Page 22 of Bride Under Contract

‘Thanks.’

Then she saw Arif look over her shoulder.

‘Hey,’ he said, and a very fond smile lit his face. ‘Finally!’

Grace knew that the person behind her had to be Carter.

‘Arif,’ he said.

And she stood there as he joined them, braced herself to come face to face with him, but was woefully unprepared. As he came into view the sight of him, dripping wet and wearing only a sarong tied low on his hips, was a lot to deal with at this hour.

She had to fight not to look at his body, to ignore the long, yet muscular arms and the fan of black hair on his chest.

‘Morning.’ Grace forced a pleasant smile, only it wavered when she saw his pallor and the dark rings under his eyes.

He looked grey compared to the way he’d looked last night. So much so that had Arif not been standing there she might even have forced her own awkwardness aside and asked if he was feeling all right. Then again, she doubted he’d have appreciated her concern, for her smile wasn’t returned.

He just gave a vague nod, then addressed Arif. ‘I’ll get us both coffee...’

Grace felt her teeth grit at his cool dismissal and headed to the jetty.

‘Here she is!’ Felicity was clearly raring to go. ‘Okay, that’s everyone.’

As the boat pulled out she saw Carter and Arif were sitting opposite each other in the dining area, but quickly she looked away. It was their last morning boat trip. Tomorrow they were going on a jungle walk. And Grace didn’t want to waste this gorgeous day...didn’t want the highlight of her time here to be him.

As the boat made its lazy way along the river, the beauty of the new day greeted her. Herons skimmed the water, and the trees teemed with life, which at times they stopped to observe.

Watching the little silver leaf monkeys happily play—swinging, running along the branches and jumping—should make last night a little easier to forget.

And yet she kept remembering.

Little things...

The littlest of things...

How he’d looked—really looked—at her little video of the elephants. Told her how he’d once found a calf...

It hadn’t seemed as if she was boring him then.

And he was the first person she’d ever told about her mother.

Well, aside from Violet, her awful cousin, Tanya, as well as the doctors, nurses and...

Carter was the first person she’d told not because it was necessary to do so, but because it was a huge part of her life...

‘No luck!’

Felicity brought her back to the present. It would seem there would be no wild orangutans either.

‘Just a nest,’ Felicity added, putting down her binoculars and smiling at Grace. ‘I know you’ve been itching to see one.’

‘Not just one! I’d love to see a family,’ Grace admitted.

‘Oh, the males don’t hang around after mating.’ Felicity shook her head, and then punched her hand with her fist. ‘Hit and run.’

Grace blinked. She’d heard the blunt terminology from Arif, but it sounded rather more shocking when delivered in Felicity’s well-spoken voice. Then again, Felicity was a vet, and very earthy, and happily pointed out mating wildlife and so on. All the stuff that made Grace blush from her hair roots to her toenails when she thought about it...

It hadn’t last night.

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