Page 156 of Modern Romance Collection Books (5-8)

‘I’m coming with you,’ he said, determined to see this through.

‘Well—’

‘And you are forgetting the most important thing, of course. That it ismine,’ he said, plucking the leather notebook carefully from her grasp, and stalking past Evelyn, and up the ramp onto the yacht, ignoring all the alarms going off in his head.

He strode down the steps that led him to the lower salon, through polished wood, luxurious leather, and opulence towards the captain, who stood outside a fairly impressive cabin with ten windows.

‘Ms Edwards suggested you sleep here while on board,’ the uniformed man said before disappearing.

Mateo threw his suitcase angrily onto the bed. Why was he so annoyed that she was trying to get rid of him? His ego was healthy enough to survive it even if he’d taken it to heart, but that wasn’t it. And no, he was not concerned about following her lead in this—itwasher world, she had the knowledge and the experience here. But he was invested too. And not just because he wanted to validate his father’s legacy, he wanted to validatehers. He wanted all the academics who had turned their back on her to know that they had been wrong to do so. The urge was so strong and so urgent, he had completely forgotten to check in with Henri about Léi Chen.

Having taken the hour since they’d left the dock to freshen up and change into new clothes, Evie arrived for lunch at the upper salon to find a beautifully set table covered in a crisp white table-cloth. She’d felt a little awkward unpacking the clothes that Mateo’s assistant had, surprisingly, procured for her, worried about the size and style. But whether he was redeeming himself or had a very good eye, she was eternally thankful. There were enough clothes for a week packed into the brand-new case, along with the kind of clothes she would happily wear for her field work. But it was the ankle-length green dress with twisted straps that she loved the most. It clung to her chest and waist and fell from her hips, making her feel feminine and pretty. She had paired them with the other thing in the suitcase that had made her smile—a pair of wedged sandals. Just one of the pairs of heeled shoes and sandals that she would have bought for herself. As she turned to check her reflection in the mirror, the press of the material against her waist reminded her of Mateo’s hand wrapping around her to hold her against him. Her heart leapt, skin warmed, and once again she felt breathless with want. She would have changed out of it, if it hadn’t been for the fact that lunch was waiting on her. And now, as she walked towards the table, the dress leaving her bare skin cool in the warm breeze, she told herself not to hope for some kind of reaction from him.

The man in question leant against the railings at the bow, looking out at the horizon. She hadn’t thought he could look any more impressive than when he’d been in a tux, but dressed in tan linen trousers and white shirt he was lethal. Wind came off the South China Sea and ruffled the heavy, lazy curls of his hair.

Her gaze was drawn to the breadth of his shoulders, wide and strong, and she let the desire to be surrounded by those shoulders drift away on the breeze. And once she had let go of that want, she noticed how stiffly he held himself, as if he were weighed down. She remembered the Professor getting this way when he couldn’t get what he wanted. Evie nearly smiled. It had always reminded her, somewhat, of a slightly stroppy child. And while there was nothing childlike about Mateo, it was fascinating to see that, despite their estrangement, there were similarities that could only have been hereditary. Before the thought could take her on a tangent as to what characteristics she might have inherited, she thought back to her earlier accusation. She had meant what she said earlier about him muscling his way onto this journey with her, but secretly...she was pleased. Not just because he was the Professor’s son, but because of him. The last two years had been quiet and...lonely, she was beginning to realise.

Evie reached the table where Annie, the steward who had met them on the jetty, filled two glasses with a chilled white wine before retreating to leave them alone.

Evie felt, rather than saw, Mateo’s attention turn to her, as if he had run a palm down the outside of her arm. Goosebumps followed the imaginary caress perusing her body like a forbidden touch. Did he know the effect he had on her? Surely he wouldn’t be so cruel as to taunt her in such a way, especially having rejected her at the hotel? Frustration dampened her desire. Despite the promise she’d made, she found herself vehemently wanting someone who didn’t want her back.

Willing back the wave of emotion that swelled as strongly as the sea beneath the boat, she took a seat at the table and faced a selection of incredible fish—cured, seared, roasted from the look of it—even though any hunger fled the moment that Mateo sat opposite her. If Mateo had looked good against the bow, he looked almost devastating up close. Her pulse flared at his proximity, as if it was responding to some silent call from him, and heat inched across her skin like a trail of fire. Ordering herself to snap out of it, she focused on the job she was here to do. The Queen had decided not to tell her father about the coordinates found in the octant until Evie had been able to assess the situation. Once they knew what they were dealing with, further decisions could be made. And now, here, finally she allowed herself to feel that thread of professional excitement. The hope that they might finally find proof of what the Professor had searched so long and so hard for.

But what areyoulooking for?

Evie looked up to find that Mateo was holding out her glass of wine to her and she took it, careful to avoid even the most accidental of touches.

‘What do you think we’ll find?’ he asked, sitting back in his chair, apparently content to sip at his wine for the moment. She could feel the sense of determination about him now that he’d decided to join her in following the clues left in the octant. It seemed to have refined his features, given everything focus and clarity. And she wished it hadn’t, because it made him seem evenmore.

‘At the island? I have no idea,’ she confessed, following his lead and taking a sip of the delicious wine. Perhs she would find her hunger again in a moment. ‘I’m hoping for a ducatoon, stiver or guilder—coins used by the Dutch East India Company. If we’re really lucky, maybe some jewellery that could be linked to someone specific.’

‘You’re hoping for so little?’

‘Little,’ she repeated incredulously. ‘That would behuge. It’s not like it is in the movies, Mateo. You don’t just stumble across a chest of buried treasure.’

‘Or a pirate ship,’ he added.

Evie smiled reluctantly. ‘Or a pirate ship. I honestly can’t imagine that there will be much to find after more than four hundred years. Surely anything to find would have been found by now, so to find evensomethingwould be incredible.’

‘You’re excited,’ he observed.

‘Yes, aren’t you?’ she asked him, as if incredulous that he might not be.

Mateo wished he could tell her truthfully that he wasn’t. But in that moment, he did feel it. Rushing through his veins a strange lightness, coursing through him, making himhopeful. He could see it though, that bright, open excitement in her eyes that reminded him of his father.

‘You’re just like him,’ he said, the words falling from his lips before he could call them back. But he meant them. He remembered the almost childish joy his father would express, infectious and thrilling, so that when Mateo would listen to his father’s stories of pirate princesses and the legendary Dutch East India Company, Mateo wanted to go with him. As a child, he’d dreamed of hunting treasure and sword fights and laughing as he played with a father who indulged his imagination with history tempered with a little bit of fairy-tale.

‘If youcouldfind anything, what would it be?’ he asked, wanting to see just a little more of her when she was like this. Wanting to see a little more of his father.

‘I would like to find just some sense of them,’ she replied instantly, utterly unguarded.

‘Them?’ he questioned, not sure what Evie was talking about.

She blinked as if she’d only just realised what she’d said and sat back a little as if to distance herself from what she’d revealed.

‘Evie?’ Her name called her back to his question.

‘I think Loriella and her first mate were married,’ she explained.

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