Shouldn’t he be celebrating?
There were shouts from the water and lots of splashing as two of the adults from the other boat swam the short distance towards Nathaniel’s boat. ‘Nina? Is she alive?’
In a single decisive movement, Nathaniel rose and vanished into the saloon.
By the time the couple boarded the boat there was no sign of him.
‘Oh, thank God, thank God …’ The couple scooped up the toddler and thanked Ben profusely.
He accepted their thanks calmly, suggested they take the child to be checked by the doctor who worked on the island and pointed out that the little girl should have been wearing a life jacket.
Katie wanted to yell that they were thanking the wrong person but she understood that Nathaniel hadn’t wanted to be recognised and the couple were too relieved to have their child safe to show too much interest in the identity of the rescuer.
She sat, numb, as Ben skilfully moved the two boats alongside so that the rapidly recovering toddler could be transferred with the minimum of fuss.
Now that it was over, Katie found that she was shaking and shivering like a leaf in a storm. She grabbed a dry towel from the deck and wrapped it around herself but the shivering wouldn’t stop. The sun shone high overhead, and yet she felt cold. Really cold.
If she felt like this, how was Nathaniel feeling?
Nathaniel leaned over the toilet, retching violently. The horror of it gripped him like a physical force. He’d taken refuge in the cabin, not because of the risk of being recognised, but because he’d been afraid he was going to humiliate himself right there in the middle of the boat.
Water. A drowning child. Sick panic.
Wasn’t it ever going to go away?
Lifting his head, he looked in the mirror. Staring back at him was a face so deathly pale he would have made a corpse look healthy. And as for his eyes—he gave a humourless laugh—if the eyes were windows to the soul, then he was definitely in trouble.
Not wanting to see what was through those windows, he closed his eyes, but immediately saw the child flailing, helpless in the water. Drowning, her lungs screaming for air as she sank in her watery grave.
Nathaniel turned on the taps and tried to splash his face but his hands were shaking so badly most of the water landed on the floor. His stomach churned like the ocean in a storm and his body felt shaky and weak.
Alpha Man? He gave a bitter laugh at the evidence of his own weakness.
Under his feet, he felt the shift of the deck and realised the boat was moving.
Ben, he thought gratefully. Thank goodness for Ben.
He needed to get the hell off the water.
CHAPTER SIX
KATIE lay in the hammock, her book unopened. Beneath her, a kaleidoscope of sea life darted through clear, turquoise water but her brain was too preoccupied to enjoy her idyllic surroundings.
The moment the boat had approached the island, Nathaniel had jumped into the sea and waded the last few metres to the shore without glance or conversation.
Maybe it was just delayed reaction. Maybe he needed time to himself.
If Nathaniel wanted to be alone, then there was no way she was going to force herself on him. In his position she would have been talking it through, but he was different, wasn’t he?
Katie opened her book and stared at the first page. After she’d read the same line five times, she gave up and stared at the horizon. Images of Nathaniel diving into the water played across her brain. It wasn’t the bold rescue that stayed with her, although that in itself had been impressive. What really affected her was the look on his face. The fierce determination in his eyes was something she’d never forget.
Remembering the mother’s frenzied, hysterical relief as she’d held her child, Katie shivered.
Without Nathaniel it would have been so different.
Alpha Man.
Even she could see that with the Sapphire Award ceremony only a week away it would have been a perfect publicity opportunity. And yet he hadn’t taken it. He’d made sure the child was safe and then he’d left the scene quickly before anyone had a chance to recognise him. It didn’t make sense.
None of it made sense.
Katie gave up on the book and swung her legs out of the hammock. She’d just check on him, she told herself, and then she’d give him space.
Barefoot, she walked along the terrace that circled the villa, breathing in the heavy scent of tropical plants. As she approached the terrace of the master bedroom she paused, still worried about intruding. It wasn’t as if they had a relationship. They were castaways, thrown here together by accident. They weren’t friends. They weren’t lovers.
Lovers.
She shivered at the word, thinking of that first night when they’d come so close. And last night on the beach—
Impatient with herself, Katie breathed deeply and walked onto the deck. She was doing what any human being would do in the circumstances. Offering comfort.
She found him sprawled on the swing seat, staring out across the sea as the sun went down.
‘Nathaniel? You didn’t eat dinner. Do you want Ben to bring you something?’
‘No. I want to be on my own.’ Both words and tone were a warning to back off.
Katie ignored the warning and sat down next to him. The decision earned her a cautionary look.
‘I never saw you as a risk taker.’
‘Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think.’
And she didn’t know him, did she? She knew nothing about him. He let the world see the actor, never the man. ‘You were amazing today. You know how to play the hero in real life as well as in the movies.’ It still shocked her to think how quickly the day had changed. How death had lurked in those calm, clear waters.
‘I feel pretty shaken up, so goodness knows how you’re feeling.’ She decided to take a risk and plunged. ‘Talk to me, Nathaniel. Tell me why you’re sitting here on your own, pushing me away.’ Show yourself to me. Don’t hide ….
The silence was thick and heavy. ‘Talking isn’t going to change the fact that she almost drowned.’
‘But she didn’t drown. You saved her. She’s lucky you’re such a good swimmer who loves the water so much.’
‘I hate the water.’ The confession was wrenched violently from somewhere deep inside him. ‘The reason I’m a good swimmer is because I hate the water.’ He turned his head and she saw such intense suffering that she sat still, immobilised by the agony reflected in those perfect features.
It was like a veil falling down. She’d wanted him to show himself, but the reality was almost too painful to watch. In his face, she saw nothing but dark, sinister shadows. They lurked in the depths of his eyes, settled around the line of his mouth and haunted the hard angle of his jaw. Emotion. Raw and brutally real. The actor had vanished and she was looking at the man.
Shocked into silence, as far out of her depth as the helpless child in the water, Katie felt a desperate need to ease his anguish in whatever way she could. She moved her hand towards his and then withdrew it, afraid of doing anything that might be a catalyst for his withdrawal. ‘Do you want to tell me why?’
His laugh was harsh. ‘Do you want to hear it?’
‘Yes.’