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Sighing heavily, she turned over so she was face down in the water and began swimming back towards shore. She needed a shower and then she, Mick and Raegan had plans to order in and discuss the next steps. They’d hoped Lena would have new information by tonight, but she didn’t, so hopefully their evening would be cut short and she could escape to her room; she didn’t need to spend any more time with Mick than absolutely necessary. Not yet anyway.
When she finally got close enough to stand up and walk towards shore, she recognized the tall man waiting at the water’s edge. She lifted a hand to acknowledge him but strode past him to her towel, picking it up and wrapping it around her middle as she turned.
“You were out pretty far,” Mick said quietly. “I was a little worried so I came out to make sure you came in okay.”
She couldn’t help arching a brow. “I’m part mermaid, you know.”
He smiled. “I’ve seen you swim; you’re definitely part fish.”
She slipped on her sandals and nodded. “I love the water, especially after a day as hot and frustrating as today.”
“No news?”
“Nothing.” She glanced over at him as he fell into step beside her. “How about you? Did you get anywhere with the insurance claims and such?”
“I got permission from the home office to buy whatever office equipment we need and they’ll reimburse us once we’re cleared of any wrong-doing.”
“How long will that take?” she asked.
“I don’t know. It could be a few weeks before we get new trailers out here and there’s no way to know how long it will be to get duplicate copies of the permits. Angelos said the office is always backed up and the reason we got everything so quickly the first time was because we applied for them nearly a year ago.”
“I can go,” she said. “I’ll find someone who has answers and perhaps…” Her voice trailed off. “Well, things always move quicker if you give government employees a bonus.”
He paused. “You mean a bribe?”
She shook her head. “These are only duplicates—if we were getting the actual permits it would be a bribe. This would merely be incentive for an overworked employee to move your papers to the top of her pile instead of where they fell on their own.”
Understanding dawned. “I’ll get you some cash in the morning,” he said. “Thank you.”
As they climbed the steps up to the house she looked over at him. “Since there’s nothing new, are we still meeting for dinner? If not, I have a couple things I need to do and could use a little time to get them done.”
“Yeah, go ahead and do what you need to do. I’ll probably be on the phone back to the States for the next couple of hours so don’t worry about me.”
“Thanks. I’ll talk to you later then.” She rinsed the sand from her feet in the outdoor faucet and then slipped back into her room, firmly closing the door behind her.
5
Lena didn’t sleep well the first few nights at the villa and tonight was so bad she got out of bed, grabbed her tablet and went to sit on the patio. Maybe if she read while outside where she could hear the ocean, she’d get sleepy. She was running on fumes at this point, standing out in the hot sun all day, working late into the night with Mick, Raegan and Loren as they struggled to come up with a new schedule, and doing everything in her power to never be alone with Mick. He was probably confused by her behavior, but there was nothing she could do about it until she was ready to come clean. Which might never happen.
Pulling her knees up to her chest as she settled into a chair, Lena stared out at the water and contemplated all the bad decisions she’d made in the last four years or so. There had been so many and now that it was time to make things right, she wondered what she’d been thinking.
“You can’t sleep either?” Mick’s deep voice startled her and Lena’s hand flew to her chest.
“You scared me!” she huffed.
“Sorry.” He sank into the chair next to her.
For a while they sat without speaking, the silence oddly comforting as they each remained lost in their own thoughts.
“I wish you’d tell me why you hate me so much,” he said suddenly, not looking at her. “I was good to you, Lena.”
“I don’t hate you.”
“You sure act like it.”
“It feels awkward working and living together like this. The last time we were together was hard since your parents hated me so much, and I hate even thinking about it.”
“They didn’t hate you.”
