Page 116 of Her Reluctant Hero
The professor rose, quicker than the old man had moved in a long time, but Adrian already had the lid open. He breathed a sigh of relief to see the books intact, no water damage. And yet the old man hovered at his shoulder.
“They’re fine, not even a drop got to them,” Adrian said. The prof had had some of these books for decades and they were valuable. Surely that was what had him nervous. Adrian shut the case and walked out of the tent to see Mallory with her head bent, one hand holding her hair back, the other holding the phone as she spoke to her fiancé.
Jonathan answered on the second ring. “Mallory! Are you calling from the airport? What time will you be home?”
Guilt flushed through her at the sound of his voice. She battled the emotion. She’d done nothing to feel guilty about.
“Um, no.”
Walking a short way out of camp, she explained to him what had happened last night, leaving out that she’d spent the night in the car with Adrian and had almost let him kiss her in the ocean. The whole time she spoke tension wound inside her, and she wondered at it. This was something beyond her control. She shouldn’t be worried about disappointing Jonathan when she couldn’t change anything.
“I’ll be home in plenty of time for the wedding, don’t worry.” She laughed, but he didn’t.
“Adrian seems awfully hospitable considering you came down there to serve him with papers. He did sign though, didn’t he?”
“They’re signed. Once we present them in court, I’ll be legally free.”
“And you’re happy about that.”
It was so unlike Jonathan to need reassurance. She wasn’t even sure how to offer it. “Of course I’m happy about that. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Seeing Adrian hasn’t brought back old feelings?”
At that moment, Adrian stepped out of Dr. Vigil’s tent and their gazes locked. “Is that what you’re worried about?” she managed.
“You didn’t fall out of love with him, Mallory.”
Of course. He’d been there, seen every stage of her grief. “I don’t love him anymore, Jonathan. I promise. I better go,” she added quickly, wondering why she couldn’t say she loved him with Adrian listening. “The phone is for emergencies only. I’ll let you know when I’m coming home. Bye!”
She hung up and swung on Adrian. “Are you eavesdropping?”
He snorted. “Didn’t hear anything good.”
“What did you expect to hear?”
He turned away. “Something that makes me think you love him and aren’t just making excuses not to go home. Look, I’m too tired to fight tonight. I’m going to turn in. Tomorrow I want to go check on the ship.”
“How can you? We have no boat.” She flushed at the slip. It wasn’t her boat. Of course it was too much to hope he’d missed it. Adrian cocked a brow.
“Wehave a skiff with a motor. Not big enough to get you to the city, but big enough to get out to the site.” One corner of his mouth lifted. “You want to go with me?”
She hefted the phone in her hand. She was stuck here anyway, right? Might as well. She nodded, trying to hide her anticipation.
The sun glowed over the glassy surface of the cove as Mallory and Adrian readied the rubber skiff to enter the water the following morning. His muscles ached, both from pulling Mallory up the hill yesterday and cleaning up the camp. The place had been a disaster. Even with everyone helping, the task had consumed the day. And yet everyone had been in a good humor about it, Mallory too.
“When will the rest of your crew come?” she asked.
He hesitated. He’d always been able to talk to Mallory, but they were divorced, after all. And there was so much he needed to share with her. “This is my crew.”
She straightened and braced her hands on her hips. “Adrian, you can’t do this with five people.”
“It’s all I can afford. Get that end, would you?”
She bent to lift a corner of the skiff, not taking her eyes from him. “You’re funding this yourself?”
He shrugged, hating dredging up this memory, especially with her. “After Tunisia, I was the treasure hunter, not the archaeologist. No one believed I didn’t steal that casket. So between me and the professor, we funded this trip ourselves.”
She dropped her end of the boat and stared in shock. “Where did you get the money?”
