sure she did.’
A note in his voice drew her eyes swiftly upward. There was something intimidating about the gleam in his impenetrable eyes as they met hers, lingered for a moment, then drifted down her face to come to rest on her lips.
Instantly they felt hot, and twice as large as normal. With an acid distaste out of all proportion to the discovery, she realised that he was one of those men who flirted automatically with every woman, young or old, who came their way. She’d heard it referred to as ‘charm’, that intensity of interest—for as long as they talked to you they made you feel that you were the most fascinating person in the world.
Anet didn’t consider it charming, and had learned not to take anything such people said or did at face value. It was a trick—part of a cynical armoury.
So she forced a guarded smile and said, ‘Well, it was lovely of her, and thank you so much for bringing it to me.’
‘Your mother and sister—Jan, is it?—were there too,’ he said. ‘They sent messages to you.’
‘They fussed, you mean,’ she guessed, holding back a groan. Presents from her family had arrived a couple of days ago, complete with instructions from her mother on how to avoid sunstroke and food poisoning. It was a wonder Jan hadn’t added her bit—she usually found something to warn her about.
‘Somebody did say something about taking your vitamin pills,’ he agreed solemnly.
Although Anet was accustomed to her mother’s and her half-sister’s constant concern, it was embarrassing to be told of it by Lucas Tremaine. Hoping it didn’t sound artificial, she produced a laugh. ‘I’m twice the size of both of them,’ she said, ‘but they still don’t think I can be trusted to look after myself when I’m on holiday.’
He held her gaze for a few unsettling moments, but all he said was, ‘Holiday?’ Dark brows raised, he looked at the fifteen divers who were beginning to point and exclaim as they neared the coral gardens. ‘You call this a holiday?’
‘Compared to the last few months it is definitely a holiday. I hope this unscheduled stop-over isn’t making too much of a mess of your plans.’
‘Not at all,’ he said pleasantly. ‘I might even decide to stay here after all. I’ve always liked Fala’isi.’
So there was no one waiting for him in Hawaii.
Quelling an unruly anticipation deep inside her, she said repressively, ‘It’s a very small place. Wouldn’t you get bored?’
‘I don’t think so.’ His lashes hid everything but a narrow sliver of intense colour. ‘I could always settle down and grow cabbages.’
‘Taro, surely, here?’ The brittle note in her voice startled her.
‘Whatever.’
‘Wouldn’t that be difficult? Once a wanderer always a wanderer,’ she said, immediately irritated by the inane remark.
The chiselled line of his jaw hardened for a second, and the sculpted mouth thinned, but his eyes remained watchful and oddly enigmatic. ‘Sooner or later even the most inveterate wanderer decides to settle down,’ he said noncommittally.
‘Excuse me.’
The peremptory note in the feminine voice grated on Anet’s ear, but she turned instantly and smiled at Georgia Sanderson. ‘Yes?’
‘I’m thirsty,’ the other woman said, disguising. the sharp antagonism in her eyes with a flutter of lashes. ‘You do have drinks, as the brochure said?’
‘Yes, of course.’ Only a few steps away behind a small bar in the cabin was Sule, eager to dispense drinks and snacks—as Anet had informed everyone over the microphone a few minutes after they’d left the wharf. ‘I’ll get you something now. What would you like?’
Georgia pouted for just long enough to show off her provocative lips. ‘Something long and cold and wet—mineral water,’ she said. ‘I’m almost dehydrated in this heat.’
There was enough accusation in her tone to make Anet stiffen, but nothing showed in her expression as she said, ‘Right, I’ll be back in a moment.’
When she returned with a cold can Georgia thanked her prettily before, with a social ruthlessness that stunned Anet, dismissing her politely and firmly. Not that she’d have had a chance to continue talking to Lucas, for, as though the sight of the can had sharpened people’s thirst, everyone wanted one.
By the time they’d all been served it was time to lay down the rules for safe diving. Georgia listened intently, although with the charming air of an adult humouring a child, as Anet took them through hand signals, the length of time they were allowed to stay under and the maximum depth.
It would, Anet thought wryly, be a long time before Georgia forgave her for that rescue.
CHAPTER TWO
WHEN the anchor rattled down Anet had the tanks checked for the final time and the divers organised into pairs. As Scott jumped into the dinghy to drop off the flagged buoy that warned of divers in the vicinity, she said to the group, ‘I know you’ve already been asked this, but I have to tell you again that it is extremely dangerous to dive if you’re at all prone to asthma—even if you only get wheezy when you have bronchitis.’
Everyone shook their heads solemnly. Anet couldn’t stop herself from casting a swift glance at Georgia, and immediately felt ashamed. Irritating she might be, but it was clear from her familiarity with the gear that she had dived before.
‘Keep checking your depth,’ she continued. ‘All the pretty fish and corals are close to the surface, so there’s no reason to go below twenty metres. Once you do, the risk of narcosis increases significantly.’
Everyone nodded.
‘If this is your first dive for some time you’ll have got out of the habit of watching your gauges, so be vigilant.’
Everyone nodded again.
‘All right, then,’ she said cheerfully. ‘In you go—and remember, no teasing the moray eels. They don’t take kindly to it. And stay with your buddy. You are each other’s safeguard.’
She noted their entry into the sea with an experienced eye. Yes, they all seemed to know exactly what they were doing—even Georgia. Either she’d been putting on a show back there in the harbour or she was one of those divers who used the buoyancy compensator as a backup for their poor swimming skills.
Serena had warned her that occasionally you got some idiot who thought they didn’t need instruction or training. People were strange. Why expose yourself to danger?
The approaching dinghy summoned her to the side of the launch. ‘I’ll stay out,’ Scott called above the noise of the motor. ‘You keep Lucas company on board, Annie. Ask Sule if she wants to come with me, will you?’
But Sule, tidying up at the bar before checking the till, hid a yawn behind an elegant hand and said, ‘No, I’m going to have a sleep. My little sister was sick all night, so guess who didn’t get any rest!’
When
