Page 54 of Try Me

“I’ll make coffee,” he offered.

They made dinner together. Working seamlessly in the small kitchen, they moved around each other as gracefully as they’d navigated the waves. Declan stepped around Pearl to fill a pot with water. She slid past him to grab a spatula. They turned in unison, reaching for the volume knob when an Elvis Presley song came on the radio.

Their eyes met as their fingers brushed, and a frisson of electricity sparked the air. Declan broke eye contact first, turning to increase the volume on the radio.

“I wouldn’t have pegged you for an Elvis fan,” Pearl said.

“I like the old stuff,” he said.

She turned back to the frying pan to flip the Spam. “I would have thought you were more of a Rock and Roll guy.”

“Why?”

Pearl eyed him over her shoulder. “I don’t know. Goes with your image, I guess.”

Declan’s mouth tightened. “Don’t believe any of that,” he said.

Pearl scooped the Spam onto plates and began assembling the sandwiches. “I don’t know what to believe,” she said.

“That makes two of us,” Declan said, eyeing her skeptically.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” He brushed by her to grab the plates.

“I don’t think so,” she said, stepping in between Declan and the table. “My God, you are crap at lying. When are you going to stop?”

Declan took a deep breath. It was hard to breathe with so much sexual tension diluting the oxygen in the small cabin. “Kissing me for the camera. That’s lying.”

“I didn’t even see Jack.”

“Sure.” Declan stepped around her and slid the plates onto the table.

Pearl yanked back a chair and sat down. “I kissed you because I wanted to, not because of any cameras.”

Declan took a seat at the table. Her confession made it even harder for him to resist her. But was she telling him the truth? He’d never know for sure.

“You know what your problem is?” Pearl asked, taking a bite of her Spam sandwich.

“I wasn’t aware that I had a problem,” he said. When she gave him a pointed look, he sighed. “I have a feeling you are going to tell me what it is.”

“You let McKenna push you around.”

Declan snorted. “Is that your professional opinion, Dr. Sunn?”

“Don’t call me that,” she warned.

“Fine, but maybe I should remind you of your little problem,” he said. “What are you gonna do tomorrow on the helicopter, and every other time McKenna books you on a flight around the world? Are you going to chicken out?”

Pearl took a bite out of her sandwich, pretending that his words hadn’t struck a chord of fear in her, but Declan could see the panic in her eyes. The air sizzled with tension, and he felt badly for throwing her fear in her face.

“I’m sorry,” he said. He didn’t like the thought of what would have happened to her if he hadn’t been on that flight from California. If it had been another man’s lap where she’d laid her head.

“It’s okay,” Pearl said. “It’s my problem. I’ll deal with it.”

“What’s with you and flying, anyway?” he asked. “Are you ever going to tell me?”

Pearl put her sandwich back on the plate without taking another bite and shrugged.

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