Page 117 of Her Reluctant Hero
He shook his head. “Robert took out a trust fund I never knew he had, and I approached a publisher, told them what I’d found, just not where. They gave me a hefty advance to write the book.”
“And you used it to fund the excavation.” Her voice sounded hollow with disbelief. “You aren’t going to be able to do much with only four divers.”
He smirked. “I’m hoping once I start uncovering artifacts, I can get more funding, though it will be tricky to ask for money and keep the find a secret at the same time.” He grinned. “You could come back for your honeymoon.”
“Oh, yeah.” She rolled her eyes. “Jonathan would love that.”
Glad to get off the subject of his financial difficulties—which were never out of his head but never appealing to think about, he jumped on the new topic. “You don’t mind that you won’t scuba dive anymore, or snorkel or hike?”
“There’s more to a marriage than that.”
He climbed in the boat and reached for the tanks. She was so careful not to touch him, which only made him want to touch her, to see what would happen. He didn’t want to encourage her to cheat on her fiancé, but he wanted her to know she was making the right decision about divorcing him. The way she’d looked at him earlier, almost letting him kiss her, he was pretty sure she wasn’t.
“It seems like you need to have something in common.”
This time she snorted as she turned to grab more gear from the dock to load into the skiff. “We had tons in common and it didn’t do us any good. All Jonathan and I need is a common goal.”
“Which is?”
She did look at him then. “A family.”
The idea of her carrying another man’s child was like a punch in the gut. Well, hell, he’d asked for it. He turned to regain his balance. If he hadn’t been so selfish, so focused on his career, he could have given her the children, the home she wanted. He could have watched her grow heavy with his child and felt the pride of it.
He scrubbed a hand over his hair and looked away. Who the hell was he kidding? He’d make a terrible father. What did he know about being a dad? He sure as hell hadn’t learned good parenting skills from his family.
So he’d taken the easy way out and given up the woman he loved so he wouldn’t have to face the challenge, wouldn’t have to risk failing something as important as a child. And now he was paying the price.
Okay, the skiff was just too damn small. Once their dive gear was loaded on it, Mallory and Adrian barely had room to sit across from each other, and with the first swell, they’d be bumping into each other. Why had she said yes?
Because there was a centuries-old shipwreck just yards away, that was why.
The motor made conversation impossible, thank God. She used motion sickness as an excuse to face forward, away from him, but felt his gaze as he guided the boat out of the cove toward the barge. If only she could filter out how much of her anticipation and excitement was for the dive, and how much was from being with Adrian again.
If only she resented not being able to go home.
They bumped up against the barge, which had weathered the storm well. Mallory jumped out to secure the skiff, eager to put distance between them. He lifted the diving equipment to her and climbed out at a more leisurely pace, smiling, like he knew why she was in such a damn hurry.
After all, once they were in the water, there was no danger of conversation.
“So. What do you and Johnny do for fun?” Adrian asked, zipping his wetsuit up over his chest.
Mallory didn’t watch him dress this time. She was too busy wondering at the sarcasm in his tone. “What do you mean?” she asked coolly.
“Well, you said you hadn’t been diving in a couple years, and I know how much you love it. I was just wondering what Johnny considers a good time.”
“His name is Jonathan and we have a lot of fun together.” She hated that he was making her defensive.
“I’m sure you do. I’m asking how.”
“Um.” She shifted. “We go to museums and galleries and parties. We watch a lot of plays and movies.” She smiled. “He likes karaoke.”
“Why are you changing who you are for him?”
She turned away, digging in her bag for a band to secure her braid, scared to look at him, to let him know he spoke her own concerns. “I’m not, and I resent the implication.”
“Yeah?” He leaned closer. “Does he go hiking with you? Swimming? Any of the things you love to do?”
Jonathan didn’t, not saying that an active lifestyle was too tomboyish, but reacting with disapproval whenever she suggested they go diving or camping. Mallory would never admit it to Adrian. Yes, Jonathan was a touch old-fashioned, but they had the same goals and that was important.
