“I didn’t think you’d be able to stay away,” Philip said, standing beside her. “I couldn’t, either.”

  Chapter 5

  Carla froze, her hands in her hair. Philip was right. When she’d come to the pool, the thought had played in the back of her mind that he would be there, too. For all her self-proclaimed righteousness, she didn’t want their time together to end with an argument.

  The worst part was that she’d overreacted, and like an immature child, she’d run away for the second time. It was a wonder he hadn’t given up on her. “I’m sorry about tonight,” she murmured in a voice that was quivery and soft. “But when I realized how you’d gotten that scar, I panicked.”

  Philip turned her around so that they faced each other, standing waist deep in the pool’s aqua-blue water. “You don’t need to explain. I know.”

  The moon’s gentle radiance revealed a thin film of moisture glistening on his torso. Carla longed to touch him. “Turn around,” she requested softly, and when he did, she slid her arms around his waist, just below the water line, and pressed her cheek against the curve of his spine. Almost shyly, she lifted her head as her fingers located the scar on his back, and she bent down and kissed it gently. The next time, Philip might not be so fortunate; such a blade could end his life. The thought was sobering, and a chill raced up Carla’s arms.

  “We agreed to a week,” Philip reminded her as he twisted around and looped his arms over her shoulders. “This vacation is for us. Our lives, our jobs, our friends are in Washington state. But we’re here. Nothing’s going to spoil what we have for the remainder of the week.” He said it with a determination she couldn’t deny.

  Nothing will ruin it, Carla’s heart responded. Everything was already ruined, her head shouted.

  They swam for an hour, making excuses to touch each other, kissing when the time seemed right. And it often seemed right.

  The night had been well spent when they made arrangements to meet again in the morning. Silently, Carla climbed into the bed across from her sleeping friend. A glance at her watch told her it was after two. This time she had no trouble falling into a restful slumber.

  * * *

  —

  The early-morning sounds of Nancy brushing her teeth and dressing woke Carla when the sun was barely up. Struggling to a sitting position, Carla raised her arms high above her head and yawned. “What time is it?”

  “Six,” Nancy whispered. “Eduardo and I are flying to Puerto Vallarta. I probably won’t be back until late tonight.”

  Carla nodded and settled back into her bed, hugging the thick pillow.

  “And before I forget, I have an invitation for you and…your friend.”

  “Philip,” Carla supplied.

  “Right.” Nancy laughed lightly. “Who says my head isn’t in the clouds? Anyway, you’re both invited to dinner with Eduardo and me Saturday evening.”

  Carla’s eyes remained closed, and she nuzzled the covers over her shoulder. “Sounds nice, I’ll mention it to Philip.” Her lashes fluttered open. “That’s our last day here.”

  “It’s really going by quickly, isn’t it?” The sad note in Nancy’s voice couldn’t be disguised. “We’ve got only three more days.”

  “Three days,” Carla repeated sleepily.

  “But you have to admit, this has been our best vacation.”

  And our worst, Carla mused. Every year she hoped to have a holiday fling. But not next year. Her heart couldn’t take this. Of course, not everyone would affect her the way Philip had, but she wasn’t game to have her hopes dashed every year.

  “By the way, did you hear the gossip that was going around the hotel yesterday?” Nancy didn’t wait for Carla’s answer. “Some crazy American was standing by the pool, serenading a girl with love songs. Apparently, she’s staying at the hotel.”

  For the third time that morning, Carla’s eyes opened. A faint color began an ascent up her neck to her cheeks. “Some crazy American?”

  “Right, an American. Isn’t that the most incredibly romantic thing you’ve ever heard? Women would kill for a man like that.”

  “I think you’re right.” Carla’s interest was aroused as she sat up. “Allow me to introduce you to ‘some crazy American’ Saturday night.”

  “Philip?”

  “You got it.” Carla blinked twice. “And it was romantic, except that everyone at the pool was staring at us.”

  Nancy sighed and sat on the end of Carla’s mattress. “Eduardo’s romantic like that.” She smoothed a wrinkle from her white cotton pants as she crossed her legs. “He says the most beautiful things to me. But half the time I don’t know whether to believe him or not. The lines sound so practiced, and yet he appears sincere.”

  “In instances like that, only time will tell,” Carla said without thinking.

  “But that’s something we don’t have. In four days I’ll be flying home, and I bet I never hear from Eduardo again.”

  Carla searched her friend’s coolly composed face, interpreting the doubts. “But I thought we were only looking for a little romance to liven up our holiday.”

  Nancy sighed expressively, and her eyes grew wary. “I was, but you know what? I think there’s something basically wrong with me. For years now, you and I have had this dream of the perfect vacation. We’ve been to Southern California, Vegas, Hawaii, and now Mazatlán. Every year we plan one week when we can let down our hair and have a good time.” She paused, and her shoulders sagged in a gesture of defeat. “We do it so that when we get back to Seattle and our neat, orderly lives, we’ll have something to get us through another year.”

  “But it’s never worked out that way. Our vacations are as dull.”

  “I know,” Nancy agreed morosely. “Until this year, and all of a sudden I discover I’m not the type for a one-week fling. I’ll never be the ‘love ’em and leave ’em’ type. I like Eduardo, and as far as I can tell, he likes me. But I could be one of any number of women he escorts during the course of a summer. He sees a fun-seeking American on vacation, and I doubt that he’d recognize the hardworking high school teacher that I really am.” Nancy sighed and ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. “The funny part is that after all these years, this was exactly what I thought I wanted. And now that I’ve met Eduardo, I can see how wrong I’ve been. When I meet a man, I want a meaningful relationship that will grow. Not a one-week fling.”

  Carla wasn’t surprised by her friend’s insights. Nancy often saw things more clearly than she did, whereas she, Carla, often reacted more to her emotions. Remembering last night and the way she’d panicked at the knowledge that Philip had been stabbed produced a renewed sense of regret. With Philip, her emotions had done a lot of reacting lately.

  Later, when they met for an excursion to Palmito de la Virgen, the bird-watchers’ island in the bay, Carla mentioned Eduardo’s invitation to dinner. Philip was agreeable, as she knew he would be.

  The following morning, Philip and Carla went deep-sea fishing at the crack of dawn. Philip managed to bring in a large tuna, but all Carla caught was a bad case of seasickness.

  “It wasn’t the boat rocking so much,” she explained later, “but the way the captain killed that poor fish, cut him up, and passed him around for everyone to sample—raw.”

  “It’s a delicacy.”

  “Not to me.”

  * * *

  —

  On Saturday, their last afternoon together, while Carla stood terrified on the beach, Philip went parasailing. With her eyes tightly shut, his glasses clenched in her hand, she waited until he was in the air before she chanced a look. Even then her heart hammered in her throat, and she struggled to beat down the fear that threatened to overcome her. Philip had to be crazy to allow his life to hang by a thin line. The only thing keeping him airborne was a motorboat and a cord that was attached from the boat to the parachute.

  Her fear was transmitted as an irrational form of anger. The worst part was that Carla realized she was reacting to her emotions again. She wanted Philip to behave like a normal, safe, and sane male. Who would have believed that a lanky guy who wore horn-rimmed glasses defied death every day of his life?

  Carla was exactly where Philip had left her when he returned. His glasses had made deep indentations in her fingers, and she didn’t need to be told she was deathly pale.

  Exhilarated, Philip ran to her side and took his glasses from her hand. “It was fantastic,” he said, wiping the seawater from his face with a towel and placing it in her beach bag.

  She gave him a poor imitation of a smile and lied. “It looked like fun.”

  “Then why do you resemble a Halloween ghost?”

  “It frightened me,” she admitted, and was grateful he didn’t mention that she looked as if she was going to throw up.

  “Carla, I was watching you from up there. You were more than frightened. You looked like a statue with your eyes closed and your teeth clenched, standing there terrified out of your wits.”

  “I thought you couldn’t see without your glasses,” she responded, only slightly interested.

  “My vision is affected only close up. I saw how terrified you were.”

  “I told you before, I’m a conservative person.” She didn’t enjoy being on the defensive.

  “You’re more conservative than a pin-striped suit,” he growled. “There’s nothing reckless in parasailing.”

  “And that’s your opinion.” Impatiently, she picked up her beach towel, stuffed it into her bag, and turned away.

  “The most daring thing you’ve done since we arrived is eat chicken in chocolate sauce,” Philip insisted, rushing up beside her.

  If he wanted to fight, she wasn’t going to back down. “What do you want from me, anyway?” she cried.

  He slapped his hands against his sides. “I don’t know. I guess I’d like for you to recognize that there’s more to life than self-actualization through checkers.”

  Her hand flew to her hip, and she glared at him with a fierceness that stole her breath. “You know, I really tried to be the good sport. Everything you’ve wanted to do, including risking my life in that…that ocean surf.” She waved her finger at the incoming tide. “Deep-sea fishing…everything. How can you say those things to me?”

  “For heaven’s sake, people come from all over the world to swim in this ocean. What makes it so dangerous for you?”

  Several moments passed before she’d gained enough control of her voice to speak. “The very first day we arrived, you warned me that the current was too strong for swimming.”

  “It was.” He pointed to a green flag beside the lifeguard station. “The flag was red.”

  “Oh.” Carla swallowed and forged ahead, weaving her way around the sunbathing beauties that dotted the beach. “Why didn’t you explain that at the time?” she demanded.

  Curious stares followed her as she ran up the concrete steps that led to the hotel’s outdoor restaurant. Not waiting for Philip, she pulled out a chair and sat down, purposely placing her beach bag on the empty chair beside her.

  Philip joined her, taking his short-sleeve shirt out of her bag and impatiently stuffing his arms into the sleeves.

  “And I suppose you’re going to make a big deal out of the fact I didn’t want to eat raw fish or dance on my hat,” Carla cried, incensed. “I’ll have you know—”

  Before she could finish, the waiter came for their order. To prove a point, Carla defiantly asked for the hotel special, a hollowed-out coconut filled with a frothy alcoholic concoction. Philip looked at her in surprise, then ordered a cup of coffee.

  “Carla,” he said after the waiter had left, “what are you doing? You’ll be under the table before you finish that drink. There must be sixteen ounces of booze in that coconut.”

  Gritting her teeth, Carla slowly shook her head. “Everything I do is wrong. There’s no satisfying you, is there? If you find me so dull and boring, why have you insisted we spend this week together?”

  “I don’t find you dull.” The paper straw he was fingering snapped in half.

  “Then…then why are you so angry with me? What have I done?”

  Philip ran a hand across his eyes. “Because I know what’s coming. We’re leaving in the morning, and when we arrive in Seattle it’s good-bye, Carla. With no regrets and no looking back.”

  “But we agreed—”

  “I know what we agreed,” he growled. “But I didn’t count on…Listen, Carla, I didn’t mean for any of this to come out this way. I think I’m falling in love with you.”

  Carla felt the air rush out of her. “Oh Philip, you can’t make a statement like that after only knowing me a week.”

  “Six days,” he corrected grimly, and stared at her. His annoyance was barely in check, even now, when he’d admitted his feelings. “I’m not all that versed in love,” he said stiffly. “Nicole was evidence of that. And if the truth be known, I thought for a long time afterward that there’d never be another woman I’d care about as much. But what I feel for you grows stronger every minute we’re together. We have something special, Carla, and your cautious, conservative fears are going to ruin it.”

  Philip stopped talking when the waiter approached with their drinks. Carla stared at her drink. Normally she didn’t drink during the day, but Philip’s accusations hurt. She took a tentative sip from the alcohol-filled coconut and winced. Philip was right; she was a fool to have ordered it.

  “I can see what’s going to happen,” he continued. “And I don’t like it.”

  Confusion raced through her. Philip was saying the very things she’d dreaded most—and that she most longed to hear. “Don’t you attribute this attraction to the lure of the forbidden?” She sought a sane argument. “You knew from the beginning how I feel about men in law enforcement…and maybe in the back of your mind you thought I would change.”

  “No,” he answered starkly. “Maybe the thought flitted through my mind at one time. But I felt that chemistry between us before you ever told me about your father.”

  “That soon? Philip, we’d only just met.”

  Her answer didn’t appear to please him. “Don’t you think I’ve told myself that a thousand times?”

  The silence stretched between them, tight and unbearable. Carla shifted and pushed her drink aside. Tonight was their last night, and it seemed like they were going to spend it fighting. She was more than half in love with him herself, but she couldn’t let Philip know that, especially since she had no intention of continuing to see him after they returned to Washington. What was the use? He wouldn’t change, and she couldn’t. There was no sense in dragging out the inevitable.

  “I think I’ll go up and get ready for tonight,” she said, struggling to keep her voice level.

  Philip didn’t try to stop her as she stood, reached for her beach bag, and walked away. Tears had filled her eyes by the time she reached her room. Pressing her index finger under her eye helped to stop the brimming emotion. Somehow, with a smile on her face, she’d make it through tonight and tomorrow. When the time came, she’d thank Philip for a marvelous week and kiss him good-bye. And mean it.

  A careful application of her cosmetics helped disguise the fact that she’d spent a good portion of the afternoon fighting back emotion. Carla thought she’d done a good job until Nancy came into the room to change, took one look at her friend, and declared: “You’ve been crying.”

  “Oh darn!” Carla raced to the bathroom mirror. “How’d you know?”

  “It was either the puffy red eyes or the extra makeup. Honestly, Carla, with a complexion like yours, you can’t help but tell.”

  “Great. Now what am I going to do?”

  Nancy inspected her closet, finally deciding on a pale-blue sleeveless dress with spaghetti straps. “The same thing I’ll probably end up doing. Smile and say how much you’re going to miss Mexico and how this has been the best vacation of your life.” She turned and laid the dress across the bed. “Now, that’s what you’re supposed to tell everyone else. What you say to me is the truth.”

  “Philip claims he’s falling in love with me,” she declared, and sniffled loudly. Fresh tears formed, and she grabbed a tissue and forced her head back to stare at the ceiling, hoping to discourage any new tear tracks from ruining her makeup.

  “And that makes you cry. I thought you really liked Philip.”

  “But there’s something I didn’t tell you. Philip’s in law enforcement. He’s a cop.” She didn’t need to say another word.

  “Good grief, Carla, how do you get yourself into these things?”

  “I don’t know,” she lamented, pressing the tissue under her eyes. “Philip was so open and honest about it when he didn’t have to be, and when he suggested that we enjoy this week I couldn’t turn him down. He’s wonderful. Everything about him is wonderful.”

  “Except that he’s a policeman.”

  “And he’s amazingly like my dad. It doesn’t matter where either one of them is, the badge is always on. Even when we were shopping, Philip stopped and broke up a potential fight. Worse, Philip’s been stabbed once because he was careless.”

  “Your dad was hurt not long ago, wasn’t he?” Nancy asked from her position on the end of the bed.

  “Once. He was chasing a suspect, fell, and broke his arm.”

  Nancy nodded. “I remember because you were so furious with him.”

  “And with good reason. Dad’s too old to be out there running after men twenty years younger than he is.”

  “Take my advice and don’t tell him that.” Nancy’s comment was punctuated with a soft laugh.

  Carla decided that Nancy knew her father better than most people did. “Don’t worry, Mom said it for me.”