man for space. I saw a special the other night on the Kalahari, and it was really sobering. So little vegetation, with animals and men competing for it...” She turned her face up to his. “Can it really happen? Can we wind up in a world where the only wild things are kept in cages and on reels of film?”
“Dinosaurs are extinct,” he said noncommittally. He shifted his broad shoulders. “I don’t know, honey. That’s a question for a scientist, not a businessman.”
She frowned up at him. “Didn’t I read somewhere that you were right in the middle of that wilderness controversy?” she murmured.
He chuckled softly. “I like trees,” he told her.
“And contributed to a foundation that’s pouring money into finding a way to protect dolphins—a research project on some Caribbean island with protected coves...and there was that wildlife preserve...”
“I told you I had cats,” he muttered, looking faintly embarrassed. “So I like animals, too. So what?”
She only smiled.
They had dinner at a Chinese restaurant, where Nikki ate sweet and sour pork until she felt as if she’d pop. She was lingering over a cup of black coffee when she noticed Cal’s eyes following a particularly lovely waitress. Jealousy surged up in her like bile, and she kept her eyes down so that he wouldn’t see it. If she’d been sure of him, if she’d been able to expect anything more than friendship from him, it was an emotion she’d never have known again. Because once he committed himself, Nikki knew he’d never look at any woman but the one to whom he gave his heart.
But he wasn’t committed; he was a free agent. And pictures of him with other women invaded her mind, wounding her, hurting her. Of course he wasn’t going to live like a monk because they were friends. He wouldn’t feel the necessity for those kind of limitations. She shouldn’t expect him to. After all, she was equally free, wasn’t she? Or was she? Just the thought of being held, being touched, by any other man was frankly repulsive to her.
“Through?” he asked suddenly.
She looked up at him quickly and down again. “Yes. Where to now?”
“Back to the hotel,” he said, his eyes idly following that waitress to the counter. “Wait for me here. I’ll get the check.” He picked it up and she watched him move toward the counter out of the corner of her eye. The older girl’s eyes sparkled as he approached and she smiled; a smile Cal answered. They talked for what seemed a long time, and Nikki felt as if a whip had cut into her flesh by the time he came back and helped her out of her chair.
“Do you have anything planned for this afternoon?” she asked, resolutely concealing the jealousy that was eating her alive. She knew that he’d made a date with the other woman; she knew it as surely as if he’d shouted it.
“No, why?” he asked, frowning curiously.
She went through the door he’d opened, leaving the comfortable air-conditioning behind. A wave of hot sea air hit her body like a caress. “I thought I’d spend the afternoon on the beach,” she said, stretching with a plastered-on smile.
He walked lazily along beside her the short way back to the hotel. The streets were busy with cars and tourists. Most everything was within walking distance on Bay Street.
“You don’t look like you’re dying to get on the beach,” he murmured, seeing that wildness reflected in her eyes, her face.
She looked up at him innocently. “What do I look like?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. His dark eyes searched her face. “It’s a look I haven’t seen in you before. Feel all right?”
“Sure!” she said brightly, and laughed, “I’m having a great time. I’d just like some of that delicious sun. Of course, if you’d planned something...”
“In fact, I had,” he murmured with a faint smile. “A meeting with two out-of-town oilmen. They’re staying on the floor below us, and we’ve got some problems at one of the rigs that I’d like to discuss. I was going to wait until tomorrow, but this may work out better.” He eyed her curiously. “But that isn’t going to leave us any time tonight,” he added slowly. “I’ve got to entertain one of the food chain representatives tonight. I may be out all night.”
She hadn’t dreamed that anything could hurt so much. Food chain representative? Only if a pretty waitress could be loosely classified that way, she thought with shameful