Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
It was a short trip down a hill and, when we rounded a curve, the resort came into view.
This place must cost a fortune.
Smaller, thatched-roofed cabins dotted the side of the hill, with the larger, main lodge perched in the middle. Everything faced the valley and the river that cut through it where a pod of hippos swam offshore. The van pulled up to the main entrance, and the driver gestured for us to go inside.
“There are no fences here,” Phillip, the manager of the resort said. “We’ve seen leopards in our trees and had crocodiles in the swimming pool. If you need to leave your cabin after dark, for your safety, please call for an armed escort.”
The man was maybe forty and married to the head of staff. The blonde woman beside him didn’t say anything, but her stiff posture and alert eyes gave me the impression she was the one really running the show.
“Do you want to do a game drive this afternoon?” Phillip asked.
Immediately, Italian rolled out of Nathan’s mouth, and I struggled to keep mine from falling open as he translated for our boss. God, Italian was sexy when it passed through Nathan’s lips.
Giovanni confirmed his answer with a nod.
“Anyone who cares to join us,” the owner continued, “we’ll head out after high tea, which is at two-thirty.”
High tea. The tired, uncultured American inside me choked back a comment.
I followed the staff member down a sandy path away from the lodge to an individual cabin. As the only woman on the flight crew, I had a cabin all to myself. The carved bed was draped in mosquito netting, more for decoration than any practical purpose since the building was climate-controlled. A pair of leather chairs sandwiched a couch that looked out the large French doors to the river valley beyond.
“Lock your doors,” the man who brought in the luggage said, “even when you’re in the room. The monkeys are naughty and smart. They make a big mess when they get inside.”
When he was gone, I stripped out of my black flight crew uniform and collapsed on the bed. After three good hours of sleep, I showered and dressed in muted colors. I’d read that white attracted malaria-carrying mosquitoes and red made the rhinos aggressive. I wove my thick, straight, dark-brown hair into a braid that trailed down the back of my tan shirt.
The resort had set out quite a spread with slices of meats, cheeses, and an assortment of freshly baked bread. I fixed a cup of lemon tea and a sandwich and stepped out onto the empty veranda beneath the thatched roof, setting my plate on the long, rectangular table that faced the river. The sandwich was good. Much better than the cardboard food I was accustomed to inflight.
I could get used to high tea.
“Can I join you, Olivia?” The deep, male voice startled me, and I sucked in a breath at the sight of him.
“Nathan,” I said, “how long have you been standing there?”
“I just came over.”
He hadn’t shaved, and dark stubble covered his face. For some insane reason, I wanted to abrade my fingertips over it. Yeah, there was a great idea.
“Oh. I didn’t hear you.”
He was tall, and broad, too. How had he appeared out of thin air like that?
“You didn’t rest long. Aren’t you tired?” he asked as he sat down across from me. There were a dozen other available seats, and yet he chose that one. The one that forced me to look at those shockingly intense and dark eyes.
“I’m one of those people who doesn’t need a lot of sleep.”
I took a bite of my fruit salad, and when I set the fork down, it was askew. I nudged it so it was parallel with the butter knife. A simple gesture, but I saw him blink, and I could tell he picked up on it instantly.
Yeah, I liked everything in its place.
Was he the same? Was that gun in its place, zipped beneath the gray, expensive-looking fleece jacket he wore? We lapsed into silence and I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable. How much did he know about our employer?
His gaze didn’t waver; it was like a challenge. But he was the one to sit down, so he could kick off the awkward small talk.
“How long have you lived overseas?”
“A few years now,” I said. “You?”
His jaw tightened a degree. “A while. Do you miss it?”
The question was unexpected. “America?”
He nodded.
Of course I did, but it was easier here. “Yeah, sometimes.” The quiet was heavy. “Where in the States are you from?”
He took a long sip of his coffee, and the lines around his eyes hinted he was desperate for the caffeine. “Kentucky.”
Really? “You don’t sound like you’re from the South.”
“Not everyone in Kentucky sounds like a hick.” He delivered it with no emotion, but it came out biting anyway. “And you?”