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Tucker scowls. “That won’t be strong enough once we get to camp. You should use the one in the kit.”
Winter narrows her eyes, and just when I think she’s going to rip into him, she smiles instead and says, “Sure. That’s good advice. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
She’s pretending to play ball, but I get the strong impression she doesn’t really mean to use the proper spray.
Sassy and stubborn.
What’s not to like?
“So,” she asks Tucker, “is the lost city location really that wild? What can we expect?”
Each team member had to sign NDAs in order to join the expedition. The documents stressed the need for confidentiality while detailing the perimeter of the mission. But apparently, the classified aspect wasn’t emphasized enough. Nor was the importance of the discovery given how casually Miss Sass feels about discussing them. I hate the way she tosses around the words “lost city” as if they were trivial.
Doesn’t she get how significant this is?
“I’ll brief everyone tomorrow on-site,” Tucker says, and then gives her a rundown of the first few days’ schedule anyway. “After that,” he concludes, “we’ll have to play it by ear.”
Archie injects himself into the conversation. “That’s where my aerial recon skills will come in handy,” he says, way too flirtatiously for a work dinner.
“Really?” Winter fires back. “I prefer the nitty-gritty, feet-on-the-ground exploration approach,” she shuts him down completely. Not a hint of flirtation in her voice.
I smirk, satisfied, and earn another kick under the table.
“This whole ‘radar images and drones’ setup is rather unromantic,” Winter continues. “What happened to a good old treasure map?”
“Well, we’re not treasure hunting,” I cut in. “So—”
“And how was your day?” Archie asks Winter, changing the subject while throwing me a chastising, be-nice-to-the-lady side glare.
“Enlightening,” she says, a note of sarcasm in her tone. “And unusual.”
Three servers arrive, each holding a tray transporting a multitude of dishes. They spread the various bowls evenly across the table and then leave, saluting us with a polite bow.
Archie leans forward to fill his plate as he continues the conversation. “Unusual day? How so?”
“Well, I spent most of the afternoon relaxing by the ocean, which was a nice change,” she says, reaching for the mango salad, “but, earlier, I had an emotional long-distance call.”
“Boyfriend?” my friend speculates, evidently dismayed.
“No, sister,” Winter replies, and Archie perks right back up. “My twin and I hadn’t spoken in a while. We’re out of sorts… so it was… weird.”
“You have a twin sister?” Archie rejoices.
I don’t need to look at him to know his mustached lip is twitching in delight.
“Yep.”
“She look anything like you?” he asks, aiming for “casual” and failing.
“Yeah, we’re identical twins. Why? Oh, please don’t tell me you’re one of those pervs with a secret fantasy about twins!”
“I’m not a perv!” Archie raises his hands defensively. “Just a man. Every man has a fantasy about tw—”
She doesn’t even let him finish before pointing her fork at me. “Logan, do you have a secret fantasy about twins?”
What? How did I get pulled into this?
