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It took Elizabeth several long seconds to wrap her mind around the vision of Jason Portman standing in front of her. Even then, she couldn't get her voice to work. But there was no question it was him—the blond hair, the hazel eyes, the scar on his chin…nothing had changed.
She nodded to him, and thankfully, Marie stepped forward to introduce herself.
“Hi, I'm Marie Turner,” she said, and offered her hand. “I’m from the oceanographic.”
“Of course. It's nice to meet you,” Jason said, and shook her hand.
“Hey, is there a store nearby where we can get some groceries and beer?” Paul asked. “We wanted to review some things tonight and thought we'd have a cold one while we were at it.”
“There's one just down the street,” Jason answered. “I could give you a lift there now, if you want.”
Paul nodded. “Sounds great. What should we have for dinner?” he asked the group.
“Is there a grill?” Marie asked.
“Yes, a gas grill with plenty of fuel,” Jason told her.
“How about burgers?” Lisa suggested, and everyone agreed.
“Anyone want anything special to drink?” Paul asked.
“Beer is fine for me,” Marie answered. “Want some money?”
“No, we'll figure it out when I get back. Elizabeth? Anything special?”
She shook her head. “I'm not picky.”
“Okay, we'll be back shortly,” Jason said, and followed Paul out the front door.
Elizabeth excused herself and went to her bedroom, closing the door behind her, and sat on her bed.
What the hell is going on? Why is he here?
This was thelastthing she wanted—and needed. She thought back to what Paul had said about Jason being one of the lead researchers for the eutrophication study and realized she’d never even thought about looking into who she would be working with once she got to the basin. It wouldn't have changed her mind about coming, but she certainly would have been better prepared to face him.
Is this why I was chosen for this trip in the first place?Does he have something to do with my being here?
Her stomach soured. She wanted to be here on herownmerit, not on the whim of an ex-boyfriend. If he was the catalyst behind her being here, she would be livid—and would work twice as hard to prove shedeservedto be here. But why would he want to see her after all this time? What was the point?
Her thoughts were interrupted when Marie entered their room, closing the door behind her. “Thomas should be here soon. You'll like him—he's like everyone's favorite grandpa.” She sat down on her bed. “So I take it you and Jason have met before?”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because your eyes nearly fell out of your head when you saw him. Anything you want to tell me?”
Elizabeth sighed. “We went to college together, but lost touch a long time ago.”
Marie wrinkled her nose. “An old college buddy? Are you sure?”
“Yes. I haven't seen or talked to him in years. He was a friend, but now he's not really anything.”
“If you say so. But consider yourself warned: Lisa said she's going to invite him to stay for dinner so he can fill us in on where we'll be working. I mean, the basin is huge; they could stick us anywhere.” Marie rose from her bed. “We’re going to take inventory of what the house has and make a list of what we need to buy. Want to come help?”
“Can you give me a few minutes?”
“Sure, take your time.”
