Page 9

4

ROSI

When morning rolled aroundand I stumbled out of the bedroom, coffee was all that was on my mind. I nearly tripped over Cora meditating on the floor in a lotus position on my way to the kitchen.

“Ugh. How can you be up this early?” I asked, pressing buttons on the autobot to order my cup the way I liked it—cream, no sugar.

Cora popped one eye open and stared at me. “It’s almost noon, standard time, and you look like one of your monsters.”

Inhaling the medicinal scent of coffee, I let her comment roll off of me then took a sip. “Don’t insult the sasquatch.”

Cora laughed, opened both eyes, and stood to stretch. “So what’s the plan for today? Want to go get massages? Take a ride on a dog sled?”

“The Inuit call them qamutik. But no. I have an appointment to interview the local expert,” I said, already thinking ahead to the notebook filled with questions waiting on my nightstand.

“Puppies cute. Rosi use big words,” Cora said, ordering herself a chai tea.

I flicked her on the shoulder and guzzled some more nectar of the gods. “You can go see the pups. Let me know how it is. Maybe I can do that with you later. I do want to get used to going outside a little at a time.”

Cora shrugged. “Your choice. I know you’re excited, but we’re supposed to be on vacay, not working.” She didn’t wait for my response as she headed for the shower, shedding layers of pajamas as she went.

Sighing, I picked up her laundry trail after I heard the water running and tossed the clothes on her bed. If she wanted to leave a mess, she could do it in her own space.

My wristcom buzzed just as I began sorting out what I wanted to wear for my meeting. When I checked, I found Austin Cooper’s name flashing in gold letters across the screen. Curious, I twisted my wrist to answer, and his figure bloomed into the air before me.

“Hi, Rosi. It’s Austin.”

“I gathered,” I said, amused at his awkwardness. “What’s up? Did you want to meet to discuss the expedition early?” That would have made an ideal plan for the afternoon.

“Not yet,” he said, brushing a hand back through his sun-kissed mane of hair. “I told Nicole about the issue on the tubes yesterday, and she wanted me to let you know that an unexpected sun flare messed with the tech. She said not to worry about it. They’re working on it.” He shuffled one foot and glanced to the left, frowning.

Why was he being so jittery and awkward? That wasn’t how Mr. Master of Surprise News Conferences came off yesterday at all. “Austin, is…everything okay?” I asked.

“What? Yeah, why? Of course it is. How’s your stay so far? Do anything fun?”

Well, that was evasive. “I have a meeting with Ila, the Inuit expert. I’d love to chat with you about specific things to keep an eye out for on our expedition.”

“Yeah, yeah. When we meet next week. Definitely.” The figure of Austin floating over my wrist flickered and sparked before going out.

“What the hell?” I shook my wrist to make sure nothing caught fire.

“Definitely lying,” Cora said from behind me.

“Why? About what?” I turned to find her towel drying her hair.

“Who knows? I didn’t even hear the convo, just got the vibe loud and clear.” She flipped her head back up and shook out her wild locks.

I stared at my inactive wristband and frowned. It was weird. The only thing he’d said was some excuse for the tech failing yesterday. Why would he randomly call me for that only to lie about it?

“You could go ask him why he lied,” Cora offered with a wink. “He’ll either tell you or distract you with sex. Either way you win.”

“Or he could think I’m crazy and refuse to take me on the expedition.” I tossed my Abominable seems a bit harsh T-shirt on the bed with my black jeans and headed for the shower.

“Then you distract him with sex!” she called after me as I disappeared into the bathroom.

Something was off, I just didn’t know what. I chewed on a piece of hair as I readied the waterfall of warmth. I never could resist a mystery. Maybe confronting Austin was the best way forward. I’d long ago discovered that annoying people often got you further than being polite. And though I didn’t want to piss him off enough to ruin my expedition, if I could get him to open up to me, I might just be able to convince him to help truly guide me to something worthwhile in the arctic tundra outside the resort.

As the hot water streamed over me, I let my mind wander. When I’d first met Daniel, I’d been in awe of his intelligence and position. He was where I wanted to be—honored as an expert in his field, and he’d earned it. He was kind, funny if a bit nerdy, and so smart it sometimes intimidated me. He was young for a professor and hung out with us grad students too often. When I caught him watching me one night over beers and discussions about some new findings from a professor in Chicago about Ancient Greek weapons, he blushed so hard I worried he’d faint.

He never tried anything, though I knew he wanted to. And I never encouraged it, until our meeting about my dissertation proposal.

Alone in his office, I’d gripped the edge of his worn desk too tightly to prevent my hands from shaking. I remembered telling him my proposed topic and him laughing in response like he assumed it was a joke. When I didn’t join in, he sobered up pretty quickly, but that sinking feeling I knew so well had already taken hold. All my life I had been ridiculed and dismissed as a silly girl when I knew the truth. I couldn’t let him stand in my way. I had to convince him.

We argued for a good hour about the scientific probabilities and lack of evidence regarding the existence of cryptids—animals that shouldn’t exist but that so many believed did. I explained that it wasn’t just our culture. They’d been talked about since ancient times all over the world. I knew I had lost when he glanced at the time on his old-fashioned watch.

I made my decision in the space of a single, desperate heartbeat. I’d never thrown myself at anyone before, but I’d read enough romance novels to know how it worked.

When I broke up with him, I did it because it hadn’t felt fair to lead him on anymore. I tried to love him, I honestly did. But the feelings just wouldn’t come no matter how sweet he was. I’d never been secure enough in our relationship to tell him the truth about why I wanted to study what I wanted to study. Maybe that was what had prompted me to break it off.

Whatever the reason, my heart wasn’t in it. And it scared me more than a little bit that that same heart wanted to go wild and beat its way out of my body when I got close to a man I had just met. It was like it knew something I didn’t yet—like it had recognized something in Austin that my brain had yet to uncover.

Maybe it was just karma. If I fell for Austin and couldn’t have him, I guess I’d have gotten a taste of what Daniel must’ve felt.

It didn’t matter if I set myself up for heartbreak. I had to risk spending time with Austin if I wanted to get the most out of my expedition into the center of Greenland. Because that was what mattered, and I couldn’t lose sight of that.