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She let a sad laugh escape as she imagined Mateo’s sardonic response to that observation.
And what have you closed yourself off to?
Everything.
The response was immediate and sounded so very much like her childhood voice that it shocked Evie. The instinctive reply screamed in her mind as she recognised how again and again she had pulled herself back from things and people that might reject her. Might cause her hurt. What if Mateo was right and shehadlet fear hold her back from what she wanted? What if she had stopped looking for the truth about Isabella because she was worried about doing even more harm to her reputation? What if she had held herself back from the possibility of a relationship with her birth parents because she was fearful of their rejection? What if she was doing it even now, with Mateo? Holding herself back because...because...?
A knock sounded on the door, interrupting her thoughts and, thinking it was Annie coming to take away the tea tray she’d ordered to her room earlier, she called out, ‘Come in.’
The door opened and Mateo stood there, filling the frame with the breadth of his shoulders, looking for all the world like a rakish seducer. His shirt was undone at the neck, sleeves rolled back, his hands fisted in his pockets, hair mussed and tousled and something unreadable in his gaze.
Oh,whydid he have to make her heart pound like that? Why did he have to make herwantso much?
‘I came to apologise.’
His eyes were clear from the storm that she had seen earlier at the table on the deck. The bronze depths sparking with truth.
‘You don’t need to,’ she said a little more sharply than she had intended.
‘I belittled your feelings,’ he admitted.
‘And I underestimated yours,’ she replied.
He nodded, acknowledging the truth of her words. ‘Still, I shouldn’t have said what I said about Carol and Alan.’
‘Thank you. I appreciate that.’
‘I also wanted to let you know that we’ll be dropping anchor shortly.’
‘Why? Are we there already?’ she asked, eagerness and excitement a flashover through her body.
‘No,’ Mateo said, shaking his head. ‘But we’ve arrived at Kei Island and I’ve booked us suites there for tonight.’
‘Why? We need to push on to the coordinates, Mateo.’
He held his hand up. ‘Evie.’ Her name was almost a plea, making her waver in her determination to keep the distance she needed between them. ‘Let’s take this evening and get our feet back beneath us. Tomorrow could throw anything at us.’
It was so tempting. To take a pause in the storm of emotions swirling in her heart. But she wasn’t sure that being even closer to Mateo was what she needed right now.
‘What about the yacht’s staff?’
‘They’ll remain on board.’
‘I still think I should stay...’ she hedged.
He held up his hands as if in surrender. ‘If that’s what you want...’
He had turned regretfully away, but something about the words he’d used...
If that’s what you want.
‘Wait,’ she called after him, and this time when he turned she couldn’t help but return his infectious smile.
Evie didn’t know what she had expected from the island that Annie had taken Mateo and her to on the yacht’s small speedboat. After a day at sea, with nothing but the blue sky and daydreams of pirate ships, she’d been surprised by the hustle and bustle of an island so clearly dedicated to upmarket tourism.
They’d bypassed the marina, where yachts matched or even surpassed the upscale boats she’d seen in Hong Kong, and disembarked at a much smaller wooden jetty, empty of people or boats. Mateo had held out his hand to help her off the boat, and she’d ignored the zap of electricity that had arced from his touch.
He had waved Annie off as she turned the boat back to the ship and led Evie confidently up the jetty to a thicket of palm trees and green vegetation. The sun was beginning to set and the entire island was painted in a soft yellow glow that was beginning to burn red at the edges. And when Mateo looked back over his shoulder to check she was still with him, she half fancied she had been touched by its rays.
