Discovering Sophie (11 page)

“Don’t you ever look homely?” he finally asked.

“Is that a rhetorical question?”

He tried not to laugh. “I just figured after you kept me up most of the night, it should only be fair that you look as bad as I feel.”

“I’m sorry about the bad dream.” She bit her bottom lip. “Maybe I should put my tent somewhere else.”

“Yeah,” he snorted, “like maybe back where you came from.”

A flash of anger darkened her eyes. “Do you have a split personality?”

“What?”

She stalked over and stood right in front of him. “I asked you if you have a split personality. You know, dramatic mood swings.”

What is she insinuating?
Slowly, he stood up and leaned down close to her face. “Maybe I do.”

“Oh,” she said, delicately lifting one eyebrow.

His answer dispelled some of her anger. But, to be honest, since he’d met her, yes, he’d say he had a split personality. Heck, he couldn’t keep up with his mood swings. He was a man—he shouldn’t be having mood swings!

Acutely aware of how close they stood, Jack clenched his hands, fighting the urge to pull her to him. Her glossy lips looked inviting. How could he be so annoyed by her one minute and then have the desire to kiss her senseless the next? So maybe he was nuts.

“You’re the doctor. Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong with me.”

Her lips slowly curved up. “You admit there’s something wrong with you?”

Maybe
. “I—” The sweet scent of her lip gloss drew his attention back to her mouth, and he could swear she just inched a little closer.
She
was the one driving him crazy.

“What flavor are you wearing today?” Jack asked in a low voice.

Sophie’s brown eyes grew large. “What?”

“Your lips, Doctor.”

He felt a stab of disappointment when she took a step backward. “It’s…uh.” She withdrew the product from her pocket and looked down. “Watermelon Sorbet.”

Having effectively changed the subject of his sanity, Jack didn’t make a comment about how delicious the ridiculous name of her lip gloss sounded. She really would think he was
loco
.

They needed to break camp and get moving. The sooner he found her father—the sooner he could get rid of her.

Jack stomped over to his tent and started removing the rain fly. “We need to get the tents down and packed.”

Hector, who had been watching the whole thing, sauntered past, chuckling under his breath. “When the two of you are done, breakfast will be ready.”

Jack saw Sophie cast Hector a sweet smile. “
Muchas gracias
,” she said, moving next to her tent. “This won’t take me long.”

Jack took that as a challenge. Today he was determined to take his tent down first.

Sophie hummed while she worked. Jack picked up his speed, working as fast as possible, but the new tent poles had to be defective because they were wedged again. Then he realized Sophie was no longer humming. She sat back on her heels, staring at him.

“What?” he snapped.

She smiled at him knowingly. “Nothing, Jack. You must be very hungry.”

He watched her finish rolling up her tent and accepted defeat—Sophie had beat him again.

* * *

A few hours later they stopped for a break. Feeling hot and muggy, Jack shrugged off his heavy pack. He looked longingly at the clear blue pool of water they’d stopped by, imagining how good it would feel to dive in. A waterfall tumbled down one side, flowing between luscious green foliage and bright colored flowers.

Sophie sat on her pack, one hand stroking the donkey. “Poor Fred. He looks exhausted.”

Jack held back an eye roll. He was still in a foul mood, and for the past three hours, he’d listened to Sophie’s nonstop chatter.
Oh, Jack, look how beautiful
.
Jack, look how darling that monkey is
. It was like going camping with Merry Little Sunshine. She wasn’t bothered by the rain, the bugs, or even the snakes. What was wrong with this woman?

Nothing. And that was the whole problem.

“Jack?” Sophie said, standing in front of him with a bright smile. “This is beautiful. Can we swim in it?”

Well, now that she suggested it, he wanted to say no. “Sophie, we don’t have leisure time. Remember we’re trying to locate your father.”

The smile on her face disappeared. “I know why we’re here. I just wanted to—” She turned away from him and mumbled, “It doesn’t matter.”

Hector shot him a reproachful look. “
Amigo
, what could it hurt?”

“It’s okay,” Sophie said flatly. “Jack’s right—we don’t have the time.”

Jack dropped his eyes, avoiding both Hector and Sophie’s condemning looks. Ripping open a granola bar, he bit off a chunk. It tasted like sawdust. He finished his snack and turned to find a bottle of water. He caught sight of Sophie as she tipped her head back, drinking from a water bottle. Helplessly, he stared at her slender throat. When she finished and pulled out her tube of lip gloss, Jack gave up.

Emitting a low growl, he stalked over to where Sophie sat. Standing in front of her, Jack waited for her to acknowledge him. Without looking at him, Sophie slipped the lip gloss back in her pocket and then studied her hiking boots intently.

Great. He was going to have to grovel. He hoped this wasn’t going to be a pattern. “Sophie, I didn’t mean to snap at you. I think it’s a good idea to go swimming.”

She lifted her lashes, still reluctant to talk to him. He held out his hand and offered her a smile. “It’ll be a nice break.”

* * *

Sophie lowered her eyes to Jack’s open palm. If she put her hand in his, she knew exactly what would happen to her. Against everything inside of her, she found herself attracted to this cynical man. Despite the apology, Sophie wasn’t going to fall for his nice mood this time. She ignored his outstretched hand. “We don’t have to on my account.”

He took a deep breath. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

She almost snorted. Jack clearly didn’t know what
fun
was. But the temptation to relive one of her fondest memories of going swimming underneath a waterfall with her father was too great.

“Fine.” She stood up and started marching toward the waterfall. He grabbed her arm, making her halt. “What, Jack?”

His eyebrows drew together. “You just can’t go off walking by yourself. Snakes like to be around water.”

“Whatever,” she said, sounding more like a teenager than a thirty-two-year-old doctor.

He started to laugh. “Sophie, don’t be mad at me.”

Huh?
She wanted to wipe that silly grin right off his handsome face. “I don’t even know why you would care.” She jerked his hand off of her arm. “I irritate you, and I don’t even know what it is I’ve done.”

“I don’t think I know what it is exactly, either.” He blew out a long breath. “Look, I’m…sor…I’ll try not to snap at you anymore.”

She gave him a dubious look. “Okay. But in the future, if you’re going to get mad at me, can you at least let me know why?”

He looked totally exasperated. “I’ll do my best.”

Satisfied, she gave him a small smile and stuck out her hand. “Truce?”

Jack took her hand, and immediately she regretted her actions. “Truce,” he said as he slowly wrapped his large fingers around her hand, stealing her breath.

Tugging back, she tried to distance herself from him. Jack held fast and pulled her with him to the water’s edge. It was hard not to respond to the warmth radiating up her arm. His hand felt good, and Sophie hated to admit how much she liked holding it.

“Hector, are you coming?” she questioned as they walked away.

“
Sí.
I’ll be there in a minute.”

The crystal blue water looked inviting. Her hair felt matted and sticky and she fantasized what it would feel like to swim under the small waterfall. “So this is safe to swim in, right?” she asked, looking for any signs of something lethal.

Jack sat on a rock to remove his boots. “It’s safe.”

Taking a seat on the same rock, Sophie removed her shoes and socks. She wiggled her toes in the cool, moist grass, glancing down to check for snakes. Jack had his back to her, and it was as if she could feel the heat radiating from his body, making her painfully aware of him.

She pulled her lip gloss out of her pocket and put it inside her shoe. Unclasping her watch, she added it to the pile. The pants she wore could be unzipped at the knee, converting them into shorts.

Finished, she stood up to find Jack assessing her with his cool blue eyes. “Are you one of those women who won’t get their hair wet?”

Sophie didn’t answer him. Instead, she made a shallow dive into the clear water. It felt so refreshing, and instantly her bad mood disappeared. She surfaced, blinking the water out of her eyes. Jack still stood on the edge. “Jack, it feels so wonderful. Are you coming in?”

The minute she asked the question, Sophie knew she had made a mistake. She hadn’t thought it through very carefully, but she should’ve known he would take off his shirt.

Before she could think of something to discourage him, he tugged on the hem of his tee and pulled it over his head. Sophie caught a glimpse of his washboard stomach and immediately turned around. The rest of his upper body would look just as good and she didn’t need another reason to feel attracted to him.

She heard the splash as he entered, the water rippling around her. Maybe swimming wasn’t such a good idea after all, and where in the world was Hector?

Surfacing next to her, Jack’s eyes glistened with mischief. “Wanna race to the waterfall?”

He sure seemed to have a competitive streak in him. She was beginning to think he didn’t like that she could put up her tent faster than him. “Sure. On the count of three.”

They both counted to three and then took off. Sophie wasn’t a great swimmer, and she could never compete with someone taller and stronger than she was. Jack was already under the falls when she came to a stop.

“You win,” she conceded.

He grinned. “What took you so long, Kendrick?”

She flicked water at him. “You’re a poor winner.”

Shaking the water off, he laughed and said, “I am not.” Then he splashed her back. “You’re just a poor loser.”

“It wasn’t a fair race,” she said petulantly. Then she slid her hand along the water and propelled a large wave right in his face.

Jack sputtered, then his blue eyes narrowed, and he moved a little closer. “Wanna race again? I’ll give you a head start.”

“No,” Sophie said with a laugh.

“Chicken.”

This time she gave into her childish side and stuck out her tongue. Jack smiled and clasped his hands in front of him and managed to shoot a stream of water directly at her.

“Would you stop that?” she said, moving out of the line of fire.

“Only if you don’t start up again.”

So, as long as Jack was the last one to splash water in her face, they could quit? He had probably not been any fun to play tag with when he was a kid. The game would’ve never ended because Jack would always have to be the last one to tag someone.

She leaned her head back to float on the water, letting him think she was done. When she came up, she used both of her hands to shove as much water as she could, then she took off, knowing he would come after her.

She tried swimming as fast as possible, but within a few strides she felt him grab her leg. Screaming, she giggled as he pulled her back toward him. “Stop!” she shrieked as he prepared to launch her into the water.

Deep laughter rumbled behind her as Jack’s hands circled her waist. “This will teach you, little girl.” He lifted her fairly high and then tossed her away from him.

When she surfaced again, Jack stood right in front of her. Rising up on her tippy toes, the depth of the water allowed Sophie’s head to be above the surface, her shoulders barely peeking above the water. Jack’s browned shoulders and chest were well above the water. She moved her hands, ready to launch another assault. It was either that or openly stare at the bronzed Adonis in front of her.

Before she splashed him, Jack grabbed both of her wrists. “I wouldn’t if I were you.” Droplets of water clung to his eyelashes, and the blue of his eyes matched the water surrounding them. His mouth tilted up in a crooked smile, and his teeth appeared even whiter against the dark stubble covering his jaw.

Mercy, the man is gorgeous
. Her pulse tripped, and Sophie purposely kept her eyes focused on his face. However, her peripheral vision noted every detail of Jack’s muscular and tan body.

“Okay. You win. You can let go now,” Sophie said a little breathlessly. Pulling on her hands, she struggled to escape the hold he had on her—both figuratively and literally.

He shook his head, keeping a tight grip. “What if I don’t want to let go?”

He drew her toward him, making Sophie dizzy at the close proximity. His eyes lowered to her mouth, and, against her will, she found herself wondering what it would feel like if Jack kissed her. Even more distressing was the fact that she wanted him to.

“I think you want me to kiss you,” Jack said smugly.

What? How did he know?
“I certainly do not.”

A wry smile tipped his mouth. “Yes, you do.”

Maybe she had, but not now. The arrogant look in his eyes doused her desires as effectively as dumping water onto a fire. More than likely he was toying with her, probably waiting for her to throw herself at him just so he could rebuff her.

Sophie jerked her wrists free and pushed his solid chest away from her. “I think I’m done.”

Chapter Nine

Jack
let Sophie swim away, feeling annoyed at how much he had wanted to kiss her. When she climbed out of the water, he hollered, “You just don’t want to admit it.”

He tried not to laugh at the incensed look on her face. She put her hands on her hips, her brown T-shirt clinging to her form. “Just so you know, kissing you was the last thing on my mind.”

"If you say so,” he said, making his way to the shore.

Her gaze narrowed. “I mean it, Jack.”