“I was angry at first,” Ridge said truthfully. “But the truth of the matter is, I’m damn glad I didn’t marry her.” He stared at Robby, gauging his reaction to his statement.
Robby laughed. A hollow, achy laugh that sent sadness arcing over Ridge. He hung his head, staring at the floor, not meeting Ridge’s gaze.
Before Ridge could say anything, Robby stood up. He straightened his stance as if shaking off the melancholy that had descended on the room. When he turned around, the same cock-sure Robby was staring at him, a lazy grin tugging the corners of his mouth.
“So where do we go when we get to Spain?”
“South,” he said after a pause.
“You say that as if you’re not sure.”
“No, it’s south,” he said more firmly.
Robby laughed. “Then why don’t you sound convinced?”
“Because I’m not,” Ridge muttered.
“Say that again?”
“I have this awful feeling we’re going in the wrong direction,” he admitted.
“Shouldn’t you tell India?” Robby asked.
Ridge stood up and poured his own glass of water. After a long swallow, he set the cup down and turned his attention back to Robby.
“India says south, so south we’ll go.”
Robby put a hand on Ridge’s shoulder. “Are you so sure India is right? What makes you think it isn’t south?”
He blew out his breath in frustration. “That’s just it, I have no basis for my assumption. Just a gut feeling. One that gets stronger all the time. I just feel we should be going north, toward the mountains. But I have no explanation. No proof.”
“Have you talked to India about your feeling?”
Ridge nearly laughed at the irony in that statement. He wanted to talk to her, but about a different feeling all together.
He shook his head. “No, I haven’t.”
“Why not? Maybe you’re right and she’s wrong.”
Ridge laughed. “She’s the expert. I’m the novice. I don’t think she’d take kindly to my suggestion that I know more about Pagoria than she does.”
“And maybe she wants to keep it that way,” Robby said with a shrug. He yawned broadly and climbed back into bed. “I’m going back to sleep. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”
Ridge sank back down onto the sofa, not responding to Robby’s good night. He was thinking about Robby’s statement. Innocent and yet it struck a huge chord within him.
India wasn’t very forthcoming with the details surrounding the city’s location. She had given him the translation, but the wording was vague at best. The only thing that pointed them south was the inscription on the bracelet.
But what would she have to gain by keeping him in the dark? He shook his head again, firm denial coming readily to mind. She wouldn’t deceive him. She wasn’t like Lucinda.
Any weirdness on her part stemmed from their obvious attraction. A matter he intended to address. Soon.
###
India laid in bed, the covers drawn up to her chin. She felt sick. Absolutely sick. Sick with guilt. Sick with wanting. What she wanted most, she couldn’t have.
What had she almost done?
She had almost shared intimacies with a man she was deceiving. Made a promise with her body that her heart couldn’t keep. No matter how much she wanted Ridge, how much she longed to spend a night in his arms, she couldn’t do that to him. To herself. She would not become yet another person in his life to let him down.
