Where The Heart Is

‘No. But I’ve got a torch on. And anybody outside who looks over at my tent is going to see exactly what’s happening inside.’

If her face had felt hot before, now it was a couple of thousand degrees warmer. Hell. She hadn’t even thought about that. ‘And without the torch?’ Please, don’t let anyone have realised what they’d been doing. And they’d both been quiet…hadn’t they?

‘Without the torch, they’ll see nothing.’

Relief surged through her. She reached over and switched off the light. ‘I wanted to see you.’

‘Tomorrow,’ he promised. She heard the rustling of his clothes, and then he crawled into the sleeping bag beside her.

This time, they savoured each other. Stroked every bit of skin, learned where each other liked being touched, where the sensitive spots were. Luke discovered an erogenous zone Rowena hadn’t even known existed, in the curve of her elbow. And she got to tangle her fingers in his hair.

‘Beautiful hair,’ she said. Soft and silky. And it smelt good, too. ‘I bet you got into trouble at hospital for this.’

‘No. It was shorter eighteen months ago.’

Eighteen months and four days. The memory snapped into her mind. Was that the day his partner had died? And he hadn’t cut his hair since. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring back bad memories for you.’

‘Hey.’ He rubbed his cheek against hers. ‘No pasa nada.’

‘El Mariachi,’ she said, half to herself.

He chuckled. ‘I’m no musician.’

‘Musician?’

‘It’s the translation,’ he said helpfully. ‘But I’ll take that as a compliment.’

She nuzzled his skin, liking his scent. ‘It was one,’ she said softly. The actor was her fantasy man, but Luke MacKenzie was real. And he was here. Holding her.

‘Hmm. I like you, Rowena Thompson.’

‘I like you, too.’

‘Show me how much.’

She grinned, and did so.

The next morning, Rowena opened one eye. Either she’d had a peculiarly vivid dream, or there really was a warm body moulded round hers. An arm clamped round her waist, warm breath against her cheek…

And this wasn’t her tent.

She remembered her night with Luke and her mouth went dry.

‘You’re awake, then?’ The arm round her waist pulled her back against him. ‘Good morning.’

She couldn’t remember feeling shy like this before. ‘Good morning.’ She could barely get the words out.

His lips nuzzled the back of her neck. ‘Mmm. You feel nice.’

‘Um, what time is it?’

‘Early. No one else is up yet.’

So she could sneak back into her own tent with nobody the wiser.

As if he guessed what she was thinking, he let her go. ‘Regrets?’

She couldn’t answer that one. Not truthfully. He’d been a skilful lover, and she couldn’t ever remember being that sated before. She just didn’t want people gossiping about them.

He turned her to face him. ‘We can pretend it didn’t happen.’

She couldn’t read his expression. She pushed down against her feelings of rejection. What they’d done last night had been completely out of character—for both of them, if he was telling the truth. And she could understand why they’d done it. They’d both been lonely, mourning, desperate to reaffirm life. It was hardly surprising that they’d ended up as they had. ‘We could.’

‘Or…’ He stroked her cheek. ‘It felt good, having you in my arms. We could take comfort in each other again, make it a two-night stand.’

‘There’s nearly a week left.’ The words were out before she could stop them.

‘Nearly a week.’ He traced the outline of her mouth with his forefinger. ‘And then the trek will be over.’

She knew what he was asking. What then? ‘And then we go back to our normal lives.’ Well, she’d go back to normal. Back to the emergency department at the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Manchester. He’d still be out here in the Patagonian winter.

‘We say goodbye at the airport. Never meet again.’

‘Like Rick and Ilse.’

He grinned, adopting a Bogart drawl. ‘We’ll always have Pehoé.’

She couldn’t help grinning back. Ah, hell. He even thought the same way she did. She could fight this, or she could sink into the comfort of his body. Let him fill the emptiness in these dark, lonely nights. ‘A week,’ she said softly.

‘Deal.’ He lowered his mouth to hers. ‘And we’ll seal it with a kiss.’

CHAPTER FOUR (#u2486aaf3-2402-5eb3-94ed-b3a8b83c2339)

THEY were almost late for breakfast. And even though Rowena had persuaded Luke to wait three minutes before following her in, she was sure that people had guessed the situation anyway.

‘Hey, sleepyhead. The walk to the glacier yesterday must really have knocked you out,’ Carly teased.

‘Something like that.’ Rowena flushed.

‘Here, have some coffee.’ Carly poured her a mugful. ‘Everyone’s talking about you, you know.’

What? The grapevine here was even faster than the one at Lizzy’s? Rowena stared at Carly in shock. She knew?

‘You really keep your light under a bushel. I had no idea you were a doctor.’

‘Oh, that.’ So it wasn’t common knowledge about Luke and her. Yet. Rowena felt the tension ooze out of her shoulders.

‘You didn’t tell me you rescued Stephen.’