The Reef

mused, the consonants blurring like soft shadows. “Fine. Bookkeeping’s your department.”
    “You will pay them back, Lassiter. Every penny.”
    He took a swallow of beer. “I pay my debts.”
    “I’ll see to it you pay this one.” She paused a moment before moving from one practical matter to another. The moon mirrored prettily on the calm water, but she paid no heed to it. “I understand you’re teaching LaRue to dive.”
    “I’ve been working with him.” Matthew moved his shoulders. “He’s catching on.”
    “Will Buck dive?”
    Even in the shadows, she saw his eyes glint. “That’s up to him. I’m not pushing him.”
    “I wouldn’t want you to.” She softened enough to move closer. “He matters to me. I—I’m glad he’s looking so well.”
    “You’re glad he’s off the bottle.”
    “Yes.”
    “He’s been off it before. Lasted a whole month once.”
    “Matthew.” Before she’d realized it, she laid a hand on his shoulder. “He’s trying.”
    “Aren’t we all?” Abruptly, he grabbed her hand, tugged her down beside him. “I’m tired of looking up at you. Besides, I can see you better down here, in the moonlight. You always had a face for moonlight.”
    “Personal rule,” she said briskly. “You keep your hands off me.”
    “No problem. I don’t need the frostbite. You’ve sure chilled down over the years, Red.”
    “I’ve simply developed a more discerning taste.”
    “College men.” His smile was a sneer. “Always figured you’d go for the academic type.” Deliberately, he looked down at her hands, then back into her eyes. “No rings. How come?”
    “Let’s keep our private lives private.”
    “That’s not going to be easy, seeing as we’re going to be working in close quarters for some time.”
    “We’ll manage. And as to working arrangements, when we dive, one member of your team goes down with a member of ours. I don’t trust you.”
    “And you hid it so well,” he muttered. “That’s fine,” he continued. “That suits me. I like diving with you, Tate. You’re good luck.” He leaned back on his elbows, looked up at the stars. “It’s been a while since I dived in warm water. The North Atlantic’s a bitch. You learn to hate her.”
    “Then why did you dive there?”
    He slanted her a look. “Doesn’t that come under the heading of private?”
    She looked away, cursing herself. “Yes, though it was professional curiosity that made me ask.”
    So, he’d oblige her. “There’s money to be made salvaging metal wrecks. In case you haven’t heard, World War II played hell with ships.”
    “I thought the metal you were interested in was gold.”
    “Whatever pays, sweetheart. I’ve got a feeling this trip’s going to pay off big.” Because it pleased him almost as much as it hurt, he continued to study her profile.
    “You’re not convinced.”
    “No, I’m not. But I am convinced this is something my father needs to do. The Isabella and the Santa Marguerite have fascinated him for years.”
    “And Angelique’s Curse.”
    “Yes, from the moment he heard of it.”
    “But you don’t believe in curses anymore. Or magic. I guess you educated it out of your system.”
    She couldn’t have said why it stung to hear him say what was only the truth. “I believe the amulet exists, and knowing my father, that it was aboard the Isabella. Finding it will be another matter altogether. And its value will come from its age and its stones and the weight of its gold, not from some superstition.”
    “There’s no more mermaid left in you, Tate.” He said it quietly, and stopped himself before his hand lifted to stroke her hair. “You used to remind me of something fanciful that was as much at home in the sea as in the air. With all sorts of secrets in your eyes, and endless possibilities shimmering around you.”
    Her skin shivered, not from the nippy little breeze, but from heat. In defense, her voice was flat and cool. “I doubt very much if you had any sort of romantic flights of fancy where I was concerned. We’re both aware of what you thought of me.”
    “I thought you were beautiful. And even more out of reach than you are right now.”
    Hating the fact that such careless lies could make her pulse jump, she rose quickly. “It won’t work, Lassiter. I’m not along on this trip to amuse you. We’re business partners. Fifty-fifty since my father wants it that way.”
    “Isn’t that interesting?” he murmured. He set the