"You have a sister?"
"Megan. She's an ER nurse in Boston. Probably the only person on the planet who's not afraid of me."
Lily filed this information away like treasure. Dr. Crankypants had a sister who dragged him to horror movies and apparently kept him humble.Layers, she thought.Maybe there are actual layers here.
"Well, tell Megan she has excellent taste," Lily said. "And that I'd happily join yourHalloweenmarathon if you ever need a third."
Alex glanced back at her, something unreadable in his expression. "I'll let her know." He turned back to the path, hacking at the next vine with more force than necessary.
Lily dodged the buzz of an ambitious mosquito as she trudged through the muddled terrain, nearly dropping her load of bananas.
Then her foot found a root slick with morning moisture, and suddenly the world tilted sideways.
"Whoa—!"
Her arms pinwheeled, bananas flying, and she braced for impact with the jungle floor?—
But impact never came.
Instead, strong hands caught her around the waist, yanking her upright and flush against a very solid chest. Her palms landed flat against Alex's shoulders, fingers instinctively gripping the worn fabric of his shirt. His arms locked around her like a safety harness, holding her steady while her heart hammered against her ribs.
For a suspended moment, neither of them moved.
Lily was suddenly, acutely aware of everything: the heat radiating off his body, the way his chest rose and fell against hers, the faint scent of sunscreen and something woodsy that was purely him. His blue eyes were very close, very intense, and very much not looking away.
"You okay?" His voice came out rougher than usual.
"Yeah." The word was barely a whisper. "Good reflexes."
"Field work." But he didn't let go.
His hands were still splayed across her lower back, warm through the thin fabric of her top. Her fingers were still curled into his shoulders. The jungle hummed around them, indifferent to the fact that Lily's brain had apparently short-circuited.
Say something, she commanded herself.Make a joke. Deflect. Do anything besides stand here melting into him like butter on a hot pan.
"Smooth moves, California," Alex said finally, his voice finding its familiar sardonic edge—but it sounded forced, like he was reminding himself of the script.
The spell broke.
He released her, stepping back like she was a flu virus. Lily immediately missed the warmth, which was annoying and inconvenient and something she refused to examine.
"In my defense," she said, bending to retrieve the scattered bananas, "these shoes are approximately four sizes too big."
"In my defense, I offered you better footwearoptions."
"You offered me hiking boots that looked like they'd survived both World Wars. There are limits to what I'll sacrifice for safety."
"Vanity over practicality. Shocking."
But when she glanced up, he was almost smiling again. And his ears had gone slightly pink.
Interesting, she thought for the second time that morning.Very interesting.
"Okay, your turn," she said as they resumed walking, desperate to fill the charged silence. "What's the craziest thing you've done as a marine biologist?"
"Tracking the nesting patterns of the red-billed tropicbird," he answered without missing a beat. "Not exactly in my wheelhouse, but when you're stuck on an island for weeks, you start noticing things. Kept a log just for fun."
"Sounds... thrilling," Lily said, though a part of her genuinely wanted to understand the allure. She watched him navigate a dense patch of brush, his movements sure and practiced.
