rising over the top of the hill. Soon it would shine down over the sleepy rows of houses packed tightly together in jagged rows.
Coffee. That’s what she needed. She walked the few steps from the harbor to the cafe and ordered a cappuccino, then sat at one of the outside tables and pondered her dilemma, hoping for a miracle.
Ha. Miracle. Divine intervention. Fat chance of that happening, considering what she knew about herself. She’d have better luck making a deal with the devil.
“I hear you’re looking for a boat.”
She looked up into the face of a shadowy figure looming over her. Satan himself, perhaps?
The man took a seat across from her and placed his cup of coffee on the table. “You’re looking for a boat.”
American accent. Damn fine-looking, too. Dark hair, smoldering, sexy eyes, chiseled features that looked as though Michelangelo himself had sculpted him. He was perfection, a god in human form. Tanned, muscular, and quite possibly her savior if she could believe what he was saying.
“You have a boat?”
“I do.”
“You want to rent it to me.”
“No, I’m offering you a ride out on it. I hear you’re an archaeologist.”
“Where did you hear that?”
He smiled, showing brilliant white, even teeth which were also perfect. Didn’t this guy have any flaws? “From the twenty or so other boat owners in the harbor who warned me about you.”
She frowned, thinking of all the time she’d wasted going from boat to boat, only to be shooed away as an annoyance, as if she was some beggar asking for a handout. She would have paid for their services. Eventually. “I see. So why did you come looking for me?”
“Because I could use your expertise.”
“You don’t know anything about me.” He couldn’t. She wasn’t using her real name, trying to fly under the radar on this one. She was hoping to avoid Angelique for as long as possible. There were things she couldn’t face yet, her sister being one of them.
“I know you’ve told everyone you’re an archaeologist with an interest in doing a dive out in the sea. That can only mean one thing.”
Curious, she couldn’t help but ask, “And what’s that?”
“You’re looking for Atlantis. More specifically, for the underwater temples.”
“That theory has been scoffed at and disproved a hundred times over.”
He leaned back and crossed his arms. “Which doesn’t mean a damn thing. They’re out there.” He inclined his head to the sea.
“You believe that.”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.”
“Who are you?”
“I suppose that might help.” He held out his hand. “Dalton Gabriel.”
She slipped her hand in his. “Isabelle Smith.”
Dalton arched a brow. “Smith? You couldn’t get more inventive than that?”
“I have a passport and all the appropriate papers to back up the name, Mr. Gabriel. All I need from you is a boat. I’ll pay for your time.”
“It’s Dalton. And I’m looking for more than just payment for gasoline and boat rental, Isabelle.”
Wariness mixed with curiosity. “What are you looking for?”
“A partner. I’m interested in finding the temples, too, but I’m no archaeologist.”
“What are you, then?”
“An investor. I have the money. I lack the skills.”
“I see.” Excitement hit her with a sharp punch, fueling her more than the espresso-laden drink in front of her. This could be beneficial to her cause, if she played her cards right and finessed this job. Providing this guy was on the up-and-up. She tried to keep her voice calm and even as she asked, “And what terms are we talking?”
“I’m putting up the money. I’ll front everything you need to do the dig. If we find anything, I’ll arrange for the permits, deal with any hassles the government may place on retrieving the treasure-should you find it-and I’ll ensure that you-and I, of course-get all the credit.”
“Go on.” She tapped her sandal on the cobblestone ground, resisting the urge to leap across the table and kiss him.
“Which means I have the most to risk. I want seventy-five percent of the take.”
Ouch. Then again, right now she had zero. Still, she sensed Dalton had set that percentage as a starting point to bargain. “Fifty-fifty.”
He laughed, the sound dark and rich, like her favorite chocolate. It rolled deeply within her nerve endings. She
