Proximity (3 page)

Closing her eyes, she felt the wind on her face, heard him whoop next to her, let the worries of daily life go, and laughed from anticipation of the adventure to come.

Chapter Two

A three-hour delay thanks to a thunderstorm, overcrowded flight, followed by a rickety bus ride to the middle of the jungle at midnight in yet another thunderstorm. Yep, definitely the start of a normal trip for the group of six.

Underlying all of that had been a growing sense of unease. He'd walked the aisles of the plane so much he'd been certain a US Marshall would pin him down for suspicious activity. His heartbeat had felt off, as if it beat too fast, and his palms were sweaty.

All I need is a vacation, that's it. Once I get to the resort, I'll relax. I simply need a change of pace, that's all. Perspective.

"I'm starving, think the resort will have something open at this time of night?" Derek grimaced as he peered out the window at the falling rain. "Wicked weather out there."

Bill squinted over Derek's shoulder. "Let's hope it clears up. It might affect our trip out to the dive site later."

"You mean tomorrow not later, right?" Savannah peeked over the top of her seat directly in front of him, her large brown eyes wide with concern "You promised we'd have a day to hang out."

He grinned, leaned his head back, and peered at her through half-closed eyes. "Don't worry, oh delicate flower, you'll get the massage you so desperately crave. I made you a reservation the other day. It's all set. Now you just need to get up in time."

He couldn't see the bottom of her face, but her eyes looked happy before she disappeared from sight.

"Tomorrow, though, right?" Derek followed up on her question, his dark eyes looking worn out from their endless travel.

"Yes, everyone, tomorrow we go to the dive site. Today is all about sleeping, getting our bearings, and meeting with the dive master later this afternoon. Jeez, I think you are all getting too old for this kind of thing," he said loud enough for the rest of the group to hear him.

Jon smacked him in the back of the head. "Watch who you're calling old, Billy Boy."

"Did I hit a nerve?" He laughed at his friend who was the oldest of the bunch. "Didn't mean to set you off, Grandpa."

"Where's your girlfriend, Billy Boy? Savannah thought she'd have a gal pal to hang out with this time around." Jon kicked the back of his seat and laughed. "Lose another one, huh?"

"Where's your wife, Jonny Baby?" He countered as he looked around his seat to look at the tall skinny man sitting behind him. "Why doesn't she ever come along? Anxious to get rid of you for a week or two, isn't she? I don't blame her."

"The secret to a good marriage—"

Everyone groaned in protest, but Jon kept talking.

"—Is respecting each other's space."

"So what's she up to while you're getting all this space?" Savannah's head popped into the aisle from where she leaned out of her seat, her long black hair covering one eye, and her smile as wicked as the day Bill had met her.

"We were talking about Bill's girlfriend ditching him, not my wife." Jon crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "But it must be a touchy subject since he's diverting the conversation to my wife's activities."

"Lexi wasn't officially my girlfriend and we ended things permanently before I left." He met Savannah's gaze and shrugged. "We had different ideas about life."

"It was me, wasn't it?" she whispered, her face suddenly full of apology. "Emily—"

"It had nothing to do with you." He closed his eyes and sighed. "Let's not talk about her anymore. It's a non-issue as far as I'm concerned."

"Playboy Bill is at it again...breaking hearts and shattering every gold digger's dream of landing the hottest tech guy in Dallas—Watch out Steve Jobs and move over Bill Gates because Bill Evans is—"

"Shut up, Stewart," he said without looking across the aisle to the source of the speech. Apparently, someone had read the Business Journal before boarding the plane. "I haven't slept in twenty-four hours—"

"Why didn't you sleep on the plane?" Savannah asked. "You were working, weren't you?"

"Why am I suddenly the center of attention?" He opened his eyes and saw Savannah scrutinizing him from her weird position in the bus aisle. "Look out the window or something. We're in Costa Rica. Enjoy the experience."

"It's the middle of the night and it's pouring rain outside." She arched an eyebrow and her crooked grin did strange things to his heart. "What time's my massage?"

He smiled reluctantly at her question. Despite what people in general thought about Savannah Willis, he knew how much she loved being pampered at a spa. "Noon. I knew you'd want time to get settled."

With a wide smile, she disappeared back into her seat, leaving him alone with the fidgeting Derek. Lexi's words had been gnawing at him the entire trip for reasons he didn't understand. It hadn't been the first time one of his girlfriends had voiced jealousy over his friendship with Savannah or annoyance with his connection with the dive group.

Okay, maybe they had a semblance of a point, he'd acknowledge that. Lately, he'd been spending more one-on-one time with Savannah—hanging out in her backyard by the fire pit enjoying a beer, having lunch every Sunday since her dad's stroke, and talking each night before going to sleep. So what if she was the last person he wanted to talk to at night and the first he wanted to text in the morning? That's what best friends did, right?

He blew out a long sigh and rubbed his fingers against his forehead.
I'm such a fucking liar and an even bigger fool.

He'd been in love with Savannah since their first dive trip together to Antigua years ago. But she'd made it clear that hooking up with him wouldn't ever be on her agenda—or becoming involved with anyone, for that matter. Everywhere they went, she hooked up with some random tourist or at least flirted outrageously with the locals. How many times had she looped her arms around him and called him her best bud?

Best bud
. He shook his head at the words he'd grown to dread. They'd become an invisible wall between them that clearly stated,
Hands off.

"What's up with you?" Derik asked. "You're muttering under your breath. Are you pissed off about something?"

He glanced at his friend before shaking his head 'no.'

Derek frowned and shifted so that his broad back covered the bus window. He nodded toward the seat in front of them where Savannah lounged. "Lexi had issues, didn't she?"

"It's not important."

"What time's
my
massage?" Derek raised an eyebrow.

"Your
what?
"

"Exactly." Derek smiled.

"It's not like that." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and wished he'd splurged on a private plane so they could have arrived earlier. The bus suddenly seemed claustrophobic.

"You need to get yourself together before the dive. This is one of our most complicated trips to date. It's like a maze under there. Maybe we should switch up our partnering if you need some distance."

Savannah peeked her head over the seat again, only her eyes were visible as she squinted at him. "Why do you need distance from me?"

"Oh, for the love of God, why do you insist on eavesdropping? It's your worst habit." He twirled his finger around hoping she'd get the hint to turn back around.

She kept staring through narrowed eyelids.

"Okay, yes," he practically yelled the admission so that the entire team could hear and stop talking about the issue once and for all. "Lexi was jealous of you," he said directly to Savannah's eyes before motioning to the others, "of all of you. It's not like I'd been picking out engagement rings, how about we all drop it now, okay? Like Derek said, we have a challenging week of diving ahead of us and I, for one, plan on having a good time. Stop gawking and asking questions like a bunch of old ladies with nothing better to do."

Jon whistled long and low before kicking the back of his seat. "Who died and made you our boss? I think we hit a nerve. Must have been one helluva fight."

Deciding not talk about it anymore, he closed his eyes and waited for them to shut-up before relaxing into his seat. Even though he couldn't see her, he knew that Savannah watched him from her perch.

He valued her friendship too much to tell her that all of his exes had been right. She'd run if she knew. He'd seen her delete, block and kick to the curb any man who tried to get too close.

"We're here," Derek announced after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence. "Thank God. I'm beat. I hope it doesn't take too long to check-in. Am I bunking with you, man?"

Bill nodded and reluctantly opened his eyes. Savannah had sunk back into her seat. He looked out the window at the lit entrance to the resort. Solar lights illuminated enough of the jungle to showcase bright flowers lining the circular drive and heavy beams holding a thatched roof to the main building. He'd fallen in love with this resort tucked in the jungle above the ocean. Unseen nocturnal creatures and other restless night sounds greeted them as they moved from the shuttle bus and into the reception area. Rain thudded persistently on the thatched roof above them and echoed through the wide space. For a normally raucous group, they all remained quiet as the manager took care of their details and bellmen arranged their luggage according to who went where.

Suspended walkways joined each tree house bungalow with the main resort. Key in hand, he followed Derek toward the room they'd share. With a look over his shoulder, he saw Savannah illuminated by the glow of swinging lanterns dangling from ropes strung between the trees as she walked to her private suite. Despite being on this trip with her friends, at that unguarded moment, she looked so alone that the force of it across the gap separating them caused him to stop mid-step.

As if sensing being observed, she froze and looked up. Their gaze connected through the rain.

He knew she'd struggled with coming along because she felt responsible for her father, especially after the stroke. His heart twisted with an emotion he couldn't identify when she continued to stare at him through the rain.

"This place is fucking amazing!" Derek shouted when their bellman had opened the door to their room. "I can't wait to get dry. I'm taking the bed closest to the door, Billy Boy."

Savannah broke the gaze first and quickly caught up to the man carrying her bag.

What the hell is wrong with me?
He shoved a restless hand through his hair and caught up to Derek.

He tipped the bellman before slamming the door shut. Without saying anything to his friend, he walked into bathroom and stripped from the damp and well-worn travel clothes. It took a moment for him to register that the shower was outdoors. Grinning at the realization that he wouldn't be escaping rain—or anything else—on this trip, he walked onto the enclosed balcony, turned the water on hot, and smiled as the warm shower water collided with the cool rain.

Closing his eyes, he wondered what Savannah would say about the logic involved in taking a shower under a rainy sky. His smile slipped when his imagination substituted her imagined words for a fantasy of her slipping behind him and pressing her naked body against his.

"I can't keep doing this to myself," he muttered. "Maybe Lexi was right. Maybe I need to give up the dive group and move on. This can't be healthy."

He turned off the shower, jumped back inside only slightly warmer than he'd been moments ago, and wrapped himself in one of the white robes provided by the hotel. He'd tell them all tomorrow that this would be his last trip. Maybe he'd leave Dallas, move his company to Silicon Valley, start over with new people and new surroundings. Perhaps the jokes about him acting like Savannah's lovesick puppy held more truth than he'd wanted to admit over the years.

Or maybe he'd set up shop in the Caribbean...where he'd be sure to run into them from time-to-time. He'd told Lexi that he'd always choose his friends...and he loved these people like his family...but he was tired of needing to pick sides. For what? Friendship? He wanted the whole sha-bang. He'd heard Savannah talk about "the whole sha-bang" with Alyssa in Belize. For a moment he'd hoped that meant she...well, he'd
hoped.

Once in the friend zone, always in the friend zone, right? Or he could make a move and risk losing the best friend he'd ever had. Or, option three, he could walk away while they were still friends and give himself a chance at being loved back by someone someday.

Damn it, I'm acting like the fool Lexi accused me of being. What is wrong with me? And why in the hell do I care what that nasty bitch said? The things she'd said about Savannah...
He gritted his teeth at the fresh surge of anger coursing through his veins.

Squeezing his eyes closed, he remembered what Derek had said about needing to get it together before the dive. They had a maze to conquer and he couldn't afford a distraction.

* * *

Savannah could sleep in the middle of a hurricane. Unlike some who jumped at every sound, once her head hit the pillow, sleep descended on her like a welcome escape. Of course, it helped that she remained in perpetual motion from sun up to sun down and didn't indulge in what-if scenarios that wasted precious time.