She was heartbroken when he did it. She wrote about it, even described the very hole in her letter to Frederique.” She handed him another paper.
He studied it with creased brow. “So how come Stone never figured any of this out? Even without Landau’s letters, he could have narrowed down the island.”
“He didn’t know about the cipher.”
His brow lifted, but he didn’t look her way. “Must make you feel good, knowing you bested him.”
It did. More than she could describe. But what made her feel even better was knowing Rafe had bested him. This man who wasn’t an archaeologist, didn’t have a science degree, wasn’t a PhD in anything except life. He was the type of man Doug would have looked down on.
Rafe was still studying the papers when she glanced up. “You ever been cave diving?”
He shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah. A while back.”
She sensed from his posture this wasn’t something he’d anticipated. “You do dive, don’t you? I mean, I just assumed with this big fancy boat—”
“Yeah.” He cut in, frowning. “I just…I’m not wild about caves.”
Neither was she. Although she’d been caving numerous times over the years on her quest to find Alecto, she hadn’t been cave diving since the fiasco in Mexico. Since the last time she’d taken a chance on a guy.
She pushed the thought aside. This was important, and made fighting her demons and going back down worth it. “If you aren’t comfortable cave diving, I can get Shane to go with me.”
“I’ll be fine.”
He was definitely still ticked at her about what had happened last night. Part of her realized she should be thankful. If she poured on the bitch attitude, she could probably nip this little relationship thing in the bud right now. Save herself a helluva lot of heartache. Save him the same.
She closed the folder as her pulse skipped with indecision. “Speaking of my irritating twin, where is he?”
“On deck with Hailey.”
That wasn’t a surprise. Over the last few hours the two had rarely left each other’s sight. Shane wasn’t the type of guy to fall for a woman on the spot, but something in his eyes when he looked at Hailey said he’d done just that. And for the first time ever, Lisa understood that feeling. “They seem to have hit it off.”
He leaned his head back against the plush white cushions, looking worn out. “If I’d known it’d get him off my ass, I’d have given her to him sooner.”
“She’s not yours to give.”
He closed his eyes. “She never was.”
Her heart took a slow roll. Watching him, the logic she’d tried to follow the last few hours slipped right out of her mind. She didn’t want a casual fling with this man. She wanted to be what Hailey had never been for him. She wanted to be his.
His.
The knowledge shocked and excited her. She wanted a chance to see if what they had could be something more. Something solid. Something tangible. She wanted…the whole fair y-tale ending.
Somewhere along the way she’d fallen head over heels in love with a thief. And trying to deny it anymore wasn’t going to do anything but make her crazy.
Hell, she was already crazy. Crazy for even thinking about a future with a man like Rafe Sullivan.
Heart pounding, she pushed away from the table and stepped toward him. He opened his eyes and looked up with a startled expression. She’d told him about her past. She’d given him her body, but she hadn’t taken that last step. Even last night, when she’d felt his heart beating beneath hers, when she’d known this was different, she’d held something back. She’d been scared.
Well, she was terrified now. Of making another gigantic mistake. Of risking everything and being left heartbroken again. She could take the easy way out and run from what she felt for him, but if she did, she had a strong hunch she’d be running the rest of her life.
She swallowed hard and tried to sound calm, while inside, her stomach churned with fear. “Are you always going to be moody like this?”
“I’m not moody.”
“Yes, you are.”
He pursed his lips. “Are you always going to be so damn in de pen dent?”
Relief pulsed through her. She took the map from his hand, set it on the side table, straddled his legs and eased down to sit on his lap. “Probably. It’s a character trait.”
“Character flaw,” he mumbled, resting his hands on her hips.
Warmth flowed over her at the gentle touch, at the feel of his