His sarcasm almost pushed her over the edge. She went so far as to take a step toward him, as though ready to physically lay into him.
“What the hell do you know about it?” she snarled. Literally snarled, with her lips curled back, teeth exposed. “How I choose to spend my time is my business, not yours.”
Nodding, as though in agreement, would make her even angrier, so he did it.
“True, but when have I ever stayed out of your business? I’m offering you a chance to continue to do something with your medical career, and you’re acting as though I’m asking you to single-handedly do spinal surgery on the Pope, with the Swiss Guard watching over your shoulder.”
She froze. Went completely and utterly still, staring at him with an expression of something like bewilderment on her face.
“What did you just say?” she asked, almost whispering.
“I said, I’m offering you the chance—”
“No. No. After that.”
He thought back, wondering what she was getting at, then slowly said, “You’re acting like I’m asking you to single—”
Horrified with himself, he stopped. How could he have been so thoughtless, so careless? There were a million other expressions he could have used. Why the hell had he picked that one?
Her lips twitched.
Tears filled her eyes.
Kiah got up, ready to apologize, once he got his voice back from wherever the heck it had gone.
Then Mina burst out laughing, the sound so unexpected, so sweet, it rocked him back on his heels.
“Oh, God,” she howled. “Single-handedly...”
Relief washed through him like a heated wave, and Kiah couldn’t help but laugh with her, even though his legs felt shaky.
Then they were in each other’s arms, holding themselves up by the combined effort, laughing until Kiah got a stitch in his side.
Once they regained some kind of composure, he leaned back and looked at her.
“So I take it this is a yes?”
She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and snorted.
“Of course not.” His stomach sank, until she gave him a grin and continued, “But I’ll think about it.”
And he knew, right then and there, that he had her.
So he grinned back and said, “All right, think all you want, but we leave next Thursday.”
CHAPTER THREE
MINA WAS SURE Kiah’s plan was one of the stupidest she’d heard in a long time, but despite her misgivings, less than a week later she was heading to the small Caribbean island of St. Eustace.
Every time she voiced an objection to the trip, Kiah had an answer.
“We need your help.”
“No use wasting that expensive medical degree.”
“You hate winter, anyway.”
That one brought her up short, and she gave him a narrow-eyed glare.
“I do not hate winter. I taught you how to ski, remember?”
He’d snorted, a derisive sound he’d mastered by the age of thirteen and always knew just how to use to best effect.
“Actually, it was your dad who taught me how to ski. And I remember you grumbled the entire time about the cold. Après ski is more your style. Admit it, you’re a bit of a disgrace to your Swedish heritage.”
That led to a heated argument she knew she couldn’t win but also couldn’t resist engaging in.
Kiah had that effect on her, and she had to admit she loved it.
He’d also done something no one else had been able to do for over a month: he’d got her out of the apartment, and back into life. Between taking her out to eat and forcing her to go and get her hair done, Kiah wouldn’t let her languish at home the way she wanted to.
Yet, through the laughter and teasing, the rehashing of times past and the inevitable questions of “Whatever happened to...?” there remained a painful, raw spot in her chest. There was no way to avoid the awkward moments that arose, like when the salon owner asked if she wanted a manicure, or people stared when they realized she was an amputee. Grief welled inside her every time, reinforcing the little voice whispering, You’re no longer whole. You’re deficient.
The only person who didn’t look at her differently was Kiah. Being around him somehow took her beyond the place of pain she was living in.
Now, looking out the window of the plane as it banked to come in for a landing, the sight of the verdant land ringed by aquamarine water along the beaches and rocks made her heart sing. She’d always loved the island and its people, and it felt amazing to have something to anticipate with joy rather than trepidation. After all, if she didn’t feel up to the task of working at the hospital, she just wouldn’t complete the paperwork Kiah told her the administration had prepared.
Despite his bullying her into the trip, filling out her paperwork was one thing Kiah couldn’t do for her, and she considered it her ace in the hole. Her plan was just to stay a few weeks to catch her breath and, if she decided not to take up the offer of work, head back home. She still wasn’t sure she’d be doing anyone any favors by pretending her amputation hadn’t made a massive difference in her abilities.
When they landed and disembarked, she paused to take a deep breath of warm air, her spirits rising even more.
St. Eustace lay southwest of Grenada, just a little more than halfway to Trinidad, and was a little-known tropical paradise. Being back on the island, seeing the backdrop of lush, rolling hills in the distance, standing under the bluest sky imaginable, caused a bubble of happiness to rise into her chest.
Okay, so she had to admit the trip was a great idea. Not that she was inclined to share that information with Kiah.
But when she looked at him, caught him grinning at her,
