Doctor's Guide To Dating In The Jungle

Matt must have noticed her confusion as well. Keeping the conversation going in Portuguese, he asked, ‘Your accent is different. Where did you learn the language?’

‘I lived in Portugal for seven years as a child. My father worked at the American Embassy.’

‘That explains it.’

His furrowed brow made her sit a bit taller. ‘Is there something wrong with the way I speak?’

‘Not at all. But you’ll find sentence construction is a little different here.’

‘I’ve noticed.’

Tiago spoke up. ‘I think your accent is very nice, Miss Stefani.’

She smiled her thanks. ‘Stefani is my formal name, but all my friends call me Stevie. Won’t you do the same?’

‘Sh-tée-vee?’ He struggled to get the name out, and she noticed Nilson—busy manning the helm, his plate balanced on the control panel—mouthed the word as well.

‘Perfect,’ she said.

Matt just shook his head. ‘From Stefan, to Stefani, to Stevie. No wonder I was confused about your gender.’

‘And now? Are you still confused?’

‘Confused?’ His lips tilted in a sardonic smile. ‘More than ever.’

With that cryptic statement he stood and walked to the sink, carrying his plate. Since Tiago and Nilson followed his lead, she shoveled one last mouthful of the delicious meal into her mouth and stood as well. ‘Thank you so much for lunch. It was wonderful.’

‘I’m glad you liked it.’ After Matt ducked through the door, Tiago leaned in a bit closer and whispered, ‘I think you will be good for Mateus. He misses his wife very much.’

Wife? Matt was married? Oh, Lordy, and she’d practically insisted on playing share-sies with his bedroom. What was she thinking?

‘Where is she? His wife, I mean.’ The words were out before she could stop them. But she wanted to know. Because other arrangements definitely had to be made. No wonder he’d offered to sleep with the crew. Her face flamed. She’d told him not to worry about her throwing herself at him and yet she’d offered to sleep right above the man’s head. Surely he didn’t think—

‘His wife is … she’s …’ Tiago bowed his head and pointed skyward.

‘What? I don’t understand.’ Her eyes widened as she realized what he was trying to say. ‘Oh. I’m so sorry.’

He waved his hands in front of him. ‘Please don’t speak of it with him. He might not like that I told you.’

‘Of course not.’ She glanced at the empty doorway, hoping Matt wasn’t lurking outside. She wanted to ask some additional questions, like when and how his wife had died, but she didn’t want to get Tiago in trouble. She also didn’t feel right indulging in gossip behind Matt’s back. If he wanted her to know, he’d tell her.

Although why would he? He’d made it pretty obvious he didn’t want her here, and he certainly didn’t expect her to last very long.

She hurried to catch up with him and found him on deck staring out at the dark waters of the Rio Preto. ‘When do we reach our first stop?’

‘Some time tomorrow afternoon.’ He turned toward her, propping a hip against the rail and crossing his arms over his chest. ‘Do you mind if I ask you something?’

Thinking of the personal information she’d just learned about his wife, she hesitated, wondering if he was going to ask about her last job—or whether she was involved with someone. ‘I suppose not.’

‘Why did you choose Brazil?’

Relief washed over her. That was easy. ‘I knew the language.’ She crinkled her nose. ‘Well, kind of.’

His lips curved, and she caught a quick flash of teeth. ‘There is that. But that’s not exactly what I mean. As a vascular surgeon you could have gone to any hospital in the world. But this …’ his hand swept to the side, indicating the river ‘… is a little outside your specialty, don’t you think?’

She shrugged, forcing herself to smile back. ‘Maybe I wanted to expand my horizons.’

‘Surely there were other ways you could have done that.’

Her options had been rather limited when she’d called Tracy and inquired about the position, but she was loath to tell him that. At least at the moment. ‘Possibly. Why does it matter?’

His eyes slid over her face, pausing at her lips before coming back up to meet her gaze. ‘Just curious.’

‘What about you? Why did you come here?’ If he could pose the question, then it seemed only fair she should get a chance to do the same. Besides, it would move him away from this particular subject. And a part of her hoped he’d tell her about his wife, and get it out in the open.

‘It was something I’ve wanted to do ever since med school.’

She nodded. ‘Did you specialize?’

‘Nope. Although, looking back, maybe I should have.’

‘I imagine you’ve learned more here than some doctors learn in a lifetime.’

A muscle worked in his jaw. ‘Maybe more than I wanted to.’

Something about those words made her heart clench. Was he talking about his wife’s death? Now was probably not the time to ask.

‘So we reach our first stop tomorrow.’

‘Yep. We’ll need to figure out how to introduce you to the villagers, if there are any questions about your presence.’

‘What do you mean?’

He shrugged. ‘Let’s just say some of the tribes are more conservative than others.’

‘They don’t think women should be doctors?’

‘Some of the chiefs might have trouble with us traveling together.’ He studied her. ‘You don’t happen to have a husband stowed in your luggage, do you?’

A shaft of pain went through her, and it took her a second or two to respond. ‘Nope, sorry. You’ve never brought a woman with you?’

‘Not a female doctor, no.’ He uncrossed his arms and straightened. ‘But we can talk more about it later. You must be tired.’

‘A little, but I’m okay. Is there something you want me to do?’

‘Not at the moment. Tiago and Nilson are pretty proprietary about the day-to-day boat chores. If you try to pitch in, they’ll be offended. Let me think …’

He smiled suddenly, his eyes crinkling as he motioned toward one of her bare arms. ‘You could always lie on deck and work on your tan. Try to blend in a little more.’

She laughed, the tension between them defusing. ‘Nice try, Tarzan. With three guys roaming the place? Hardly. Besides, as you can tell by my vampire-like skin tones, the sun and I are sworn enemies. Even if I could tan, baking in this heat doesn’t really appeal to me.’

‘There’s a wall-mounted fan in our … in the bedroom. You can read, then, or relax. Unpack.’

‘What are you going to do?’

‘Go over the navigational charts with Nilson.’ He tugged at a chain around his neck and retrieved two keys from beneath his shirt. Unhooking one of them, he held it out. ‘This is to the exam room. You’ll need to put it somewhere safe. The door and medicine cabinets are keyed alike, so it works on both. The crew members can be trusted but, because of the drugs we keep on hand, it’s better not to put temptation in anyone’s way. So you and I will have the only copies.’

Her fingers brushed over his palm as she took the key from him, shivering as she noted the metal was still warm from resting against his skin. When he allowed his own key to slide back beneath his polo shirt, the image of steel pressed against a hard wall of flesh caused her to take a quick step back.

‘Do you have a chain to hang it from?’ Matt’s gaze slid to her chest, and then jerked back to her face.

Had he just pictured the key nestled between her breasts? That would actually be a relief considering her response a few seconds ago. How humiliating would it be for her to nearly swoon over the stupid heat of a key and not have him notice her at all?

She glanced at his face, looking for confirmation.

Nothing. There wasn’t a hint of interest behind those cool blue eyes.

The pendulum swung back toward humiliation. What kind of woman broke off her engagement and immediately started checking out every guy in town? Well, technically she was only checking out one guy in this particular area, but still.

She curled her fingers into her palms, allowing her nails to dig into her skin. ‘I have something in one of my bags. I’ll use that.’

‘I’ll leave you to it, then,’ he said.

At her nod, he turned and walked away, and she couldn’t help but notice the loose-limbed gait, which spoke of easy confidence, or the way his muscles flexed as he gripped the top of the door-jamb and ducked beneath as he headed down the hall.

As soon as the dark recesses of the boat swallowed him completely, she sagged against the railing and held the key to her chest.

What on earth was wrong with her?

Once they reached the first village, she’d be far too busy to think of anything but her patients. At least she hoped so.

Her mouth twisted. She’d forgotten to ask where Matt and the crew lived between trips down the Amazon. Surely they didn’t stay on the ship year round.

And if they did? Could she live aboard this boat … in the same room with Matt … for the next two years?

Oh, boy. She didn’t think so.

Because if she thought he was attractive now, when her instincts were on high alert, what would happen if she let her guard down even a little?

I don’t run.

The words she’d thrown at him swirled around her, calling her a liar. Because if she couldn’t get her silly libido under control, that’s exactly what she was going to do.

Run.

CHAPTER FOUR

Matt awoke to something nudging his side. He opened one eye and squinted sideways, encountering a worn pair of flip-flops.

Tanned skin, calloused feet.

Not the creamy white toes sporting pale pink polish that had driven him from his hammock in the middle of the night. He’d decided it was safer to remain on deck.

‘Why are you sleeping here, Mateus?’

Ah, yes, the question of the century, and one he’d prefer not to answer at the moment.

He shoved back the mosquito netting that was now tangled around him like a shroud and found Tiago, who stood with one hand scrubbing the top of his head, obviously still half-asleep.

‘It’s cooler,’ Matt muttered.

The young man snorted. ‘Really? On the Amazon, it is not cool anywhere.’

He had a point, but Matt chose to ignore it. ‘It’s still dark. Why are you up so early?’

‘I heard a noise on deck and wanted to make sure everything was secure.’

Hmm … that would have been a better answer than his own response. ‘Everything’s fine.’

‘Why do you not just stay in my quarters?’

Because Matt hadn’t been able to resist answering Stevie’s subtle challenge. She was adult enough to stay in a room with someone of the opposite sex, therefore he was determined to do the same. Only it hadn’t worked out quite like he’d hoped.

He sat up and rubbed his hand over his face, trying to erase the image of that smooth white calf and ankle that had appeared over the side of Stevie’s hammock and dangled close enough to give him nightmares of a different sort. And that damned sparkly polish on her toes hadn’t helped. He’d nearly fallen out of bed in his rush to put some distance between them.

He sighed, trying to disguise the sound. ‘Your quarters are cramped enough as it is.’

‘What about the infirmary?’

‘I’m fine.’

Tiago frowned. ‘I know you want to keep the germs out, but you can’t sleep on the hard deck for two weeks. What about your back? I can see it still bothers you.’

That was something Matt didn’t want to talk about either. ‘I’ll survive.’

‘But if you hurt it again, you might have to—’

‘Go back to bed. We’ll figure something else out in the morning.’

The other man tsked, but nodded. ‘I’ll at least hang the netting, so it does not strangle you in the night. Besides, the mosquitoes can feed right through it.’

The thing was so tangled, it probably provided a pretty good barrier, but he got up and helped Tiago suspend the midpoint from some fishing line and tack it to the wooden railing next to his makeshift pallet. Tiago was right, the netting was better this way.

Saying goodnight, Matt watched as the other man trudged back down the dark passageway to his own comfortable hammock, passing the quarters where Stevie was currently sleeping. Was her leg still on decadent display?

Forget it. He scooted beneath the netting and flopped down onto his blanket. That was another thing. He was used to sleeping in the buff and without the benefit of blankets. The additional coverings made him feel claustrophobic and hot. What had Tracy been thinking?

She hadn’t been. That much was obvious.

But would it have bothered him as much if Tracy herself had come and stayed on the boat? If they’d shared a room?

No, because not only was she Vickie’s sister, she was also a good friend. There was no attraction getting in the way of their work. Unlike with Stevie.

He snorted. Who said Stevie was attracted to him? Maybe it was purely a one-way street.

That wasn’t the only thing bothering him. He still had to figure out what they were going to tell the tribes when they went ashore tomorrow.

Maybe no one would even ask about Stevie. And if they did? What then?

He’d only been half joking when he asked Stevie if she was hiding a husband inside one of her suitcases. Because it would make it so much easier if there was one.

Or if Matt could simply say he’d gotten married again.

He blinked. Maybe he had. Or he could pretend he had.

No one had to know that he wasn’t bringing his new bride—who also happened to be a doctor—with him. Vickie had been a nurse, and they’d traveled together. No one thought a thing of it.

Would Stevie even agree to the ruse? He could tell her it was either that or she could go home. It was the truth, because he sure as hell couldn’t think of another story that would take care of any questions with one fell swoop.

And what about him? Would he be able to pretend to be Stevie’s husband, knowing he’d have to learn more about her to make their tale believable?

Putting his hands behind his head, he tried to go back to sleep and ignore what that would entail.

Matt Palermo, permanently grieving widower, might have to break his one iron-clad rule about women.

Don’t get too close—ever.

Her dad spun her around and around, holding her suspended by one arm and leg, while her other limbs dangled in space. She half giggled, half screamed and then thrashed around when she realized the swaying hadn’t been solely in her dreams. And her wiggling had just caused her to overbalance …

Scrambling, she clawed at the hammock with her hands, succeeding in grabbing the open woven fabric just as the whole contraption inverted itself. She found herself hanging upside down, her legs automatically wrapping around the center of the hammock and locking together at the ankles. She tightened her fingers to avoid dropping onto the hammock below hers.

Oh, no!

She blinked hard and twisted her head to stare at the bottom hammock before shuddering with relief. Abandoned. Matt was evidently already up and dressed.

Thank heavens. At least he hadn’t witnessed her utter and complete humiliation. Now, if she could just …

‘I didn’t realize you were part bat. Although you did mention having an aversion to the sun yesterday.’

Stevie froze. The words, murmured in a low voice that flowed through her like dark fragrant honey, could only come from one man.

She slowly tilted her head further back and, through the veil of her mosquito net, saw Matt. Upside down, but showered and fresh, while she was … well …

‘I had a slight accident.’

One side of his mouth quirked up. Or was it down? She couldn’t tell any more. ‘Yes, I can see that.’

‘Instead of standing there, staring, maybe you could help me figure out how to get down?’

‘I kind of like you the way you are.’

‘Hey!’ Her hair swung below her like a tangled skein of yarn, the lank strands almost brushing the lower hammock. ‘Stop fooling around and get over here. I’m starting to get dizzy. I don’t think you want a puddle of whatever’s left in my stomach all over your bed.’

That did it. In a flash, he’d ducked beneath the netting and was at her side. Two strong arms came out and settled under her shoulders and buttocks. ‘Okay, I’ve got you. Let go.’

‘Are you sure?’

He laughed. ‘Do you want to do this by yourself?’

The hard floor stared at her from a quite a distance away. Nope, she didn’t. She unhooked her legs first and felt the bulge of Matt’s biceps as he took the weight of her lower half. When she was certain he wouldn’t send her careening to the ground, she unfisted her hands.

And wound up right side up, in his arms. With her face way too close to his neck for comfort.

And the scent she’d caught yesterday as she’d passed him in the hallway?

Heavens, it was still there, headier than ever. Against her better judgement, she closed her eyes and leaned just a bit closer, allowing the air around him to fill her senses. Breathe, exhale, repeat … just like the shampoo commercials advised.

‘Better?’

She froze, her lungs ceasing all covert activity. Had she really been sniffing a strange man’s neck?

‘W-what?’

‘Your dizziness. I don’t want to set you down if you’re going to collapse on me.’

‘Oh. Um, no. I think I’m okay.’ Her voice came out shakier than she’d hoped, and she wondered if she might fall in a heap after all.

Seemingly oblivious to her confusion, he craned his head to the side and looked at her, making no move to put her down. ‘I see we should’ve reviewed the hammock safety video. If I had actually been in that bed and you’d dropped on top of me, things could have gotten rather ugly.’

No kidding. Especially since her T-shirt had been hiked to kingdom come as she’d dangled there. She glanced down, horrified to find a huge swath of her belly still exposed.

Keep talking, and he won’t notice. ‘No one mentioned that particular hazard when I applied for the job.’

A muscle twitched in his jaw for a moment or two and she realized how her words must have sounded. Especially when he pivoted away from the pair of hammocks and set her on her feet.

She yanked her Mets T-shirt down over her jogging shorts.

‘Not that I’m saying landing on top of you would be hazardous or anything …’

Oh, yes, it would be. Even saying it out loud did wonky things to her breathing which, in turn, had nothing to do with nearly falling out of her hammock.

Thankfully, Tiago appeared behind her, saving her from having to explain her meaning.

‘Nilson has breakfast ready, if you’re hungry,’ he said in Portuguese.

The man shifted from foot to foot as if embarrassed about something. Stevie wondered if he’d seen Matt holding her. Or if he understood enough English to know what they’d been saying.

‘Obrigada,’ Matt said, taking a step back.

‘Where do you want me to put your blanket and netting from last night?’ Tiago added.

Stevie glanced at the thin barrier surrounding the two hammocks. She would have thought they stayed in place at all times. What if someone wanted to nap? ‘Do you normally store this during the day?’ She moved the netting to the side and secured it with the bungee cord the way she’d seen it yesterday.

‘No.’ Color stained Matt’s neck, and the word came out halfstrangled.

Had she done something worse than hanging upside down from her hammock last night?

Tiago shook his head. ‘No, not this net, the one from the deck, where he slept.’

‘You …’ Stevie’s mind tried to work through what the man was saying. ‘You didn’t sleep here last night?’

‘Mateus said it was too hot.’

The fiery color moved from Matt’s neck to the tips of his ears. ‘What I said was it was cooler out there.’ He jabbed a thumb in the direction of the deck before turning away. ‘Let’s get that breakfast you mentioned.’

As he moved out of the room, Stevie wondered why he’d let her believe that he’d slept below her the whole night when obviously he hadn’t. He’d even talked about what a disaster it would have been if she’d fallen on top of him, all the while knowing it hadn’t been a remote possibility.

Had it all been an act? Or had he simply woken up to a stuffy room and moved his bed onto the deck?

Except Tiago’s shifting seemed to indicate what he’d done wasn’t an everyday occurrence. Which implied he normally stayed in his room.

All night.

Stevie stopped off at the restroom to dress and wash her hands and face the best she could. When she finally made it to the dining area, she’d halfway composed herself.

She filled the plate Nilson gave her and found Matt already sitting at the picnic-style table. Dropping onto the bench across from him, she set the food in front of her. ‘You know, I can sleep on deck if you’re uncomfortable sharing the room with me.’

‘I told you why I moved. Besides, it’s not good for Tiago and Nilson to have to worry about tiptoeing around during the night.’ He glanced down at his plate. ‘Or finding a half-dressed woman on deck. I’d prefer you sleep in the bedroom.’

He had a point. But it didn’t seem fair to have kicked him out of his own bed. She glanced at the small eating space. ‘How about this, then? We can string your hammock up in here before you go to bed and then stow it in the mornings.’

Tiago, who’d evidently been listening in on their conversation—putting paid to her hope that he didn’t understand English—chimed in, ‘This is a good idea, Mateus. I will install some strong hooks in the wall and center beam … and one in the ceiling for the mosquito net you insist on everyone using.’ He paused, fiddling with his fingers. ‘Although I understand now why it is so important.’

Matt nodded, a shadow passing through his eyes before he switched over to Portuguese. ‘Thank you, my friend.’

Turning his attention to Nilson, he asked, ‘How long before we reach the village?’

‘We should arrive sometime before dinner.’

‘Good. I’d like to go over the charts with you and decide our schedule for the next couple of weeks.’ He glanced at Stevie.

‘Can you fend for yourself for a little while? We’ll still need to discuss our … story before we reach the village, though.’

She tensed. Their story. How could she have forgotten about that? She forced a smile to her lips, wondering what he had in mind. ‘Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Shall we meet back here in, say, three hours?’

‘That sounds good.’

Three hours. Just enough time to focus some of her nervous energy on something other than the situation at hand.

Stevie ran a forearm over her damp brow, the piece of fine-gauge steel wool gripped between her fingertips.

Okay, boat varnish was a whole lot tougher than the glossy finish on the floors in her apartment in New York.

Which she guessed was a good thing, since the stuff was holding up nicely, despite being pitted and dark with grime. She’d hoped her scrubbing would take off the dirt and leave the finish intact. And that’s exactly what was happening.

And that nervous energy she’d been worried about?

Gone. Washed away by rivers of sweat.

Kneeling on a towel to protect her legs from the scorching surface of the deck, Stevie leaned closer to her work area and rubbed at the one-foot section of planking. She paused to adjust her bikini top, admiring the area she’d just cleaned. It might take for ever, but hidden beneath layers of dirt the wood was a rich, glossy mahogany.

Just like the dark sun-kissed hair of the man she’d be working with. So different than Michael’s blond hair and fair skin. The only thing they had in common were their blue eyes. But while Michael’s were darker and sparkling with intelligence and determination, she hadn’t noticed the flecks of cruelty that lay just below the surface until it had been too late. In one careless blow, he’d destroyed their future together, and then, when she’d dared to call him on it, reached out in a rage and crushed her dreams as well. It had only taken one phone call to a few key board members, and she’d been as good as finished.