Some Kind of Wonderful (Puffin Island 2)

Her eyes were bronze, flecked with gold lights, and they were focused on him. The look in them was one he remembered. It was the way she’d always looked at him in those first moments of waking.

Trusting.

The look was gone in an instant.

“Get away.” She pushed at his chest with her good hand. “You’re invading my personal space.”

“Yeah, well, there was no waking you.” He straightened, telling himself it was a good thing the trust had gone.

Expecting people to let you down was a much safer way to live a life.

“I have jet lag, that’s all.” She reached for her purse. “Will you be here when I come back?”

“You think I’m planning on leaving you stranded?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Defenseless against that accusation, Zach simply looked at her. “I’ll be here. Do you want me to come with you?”

“No, thank you. What will you do while you wait? Do you have someone else to fly?”

“Just you. Today is quiet.” He’d made sure he kept the day clear, just in case she’d changed her mind about accepting his offer. The fact that he’d turned down a potentially lucrative job flying a family to their lodge up in the mountains was information he didn’t intend to share. He’d told himself he owed her this favor. “I have things I can do.”

IT WAS A LONG time before Brittany reappeared, and when she did she looked irritated and visibly upset.

After several hours of trying to cure an acute case of sexual arousal by working on the plane, Zach’s mood wasn’t the sunniest, either.

“How was it?”

“I was hoping he’d say the plaster could come off in a couple of weeks, but he seems to think it needs to stay on a while longer if I want to regain full function of my wrist and not have problems in the future.” And she was obviously deeply unhappy about that decision.

“What did they say at the hospital in Greece? You had surgery?”

“Yes. They decided it was necessary because I’m young and need full movement of my wrist.” She climbed into the airplane and slumped into the nearest seat. “I’m starting to wish I’d paid more attention to where I was putting my feet.”

“What happened? You tripped and put your hand out to save yourself?”

“Yes. I wish I’d fallen on my face. At least I would have had two hands to work with. It’s driving me crazy. I’m bored out of my skull and I’ve only been home a few days.”

“What do you need to do that you can’t do at the moment?”

“Everything. I can’t even take my kayak out, which is one of the things I love doing when I’m home. I can’t ride my bike.” She frowned. “Actually maybe I could ride my bike. I don’t need two hands for that, right?”

He suspected this might be one of those instances where she wasn’t really asking for his opinion. “The trails are uneven. If you fall, it’s going to take longer to heal.”

“So what am I expected to do for the next month? Just sit around watching TV? I’ll die of boredom. And why did I never learn to do things with my left hand? I burned scrambled eggs this morning. How can anyone burn scrambled eggs?”

“Plenty of folk do that when they have both hands in use.” Risking his life, he reached forward to help her with her seat belt, and the backs of his fingers brushed against her abdomen. She tensed and her eyes met his.

In that brief unguarded moment he saw everything she was hiding. All the emotions simmering right there just beneath the surface.

And he knew she wasn’t indifferent.

Knew that everything he’d seen since he’d flown her to the island that first day had been an act.

“Brittany—”

“I’m really tired and it hasn’t been a great day so far. If it’s all right with you, I’d like to go home now.” Her voice was husky and she turned her head away, staring out the window.