Page 44 of Hidden Raphael
She glanced up. He sipped his coffee, and he definitely wasn't shocked. "I checked the wreck already, and didn't see anything like that. But I'll check again."
She needed to connect the dots. The first few days were a jumble. If Roger found Wi-Fi, then it came from this castle or the wreck. There was no other possibility. There was nothing else that might connect. She kept that find to herself, until she figured out where. So she repeated her question. "Do you have dive equipment?"
"It's for me. My suit won't fit your frame." He lifted his massive arm and said, "Wide shoulders and upper body strength."
"Other than I'm more curvy and have less muscles than you, it might still work." She traced her curved body down, and his gaze followed her hand. Yes, he was attracted to her too. He had to be.
"Definitely not. I'll dive for whatever you want."
She nodded. "Raphael, can we talk about the other night, when Roger came to the castle and you defended me?"
He winked. "Your lips haunted my dreams."
Really? She meant to lead into a discussion about what happened to Roger, but her pulse quickened from thinking about his mouth over hers. She fingered the neckline of her dress and shied away.
He tilted his head. "I didn't mean to make you nervous."
That wasn't her issue. Her heart expanded in her chest and she longed to flirt back and be reckless. "We should go to the beach first."
He sat back in his chair, as if unsure. Yes, she'd changed the topic, but her temperature soared too fast and too high. She needed to calm down.
He finished his coffee, then stood. "Okay, you win. Let’s go. Maybe you saw the black box for flight information to hand to authorities in the spring."
The spring seemed so far away. And he hadn't mentioned the internet. Perhaps he had an unknown signal.
He stepped closer. "You are fearless, Kimberly Mira."
She shrugged. "No. I'm curious about a lot of things. It gets me in trouble."
He smiled and followed her out of the library. "Let me get my gear, and I'll meet you in the hallway. Say fifteen minutes?"
With this plan, she could search for Wi-Fi in her room. She hadn't even tried. She nodded at Raphael and told him, "Great. See you here, then."
He crossed his arms. She froze. Did he have something to add? Then he shook his head, turned on his heels, and walked out.
Perhaps it was nothing. She marched toward the stairs, stopping on the first one. Where had he slept or kept his gear? This was a question she should have asked the first morning. Everything in her life since coming here was unclear, and she forgot to ask so many basic questions.
Next time she had Raphael’s full attention, she'd be a better flirt.
If she found Wi-Fi, then with one email, she might get rescued before April. Raphael might be upset that his solitude and decision to cut himself off from the world had ended faster than his intention, but she’d make it up to him somehow. She needed to go home.
Her mind returned to the question of why a man in the prime of his life, with amazing looks, and money enough to own a castle, would ever want to live here. Something in his life prevented him from being happy. He fought emotion tooth and nail.
Sitting on her bed, she unplugged her computer and clicked on the find Wi-Fi button. She held it in both hands and walked toward the window.
No signal found.
She bit her lip, hit the search button again, and crossed to the other end of the room.
Again her computer screen read the same message. No signal found. Roger had found a signal somehow. She'd find the same one.
She placed the computer back on her bed, plugged it in, and checked that her dry clothes were the warmest she had in the room. Then she went downstairs. First she had to go to the plane.
Raphael stood by the door with a backpack. "Ready?"
She nodded, reaching for his hand as he led the way across the drawbridge. Familiar warmth grew. "I found Roger’s tent.”
He clenched his jaw. “You never should have been out here by yourself.”
