‘You made him sound like he was dead,’ she cried.
His stony expression seemed to harden even further beneath her gaze. His voice all the more implaccable.
‘Is that what you’re going to claim?’
‘It’s the truth. And anyway, my mother didn’t know I had met you back in Chile, least of all that I spent that night with you.’
‘And I am to believe that?’
And finally—finally—she felt that hint of steel inside her that she’d begun to think had deserted her. Grabbing hold of it, she made herself face Nikhil.
‘I can’t say that I care what you believe,’ she heard herself say, although she barely recognised her own voice.
Every sweep of his eyes over her made Isla feel as though she didn’t fit her own skin any more. Everything was shifting around her and she couldn’t seem to make sense of it. And still she wished, more than anything, that she could read what was going on in Nikhil’s head right now.
‘You were right earlier, Isla,’ he growled, out of the blue. ‘We should stay the hell away from each other.’
CHAPTER TEN
THE GONDOLA RIDE up through the rainforest canopy had to be one of the most incredible experiences Isla thought she’d ever had. Sloths could be seen, hanging from the higher limbs of stunning towering trees. Bats and brightly coloured birds clung to the enormous leaves and, a few moments earlier, she’d even seen a monkey leaping from tree to tree, as if keeping up with the gondola’s ascent.
‘...such is the neotropical diversity of this rainforest.’
Isla tuned back in to their tour guide, trying to chastise herself for missing what he was saying. But surely it was impossible not to get caught up in the magical beauty of this place.
‘Even to date we are still finding new species in the rainforest,’ he continued. ‘Especially insects. And now it’s time for your aerial zip wire.’
‘Not for me—’ she laughed ‘—I’m here as the excursion doctor. That’s all.’
‘Surely you aren’t going to be so disappointing as to bottle it, Dr Sinclair?’
Emotion rushed through her, devastating her. Her heart started pounding, though not in her chest. More like in the vicinity of her throat. And she despaired of herself.
Carefully, Isla steeled herself for the first sight of Nikhil in over a week—ever since that awful night at the Captain’s gala. She’d also spent the past week avoiding her mother—not too difficult, since Marianna and the Captain appeared to have hit it off entirely too well that night and, as far as she could tell, her mother had barely been back to her palatial stateroom since.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly—so slowly—turned around...and promptly despaired of herself. How could it be that she still wasn’t ready for the way her breath whooshed out of her lungs as her eyes seemed to drink in the sight of him?
Worse, when he inclined his head in a wordless instruction for her to move away from the crowd, to the far end of the summit station, she instructed herself that the ludicrous thrill that chased through her right at this moment was revulsion, not some sick kind of pleasure at seeing him again.
And she certainly didn’t notice the dark rings around his eyes, or the taut lines by his mouth, as though he hadn’t been sleeping much better than she had this last week.
‘I’m on duty,’ she managed, forcing herself to hold her position and smile. Though most of the group had already descended on the zip wire, there were still a few passengers awaiting their turn and she had absolutely no intention of alerting them to the fact that there was any tension between their doctor and the First Officer. ‘I can’t stray far from this group.’
‘If there’s a medical emergency, then the senior tour guide will be alerted on his radio and we’ll soon know about it.’
Reluctantly, Isla forced herself to move off to the side with Nikhil, enough that they couldn’t be overheard.
‘I didn’t request this excursion, before you ask. It was another...’
‘Another one of your predecessor’s choices. Yes, I am aware of that fact. I had the good doctor’s trip schedule emailed to me after Ecuador.’
‘Of course you did.’ She shouldn’t be surprised. ‘I don’t know why I’m surprised.’
‘I didn’t come here to fight with you, Isla.’
‘Did you not?’ She raised an eyebrow, safe in the knowledge that the rest of the party couldn’t see her. ‘I’m agog to know why you did come, then.’
‘I came to apologise.’