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Nara glanced up at him in time to see a goofy smile on his face. She wanted to squeal, but there was a group of twenty-five people in the cave with them, and she didn’t want to embarrass him. He was smiling. Like, an actual smile. She was so happy. “You’re loving this, aren’t you?” she whispered.
He looked down at her. “This is just so interesting.” He held his camera up, and she moved back so he could use both hands to take his pictures.
The guide continued to tell everyone about the caves as they continued down a path through spectacular displays of stalactites hanging like icicles, and stalagmites rising up from the cave floor. They gleamed in the lights, almost sparkling like crystal. She could see why they named them the Crystal Caves.
Derek snapped a zillion photos as they continued through the tour. She enjoyed watching him work. He wasn’t afraid to crouch down, or to get up close to his subject. A few times she suspected he was trying to take her picture without her knowing it. It made her want to laugh, although she held it in. He could take her picture if he wanted to. He didn’t have to mask it, pretending he was taking a photo of something behind her.
It was kind of cute, actually. He must have been embarrassed that he wanted to take her picture. Whatever for, she wasn’t sure. She’d come to know his shyness over the past few days. She’d never seen that in him before. He was always so serious. She just thought he was stuffy. Maybe even a little stuck up. She sure had seen a different side of him.
Thoughts of last night’s kiss invaded her, and her face warmed. She must have lost her mind last night. She had thought he was the one who kissed her, but that was not true. It was the only thing that explained his reaction. She kissed him, and freaked him out.
This morning, it took a while for him to be comfortable around her again. The awkwardness was tangible. But after a while, he fell back into an easier conversation with her.
It did bother her that he wanted to totally ignore the kiss. I mean, how do you ignore something like that? It was difficult not to take a personal offense. What did she do wrong? Other than being too forward?
She worried that he would be super standoffish today, but the ice had melted, and he was back to being his normal self now. Even going so far as to hold her in the dark when the lights were out.
Maybe they could do another cave tour again tomorrow? She laughed at her stupidity. She was sure acting like a stupid girl with a crush. Which, was hilarious if she thought about it. She had a crush on her fake husband. What a loser.
Something touched the top of her head and she jerked down, raising her hands up and screeching. “What was that? Was that a bat? Tell me that wasn’t a bat, please.”
Derek chuckled, but tried to hide it with his hand. “It wasn’t a bat.”
The tour guide turned around. “Don’t worry, there are no bats in this part of the cave.” Then he pointed up and spoke louder, to the group. “You might feel an occasional drip. It’s just water. When it rains above, the water will travel down here. This is how all of these beautiful stalactites were formed.”
Nara felt the top of her head. Sure enough, it was a little wet. “Thank goodness,” she said under her breath. “I thought maybe a bat attacked me.”
Derek pulled her to him again. “Don’t worry,” he said, his voice low enough only she could hear. “I won’t let anything attack you.”
Those words sent her heart into overdrive. Goodness, why was she acting like such a fool? He shouldn’t affect her like that. He was only being nice.
Wasn’t he?
Chapter 17
A cool breeze blew from off the water as Derek walked with Nara down the sidewalk. It had become overcast, which was a nice change as the past few days had been hot. They’d gotten to know the strip near their resort, and they had several restaurants on their list to try before they leave on Friday. Tonight, they were headed to one called Russel’s Spot.
The restaurant was pretty much a tent without walls. It was raised up on a pavilion with round tables and tall stools. Each time they walked by, the smell would make them turn to each other and comment. His mouth would water, and tonight was no exception, with the smell of grilled fish and curry in the air. Derek followed Nara up onto the pavilion.
After they were seated and had ordered, Nara leaned closer to him, holding out her hand. “You know, I kind of like this ring. It’s such a good fake. I don’t think anyone would be able to tell it’s not real. Do you mind if I keep it after we split?”
He tried to think of something to say that wasn’t stupid. Something other than, “You’d better want to keep that diamond ring because I spent over fifty thousand dollars on it.” In the end he just nodded and said, “That’s fine.”
“How is Brielle doing?”
Derek held in a groan. “I don’t know. I’m no good at these kinds of things.”
Nara picked up her napkin. “Have you texted her?”
“No.”
“Called?”
“No.”
Nara huffed. “Well, you’d better. She obviously turns to you for support when things go wrong.”
Guilt clenched his stomach. He was so bad at this. But Nara was right. He should be doing something. “I just don’t know what to say to her.”
