maintenance.”
“High maintenance? I’m great at taking care of myself. I may not be a gourmet, but I can cook. I know every button on a washing machine. I usually even remember to put down the toilet seat.”
She laughed. “Well, there you go.”
“Excuse me? How is that high maintenance?”
“You don’t need anybody,” she said. “So it’s high maintenance for someone to figure out what they can do for you.”
She wasn’t making any sense, but she was sincere, and she made him smile.
Then the music came to an end, and he regretted that he had been so determined on proving his mettle with Alex, because he found himself being asked to dance by almost every woman in the Tiki Hut.
And somewhere, in the middle of a mambo, he realized that Alex had slipped away—and so had John Seymore.
Somehow, just when things had begun looking a little brighter, David had walked back into her life, and now he was ruining everything.
John’s arm sat casually around her shoulders as they strolled toward her cottage. “Hate to admit it,” he said casually, “but you two looked great out there. Did you spend a lot of time out dancing while you were married?”
“No. We didn’t spend much time together doing anything—other than diving for treasure or facing great whites or experiencing some other thrill.”
“Strange,” he said.
“What?”
“The way you sound. You love the sea so much, too.”
“Actually? I’m not into sharks. I was terrified every time I went into the water with them, but with the crew of hard-core fanatics that always seemed to be around, I didn’t want to look like a coward. I love the sea, yes. But I’m into warm-blooded, friendly creatures, myself.”
“You really love your dolphins, huh?”
She shrugged, liking the way his arm felt around her, but feeling a sense of discomfort, as well.
David. Telling her that they were still married. But they weren’t; they hadn’t been for a year. Not in any way that mattered. All he was talking about was legality. His words shouldn’t mean a thing.
Except that…
She was traditional. She’d been raised Catholic.
Damn David. He would know her thought process, that she would feel that she shouldn’t be with another man, that it wouldn’t be right, and…
Just how many women had he been with in the last year? What was wrong with her that she couldn’t see how ridiculous it was for her to be concerned over anything he had to say? Why had seeing him again made her uncertain, when she knew that an easy confidence and charm were just a part of his nature?
“I do love my dolphins,” she said, realizing she had been silent for too long after his question. “They are the most incredible animals. What I like most is that they seem to study us just as we study them, and just as we learn their behavior, they learn what our behavior is going to be. Sometimes their affinity for man, especially in the wild, can be dangerous for them, but still, the communication we can share is just amazing.”
“They are incredible,” he agreed. “I’ve seen them used in the navy in the most remarkable ways. Never worked with them myself,” he added quickly. “But I’ve seen what they can do.”
They had reached her porch. Strange, her thoughts had been filled with David’s behavior—she wished she could begin to understand the male of her own specieshalf as well as she understood her dolphins—and then with John’s company, which, she had to admit, she had found all the more intoxicating just because she knew that it disturbed David.
Now, despite the light burning on her back porch, it seemed that the shadows of night were all around her, and she remembered the body on the beach. It wasn’t that she had ever forgotten, but despite her determination, the doubts of others had crept into her mind.
Was she insane, thinking the woman had been dead?
Or was she more insane now, trying to do what Jay had demanded, keep silent about the possibility
“High maintenance? I’m great at taking care of myself. I may not be a gourmet, but I can cook. I know every button on a washing machine. I usually even remember to put down the toilet seat.”
She laughed. “Well, there you go.”
“Excuse me? How is that high maintenance?”
“You don’t need anybody,” she said. “So it’s high maintenance for someone to figure out what they can do for you.”
She wasn’t making any sense, but she was sincere, and she made him smile.
Then the music came to an end, and he regretted that he had been so determined on proving his mettle with Alex, because he found himself being asked to dance by almost every woman in the Tiki Hut.
And somewhere, in the middle of a mambo, he realized that Alex had slipped away—and so had John Seymore.
Somehow, just when things had begun looking a little brighter, David had walked back into her life, and now he was ruining everything.
John’s arm sat casually around her shoulders as they strolled toward her cottage. “Hate to admit it,” he said casually, “but you two looked great out there. Did you spend a lot of time out dancing while you were married?”
“No. We didn’t spend much time together doing anything—other than diving for treasure or facing great whites or experiencing some other thrill.”
“Strange,” he said.
“What?”
“The way you sound. You love the sea so much, too.”
“Actually? I’m not into sharks. I was terrified every time I went into the water with them, but with the crew of hard-core fanatics that always seemed to be around, I didn’t want to look like a coward. I love the sea, yes. But I’m into warm-blooded, friendly creatures, myself.”
“You really love your dolphins, huh?”
She shrugged, liking the way his arm felt around her, but feeling a sense of discomfort, as well.
David. Telling her that they were still married. But they weren’t; they hadn’t been for a year. Not in any way that mattered. All he was talking about was legality. His words shouldn’t mean a thing.
Except that…
She was traditional. She’d been raised Catholic.
Damn David. He would know her thought process, that she would feel that she shouldn’t be with another man, that it wouldn’t be right, and…
Just how many women had he been with in the last year? What was wrong with her that she couldn’t see how ridiculous it was for her to be concerned over anything he had to say? Why had seeing him again made her uncertain, when she knew that an easy confidence and charm were just a part of his nature?
“I do love my dolphins,” she said, realizing she had been silent for too long after his question. “They are the most incredible animals. What I like most is that they seem to study us just as we study them, and just as we learn their behavior, they learn what our behavior is going to be. Sometimes their affinity for man, especially in the wild, can be dangerous for them, but still, the communication we can share is just amazing.”
“They are incredible,” he agreed. “I’ve seen them used in the navy in the most remarkable ways. Never worked with them myself,” he added quickly. “But I’ve seen what they can do.”
They had reached her porch. Strange, her thoughts had been filled with David’s behavior—she wished she could begin to understand the male of her own specieshalf as well as she understood her dolphins—and then with John’s company, which, she had to admit, she had found all the more intoxicating just because she knew that it disturbed David.
Now, despite the light burning on her back porch, it seemed that the shadows of night were all around her, and she remembered the body on the beach. It wasn’t that she had ever forgotten, but despite her determination, the doubts of others had crept into her mind.
Was she insane, thinking the woman had been dead?
Or was she more insane now, trying to do what Jay had demanded, keep silent about the possibility
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