It irritated her that she was trying.
Why should she care what this stranger thought?
‘Jacob Cooper,’ he introduced himself, his words like the sweetest caramel moving through her veins.
‘Yes, of course.’
‘Of course?’ he echoed, a hint of a smile toying with his altogether too-mesmerising mouth. ‘I didn’t think we’d met.’
Flávia blinked, heat rushing to her cheeks. She could only hope that her colouring, and the light levels, concealed her embarrassment.
‘Well, I mean...of course I know the name. After all, who, with any connection to the oncology world, doesn’t?’ She was babbling, but for the life of herself she couldn’t stop. ‘Dr Jacob Cooper...that is, you...have a reputation for pushing boundaries. Running clinical trials that others were too afraid to touch, like the scorpion-venom-based fluorescent dye which lights up cancer cells like some kind of personal beacon. Making Hail Marys look like a proverbial walk in the park.’
Oh, Lord, now she sounded like she was fangirling. This was why she hated people. She really had no idea how to talk to them without coming across as either aloof, or a bit of a fool. A bobo.
‘Well, I’m flattered.’ His voice sounded all the richer, and more luxurious, and Flávia wasn’t sure she cared for the effect it was having on her.
Turning her into even more of an idiota.
She didn’t want to shake his hand. She feared what that contact might do to her given the effect the mere sight of him had. Yet she watched her arm reach out nonetheless, as if under some form of energy other than her own muscles.
When he enveloped her not-exactly-petite hand in his much bigger one, making it seem more delicate than it ever had before in her life, her heart stopped. Hanging there for a beat, or ten—sensations raining down on her like she’d charged into the ocean splashing spray high into the air and was letting it land on her skin—before pounding back into life like a thousand horses galloping in her chest.
‘Flávia Maura,’ she bit out by way of introduction. And only after what felt like an eternity.
His eyes glinted, but still she couldn’t read them.
‘I know,’ he answered evenly. ‘If we’re going for a mutual love-in, then I feel duty-bound to point out that you’re one of today’s foremost authorities in the field of venom-based medicine. I caught your lecture on the application of a cancer-targeting toxin in Brazilian wasp venom some months ago.’
‘Oh...’ she offered, hoping that her scorching cheeks didn’t give her away. ‘Right.’
She could hardly admit that she recognised him from one question out of the raft of them she’d had that day, could she? Hardly tell him that his face had invaded her dreams ever since, like she was exactly the kind of weirdo Silvio Delgado would love the world to believe. Hardly confess that she’d looked for him after that lecture, wanting to ask him questions of her own.
So, instead, she fell back on her usual safety net. Discussing facts like they were the only conversation she knew how to have.
‘Polybia-MP1. It exploits the unusual make-up of lipids and fats within cancer-cell membranes and essentially creates holes in the latter. These gaps can be wide enough to let molecules like proteins escape, and since the cancer cells can’t function without them, the toxin ultimately acts as an anticancer therapy.’
She stopped abruptly, aware that this time his mouth was more than twitching with amusement.
‘As I said. I caught the whole lecture.’
‘Yes...well...there you go.’
With more effort than she cared to admit, Flávia attempted to propel herself forward again, away from this mesmerising man, needing the quiet respite now more than ever.
‘So what are you working on now?’
She stopped.
‘I... Well... I’m pretty much living my dream. Working as a naturalist and researcher, splitting my time between caring for pit vipers in a sanctuary in the rainforest, and my work at Paulista’s.’
‘I heard you were looking for ways to use venom to halt the metastasising of cancer cells in humans? Amazing to think that what had started as a passion for the wildlife of the Amazon rainforest can now enable you to save human and snake lives, alike.’
Flávia froze, her body practically shaking.
‘You’ve read my recent interview?’ Her voice cracked with shock.
‘Indeed.’