would be a dream come true.’
‘I can put in a word.’ It wasn’t such a bad idea. A distraction like Samia was exactly what he needed before returning home to take up the reins of duty.
