Page 3 of Delirium

He laughed. “I was going to say your stuff weighs a bit more than my average passenger’s. What do you have in there anyway?”

“My notebooks, a textbook or two.” I shrugged. “Normal stuff, I would think.”

“Scarlett, darling, most people who come on my boat are looking for adventure. Maybe they just got some bad news, or went through a divorce. But they’re all coming for the same thing—they’re looking to feel alive. They’re not bringing books.” His face crinkled slightly when he met my gaze. “I have a feeling you’re not like the other people by a long shot.”

“Probably not,” I agreed. The idea didn’t bother me. I was a scientist, capable of studying and adventuring at the same time. Also, I was used to being an outsider. “How many more are we waiting for?”

Nash looked to the sky as if it held an invisible list I wasn’t privy to. “Small group this time. Three guests, including you, of course.”

I leaned over the railing, looking at the river, completely alive beneath the hull of the boat. “Have you lived here all your life, Nash?”

“No. I guess you could say I used to be one of my guests. Some bad news had me running from my real life, and I didn’t feel like staying still until I found her.Carpe Diem, that is. It was like she was waiting for me, just like I was looking for her, neither of us realizing we were searching for each other. Isn’t that how life always seems to go, though?”

Nash stared off into the distance once more, completely lost in thought. I wanted to ask him more about why he left, about why he ended up here, in the rainforest of all places, but now didn’t seem like the right time.

From behind us, a man’s voice interrupted. “Is this theCarpe Diem?”

Like a switch flipped, Nash turned off his thoughtful face and replaced it with a mechanical-looking smile. “You’ve come to the right place.”

Following the new voice, I saw a man dressed far too nicely for a two-week riverboat trip. His dress shirt was white, expensive, and perfectly pressed. My eyes widened when I realized there wasn’t a single bit of sweat marking the thick material. That was an impressive feat in and of itself.

A sneer crossed his mouth, disappearing as quickly as it appeared. “Are you sure this vessel is seaworthy?”

If Nash was offended, he didn’t show it. “Carpe Diemhere has been on this river for longer than either of us have been alive, and will likely be on it for centuries after we’re gone. She’s unsinkable.”

“Yes, I’m sure she is.”

I had been unsure ofCarpe Diemmyself, but the tone the new arrival took made me want to defend her. What did he and his perfectly pressed white shirt know anyway? Nothing that money couldn’t tell them, that was what.

As he used the gangplank I’d missed when I boarded, I examined the man, taking in every inch of him. He came across as slightly older than Nash, but it could have just been the aristocratic skin that had never seen a day of hard work. His jaw was cut from stone, his sharp blue eyes examining his surroundings with a shrewd gaze.

I wondered how long his immaculately coiffed blond hair would hold in the humidity. The braid I’d wrangled my long hair into was already making my neck sweat, and the second I had an opportunity to, I was going to put it up in a bun, away from as much skin as possible. But somehow his hair looked like it had been glued into place, not a stray strand to be found.

Rolling my eyes, I turned my attention back to the river. So far, I wasn’t sure what the dynamics on the boat were going to be. Nash seemed to not let much bother him, while our new guest looked like he thrived on rules. Maybe I didn’t even need to journey further into the rainforest for fodder to use in my research paper. I could just start taking notes on the power dynamics on the boat. Would it get published? Probably not. But it would be interesting forme. I found it odd that my companion hadn’t introduced himself to Nash, but I was probably overthinking things, as usual.

The scent of sandalwood wafted over, overpowering the smell of the marshy banks. I didn’t need to turn my head to know the new passenger had found his way to the railing.

I leaned against the wall of the boat to examine my new subject up close and personal. “You don’t look thrilled withCarpe Diem.”

“Yes, well, it’s not quite what I expected when I booked a luxury tour down the river, is it?” His voice was quiet, and filled with sarcasm, but not as cold as I expected it to sound.

“Oh, were you expecting a five-star cruise ship? I don’t think those can fit down the canal, unfortunately. You’ll have to go back to Miami for that.”

He raised his brow at me, as if he was figuring out where to place me in his ranking of things that disgusted him. “I wasn’t expecting a five-star cruise ship. But a bit less duct tape would’ve been nice.”

I snorted, the laugh escaping me before I could stop it. “I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you, I promise. It’s just that I thought the same thing about the duct tape when I came aboard. But Nash says it’s seaworthy, and I don’t see a reason not to trust him.”

“She,” Nash correctly cheerfully, appearing out of nowhere, still shirtless, with a massive fishing net in his arms. “Carpe Diemis a she, not an it.”

“Sorry,” I whispered to the boat. Nash’s feelings about the boat being very much a person were infectious, and a momentary flicker of guilt echoed through me. I turned my attention back to the new man. “What brings you aboard anyway? You don’t seem the kind looking for action and adventure.”

“I’m not.” He unbuttoned his sleeves, one at a time, cuffing them in sharp rolls. “I’m here on business.”

I looked around the rainforest, the thick green tapestry that surrounded us from the front, and the swaying dock behind us, and the marketplace even further back. Unless he was a secret farmer—which I seriously doubted—I wasn’t sure what kind of business he had on the river.

Apparently, my confusion was written all over my face, because he rolled his eyes. “I invested in a mining expedition. They had ample evidence of a location boasting more wealth than the world currently knows. I haven’t heard from them in some time, so I decided to check up on them and their supposed location myself. Unfortunately for me, Nash’s tour was the only one headed in the same direction at this time. No fancy cruises for me.”

If I had known him better, I could’ve sworn the last part was a joke. Did he have a sense of humor after all?

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