Anonymity (13 page)

When he opened his eyes again, darkness surrounded him. Confused, he found his iPad and checked the time and date. He
had
lost an entire day.

Tomorrow would be New Year's Eve. In three more days he'd be home. He'd wasted one of his vacation days unconscious.

He hobbled to the shower, once again feeling ancient, and simply stood beneath the water with closed eyes.

Feeling more like himself, he walked to the bar. Rosie presided with her usual gusto, but he didn't see anyone familiar.

"Is Alyssa around?" he asked.

"Look who's risen from the dead!" Rosie flashed her golden smile and slid him his usual Heineken. "Everyone is talking about the Lamanai Twelve. You're famous!"

Great.
He sighed and poured the beer into a cold mug. "How's Savannah?"

"She's good, tough woman she is." Rosie beamed, hands on hips. "They are all together somewhere, but I don't remember. Captain Morgan's, I think."

He digested that information as he drank the beer. After the severity of the bite and the brutal journey back to Ambergris Caye and San Pedro, he'd assumed she'd be airlifted to Belize City or somewhere. The last thing he expected to hear was that she was fine and out with her crew.

"Alyssa's with them?" He eyed the menu while he debated about grabbing a water taxi and heading up to the other resort or waiting here. He hated feeling like some old man who'd slept for nearly twenty-four hours
while they were all out and about.

Rosie crossed her arms over her bountiful chest and smiled with knowing. "You goin' to get her?"

"I'm not going to chase her all over the island. She'll be back eventually." He sat on the stool and tapped his fingers against the counter. "Did I really sleep an entire day? I've never done that in my life. Is it really New Years' Eve tomorrow? Time's all out of whack."

Rosie studied him with old-soul eyes. "You were worn out. It's okay to sleep when your body needs a rest.
You need to take care of yourself instead of everyone else, Luke. Go find Alyssa."

"I don't want to interrupt whatever they're doing." He looked toward the dock and thought about catching the water taxi, wondered why she hadn't woken him up, felt like an idiot again for being unsure.

Decisiveness had always been his trademark. Until Alyssa, that is. She confused him. His reaction to her bothered him, too.

"Captain Morgan's, huh? I'll go." He smiled when he met Rosie's gaze. "Are we really being called the Lamanai Twelve?"

"You are all in the local paper." She beamed and slid him a copy of the San Pedro newspaper. There they were, the group photo that had been taken at the ruins before they'd all split up on their hike. There they all were, completely oblivious to the fact that their adventure tour was about to get pretty damn scary. His arm looped over Alyssa's shoulders. She beamed up from the picture with her green headband in place, looking happy and excited. He groaned at the headline,
Heroic Lamanai Twelve
. "I have extra copies, you can keep that one."

"I'll grab it from you later. I have a water taxi to catc
h, but first..." An idea blossomed into a plan, "I need to make a few calls. I'll catch up with you later." He finished his beer and jumped from the stool.

Sore muscles be damned, time worked against him and he needed to catch up.

* * *

Alyssa sat in the midst of the Dallas group and laughed while they regaled her with more tales of their travels. She'd already decided to add 'learning to scuba dive' as a plan for the new year. If diving clubs were this much fun, she'd join one as soon as possible.

She'd woken up at three in the afternoon, strangely confused about time and sore in all the wrong places. Luckily, she'd found a
masseuse on the beach who had worked magic on her battered muscles.

She tipped her chair back and hummed along with the music. Dave the Gringo One Man Band performed again and she'd already bought one of the CDs. It would be fun listening to it back home—she was certain the memories would flood back and keep her warm on cold Colorado nights.

Savannah sat with them, her leg wrapped in a bandage and crutches at her side. She'd had minor surgery, been put on an IV, but now was "good to go." Her words.

"To the Lamanai Twelve!" A stranger at the bar toasted them. He'd bought the all a round of shots.

They held up their shot glasses, amused at the attention the island had given them. The only people missing from their little group were Luke and the foursome from Kansas.

"I'm going to frame that article in my office when I get home," Savannah confessed with a gleam in her brown eyes.
"Bill's not the only one who can milk it. I've decided to get a snake tattoo right over the bite scars, sort of like paying homage."

"Are you serious?" She was
so sick of hearing about snakes, she couldn't imagine having one tattooed on her. "What is it that you do for a living anyway? When I first saw you, I thought you were a model."

"I'm a general contractor." Savannah smiled. "My dad's company. He always wanted a son but ended up with four daughters. Poor guy. I'm
damn good with a drill."

"That is the
last
thing I thought you'd say," she said.

"Do you know how hard it is to date anyone when they find out what I do for a living and that I hang out with a bunch of men all of the time?" Sadness entered Savannah's eyes. "Luke told me that Bill's in love with me, isn't that ridiculous? He's like my brother."

She drank her rum punch and lifted her face to the breeze. "It's true, I think. You should make a move."

"Me make a move? Like this?" She motioned to her leg.

"Um...yeah, like that. You're beautiful even when bandaged. You should do it."

"Speaking of making a move, where's Luke? I haven't seen him since he carried me in that village. Is he all right?"

She shrugged. She'd knocked on his door a few times, asked Rosie if she'd seen him, but then had let it go. Maybe he was avoiding her, perhaps he'd gotten sick of her. He'd said he wanted alone time after his family so...she had no idea.

"There he is," Savannah said with a wave toward the dock.

She turned in her seat and smiled when she saw Luke walking toward them. He looked more like the guy she'd gone on a date with that first night. Long khaki shorts, sandals, button-down white shirt, and a smile that made her heartbeat accelerate; the man looked drop dead gorgeous.

"
Hey, Luke!" Bill shouted a greeting before turning to the bar, "He's one of us."

People clapped and Luke shook his head in
embarrassment.

"Bill's soaking this up,
isn't he?" she asked Savannah who rolled her eyes.

"Miss me?" Luke loomed over her chair, a question in his eyes despite the crooked grin.

"Terribly." She reached up and tugged on the hem of his shirt. She'd craved him since she'd woken up and he hadn't been next to her. "You've been missing all of the fun. Now kiss me and sit down."

He braced his hands on the back of her chair and leaned down to within a fraction of her lips. "I wasted an entire day
sleeping, which means I missed out on spending time with you. That's not happening again, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." She slipped her hands up his chest, desire snapping on at his territorial declaration.
"Kiss me."

He kissed her as if he hadn't seen her in months, as if the he'd been starved for her taste. She clung to the front of his shirt, her body quaking in response, skin shivering with desire.

"I have plans for you," he confessed against her lips.

"Sounds sexy."

"I meant plans for tomorrow, but, sure, sex is on the agenda. Lots of it." He winked before claiming a chair next to her and looking at Savannah who stared at them. "Looks like you survived."

"Thanks for carrying me, Luke." Unexpected tears welled in her eyes before she focused on Bill who was bringing a tray of drinks to their table. "More stories to tell around the bonfire
and all."

"Where've you been?" Bill asked after carefully placing the tray between them.

"Sleeping. I'm getting too old for near-death experiences." He grabbed a drink and leaned back in his chair. "I'm really confused about time now, though. It's all upside down for me. Sounds like I missed a lot."

"We're stars." Bill draped his arm behind Savannah's chair and kicked his legs out in front of him. Still unshaven, he looked like one of the men from the jungle village. "I bought six copies of the paper to take home. We're like legends."

Luke shifted, obviously uncomfortable being cast into the role as anyone's hero. "More stories are always a good thing. Hey, can you still go in a boat like that or are you supposed to take it easy?"

Savannah motioned to the bar at large. "I'm mobile."

"I made special plans for tomorrow, can you all meet us at the dock around ten?" He asked them all.

"What kind of plans?" she asked, frowning.

"It's a surprise." He winked, his smile contagious.

"I am not going back to Lamanai," Savannah said.

"We're not going inland. C'mon..." he looked at Bill, "are you up for a little adventure?"

"Adventure," she moaned.

"Oh, you're coming. You don't have a choice. I did it all for you." He grabbed her hand, smiling like a kid who'd accomplished a major coup.

"I'm in." Savannah looked at the others. "And so are they, right, guys? We're the amazing Lamanai Twelve."

"Technically, Lamanai Eight." Luke shrugged, smile still in place. "So you'll all be there? Bring snorkel gear, no diving, though, because Alyssa's not certified. Savannah can chill on the boat."

"I'll work on my tan.
Sounds fun." Savannah perked up. "This will be good, whatever it is."

Luke snagged her hand, his predatory smile making her want to take him back to bed. "Dance with me,
Aly?"

"A man who likes to dance...you're a dream come true." She couldn't wait to be back in his arms again, even if only on the dance floor.

She laughed against his shoulder when he held her close and kissed the top of her head. When she hadn't seen him all day, she'd thought...well, she'd thought the worst. Feeling silly for her doubts, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of his body pressing against hers in a slow dance to a reggae song.

"You look happy," he said against her hair. "I missed you when I couldn't find you."

She squeezed her eyes closed and held him tighter. She liked being missed more than she should. Tomorrow was New Year's Eve, after than she'd only have two more days with him before returning to Denver solo. That's thing with vacations...they always ended.

"I only came up here to find you. I'd like to get you alone or would that be rude?" He tilted her chin up to look at him. "I've shared you too much and we're running out of time. What do you say? Will you come back with me?"

"I'll come with you." An ache had entered her chest and she didn't want to analyze it.

Energy zapped between them like an electrical current.

"We're going to go," she told Savannah who looked at them with a strange look in her eyes. "Are you okay? Do you want us to give you a ride back to Ramon's?"

"I want a man
to look at me the way he looks at you."

She glanced at Luke who stared at Savannah as if willing her to shut up. "Um, well, we'll see you tomorrow
morning."

Savannah stared at Luke as i
f daring him to say something. "I know I'm right about what we talked about last night."

"
I'll see you tomorrow, Savannah." Luke ripped his gaze from Savannah's and tugged on her hand. "Let's go."

Looking into his eyes, she saw conflicting emotions in the depth of those blue eyes. She didn't believe in love at first sight. Hell, when she'd come down here, she'd given up on the concept of love all together. But now, looking at him standing there with the ocean breeze tossing black hair into his eyes, a bruise the size of a
golf ball on his cheek, and a hopeful smile on his mouth, she wasn't sure about anything anymore.

"
I have something I want to show you back at the resort." He walked backward, pulling her with him toward the dock.

"
I bet you do." She couldn't resist him.

In a sudden move, he yanked her against him. "
Wasn't it supposed to rain all day?"

Hands still in his, she stood on her tiptoes and smiled against his mouth. "
It did, stopped around four or so. I got on a massage on the beach, missed you."

He kissed her, eyes open in the moonlight. "
I feel like I'm always missing out on the good stuff."

She had a feeling he wasn't talking about the day.

* * *

Chapter Ten

He enjoyed watching her lift her face to the wind and seeing her hair toss around her shoulders. She sat at the front of the water taxi, the hem of her white sundress flapping against her thigh.