-

CHAPTER

10

IT WAS TERRIFIC TO SEE Alex again, but it was odd admitting his attraction to Alex to Robyn. Wasn’t there some kind of unspoken rule that they shouldn’t discuss their romantic lives?

“Our rides are this way.” Alex took off down the breezeway of the hotel to the front of the building. He followed alongside her to the drop-off area, which was a roundabout covered by an overhang. It provided shelter from the sun, but the air was intensely warm and dry.

Two open-roofed Jeeps were parked bumper-to-bumper, and two men wearing panama hats stood waiting next to them.

“Everyone, this is Jeff Webb.” Alex gestured toward the man standing by the second Jeep, and she swept back a wisp of her hair. He looked like he was around fifty and wore a wedding band. “He’s my site foreman.”

“Hey—” Matthew held out a hand to Jeff “—Matthew Connor.”

“Doctor Connor,” Alex corrected him with a smile.

It had been a long time since he’d been introduced with his formal title, and it felt surprisingly good.

“Nice to meet you.” Jeff had a firm grip, but his hands were sweaty and calloused.

“And this is Jasper Blair,” Alex said, introducing the other man. “He’s an expert at reading and deciphering hieroglyphics.”

Matthew shook Jasper’s hand, as well. He was easily in his fifties with leathery-looking skin and a face that hadn’t seen a razor in a while.

Matthew stepped back and turned toward Robyn and Cal. “These are my friends and colleagues, Robyn Garcia and Cal Myers. Robyn is a curator at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, and Cal is a world-renowned photographer.”

Jasper settled a skeptical gaze on Cal.

Matthew had the urge to defend his presence. “When we find what we’re after, and even for the journey, his work will document our expedition on film. With the exception of…you know.”

“Well, not film exactly. Digital file.” Cal lifted the camera that was dangling around his neck and snapped a photo of Jasper. The man grimaced. “I’d like to take a group photo.” Cal waved for them to squeeze in next to one another. Once everyone did, Cal said, “Smile.” He snapped the shot and lowered his camera.

Matthew put a hand on Cal’s shoulder. “As you can see, he’s got us covered.” Jasper was still looking at Cal cynically.

“The three of them were responsible for finding the Incas’ lost City of Gold.” Alex sang their praises in a manner that bespoke of mediation. “And I look forward to working with every one of them. As I told both of you—” Alex glanced at Jeff, then Jasper “—Matthew and I worked together on a dig here in Egypt years ago.”

“Have you been to Egypt before?” Jasper could have been asking the question of both Robyn and Cal, but his attention was on Cal.

“Nope. First time,” Cal responded.

“Same for me,” Robyn added.

Jasper didn’t take his eyes off Cal. “It’s a different world over here.”

“It’s a different country, anyhow.” Cal’s nonchalant demeanor gave no indication the man’s disdain was getting to him.

Jasper remained quiet but kept his eye on Cal.

Matthew wished he knew what Jasper’s problem was.

“Well, shall we get underway?” Alex’s voice was full of enthusiasm. “We’ll need to split up. Some of us will go with Jeff, and some with Jasper. I figured with your luggage, we’ll need the space.”

The two men got behind the wheels of their Jeeps.

Cal leaned in toward Matthew. “I’ll go with Jeff.”

Matthew looked at his friend. “I don’t blame you.” He chose to go with Jasper, though, and Alex tagged along while Robyn joined Cal and Jeff. They loaded their luggage into the two Jeeps, and then Matthew, Cal, and Robyn pulled out hats.

Matthew buckled up in the back seat behind Jasper so that he could easily talk with Alex, who was riding shotgun. In mere moments, the two Jeeps were pulling out single file, leaving the hotel in their rearview mirrors, along with the protection of the overhang.

The sun’s heat was relentless, and the movement of the vehicle and the hat on his head did little to compensate. It was as if Matthew had gone from a sauna to a convection oven. He ran a hand under the brim of his hat, and it came out soaked with sweat.

“Believe it or not, it’s better with the top off.” Alex was looking over a shoulder and must have noticed what he’d just done.

“I forgot just how hot it gets over here. Wow.” Sweat was running down his back in rivulets, and he almost questioned if wearing a hat was the wisest choice. Sure, it blocked out the sun, but it also kept the heat in.

Alex chuckled. “You’ll get used to it soon enough.”

“Or die trying,” Matthew quipped.

He looked around, taking in the scenery and noting how much things had changed in the last five years. Cairo was more built-up and commercialized, and though that was disheartening, it was to be expected. Tourists held certain standards when traveling, and Egypt wasn’t exempt from them.

Alex shifted toward the console, making it easier for them to carry on a conversation. “Reda’s coming by the camp around noon and will be joining us for lunch and then going out to the site with us.”

The Egyptian minister of antiquities had Egypt in his blood, and not just because he had been born in the country. He had been featured in most documentaries surrounding Egyptian pharaohs, tombs, and artifacts.

“He’s never going to retire, is he?” It was a definite observation, a rhetorical question they knew the answer to.

“Not of his own volition,” Alex answered anyhow. “But that’s a good thing. He’s an amazing man and brings a lot to this country.” Alex’s voice took on a note of pride when she mentioned this country. She obviously thought of Egypt as her own, despite being an American.

“Do you go back to the States often?” he asked.

Alex swept hair out of her face as Jasper made a right turn. “Not really. Technically, this is my second home, but I think of it as my first.”

It could have been her love for Egypt that had eventually spelled doom for her relationship with Shane, but he wasn’t going to bring that up. Instead, his mind wandered to one of his last interactions with Reda. It had him recoiling, and it didn’t go unnoticed.

“What is it?” Puzzlement toyed with the edges of her mouth.

“I don’t know if I should say anything.”

“Oh, this must be good.” She rubbed her hands together.

Images of the pottery vase slipping from his hands and hitting the ground were still so vivid after all these years. As was the scowl on Reda’s face. If only the man hadn’t made him so nervous. “It’s just one of the last times I worked with him, I might have…”

“What did you do, Matt?” she said with a laugh.

He loved hearing the abbreviation of his name coming from her lips. It rolled off her tongue as if she was talking to a longtime friend, one she’d never lost touch with.

“I might have dropped something,” he admitted.

“Oh no.” Her eyes widened. “What was it? Did it break?”

Matthew shook his head. “No, thank goodness. That’s probably the only reason I’m allowed back into the country.”

Alex laughed again, and Matthew appreciated the lighthearted ring to it.

“It was just a fluke that it didn’t break,” Matthew went on. “Reda laid into me about being more careful, but it was his fault that I dropped it in the first place.”

“Leave it to a guy to pass the blame.” She tsked.

“You know the man.” He wasn’t about to become apologetic. “He could make coffee nervous.”

She smiled. “He’s not that bad.”

“When it comes to cataloging, he’s meticulous in how he oversees everything.”

“And that’s one reason why I love him.”

“Love him?” The question slipped out and carried much more implication than he cared for.

Alex laughed. “Not love him, as in more than a friend. It’s a figure of speech. Don’t they have them up in Canada?”

“Yes, they do.” He could try to dig himself out, but had a feeling that would make things worse and more awkward than it already was. At least for him.

“I just meant that’s why I respect him,” she clarified further.

“I was wondering there for a moment,” he teased, attempting to wipe out the brief tinges of possessiveness he was feeling while, at the same time, trying to make sense of why they were even there at all.

Light danced across her eyes, and he wished he could read her mind. She turned away first.

Ahead of them were miles of road, but from here out, they’d see desert all around them. Just thinking that seemed to tick up the thermostat a few degrees.

Matthew took off his hat and ran a hand over his head. He was, again, instantly sorry that he had. But in the scope of things, a little sweat was a small sacrifice, given what lay ahead.

“So you made some progress with the dig?” He tried dancing around the matter, hoping that she’d make an exception and fill him in on their “exciting discoveries” now.

Alex gave him a sly, knowing look. “I’ll tell everyone at base camp.”

Matthew caught Jasper glancing at him in the rearview mirror. “You don’t like outsiders, do you?”

“Alex speaks very highly of you,” Jasper replied, skirting around Matthew’s allegation, yet by doing so, he confirmed its truth.

“Jasper’s a very private person,” Alex explained. “And leery of new people.”

“I think with a discovery of this magnitude, it should have been limited to a mere few of us.” Jasper’s voice was firm, and he looked over at Alex.

“As you’ve made clear many times.” There was the burden of conflict burrowed into Alex’s brow. Matthew would guess the two of them had had their share of heated arguments in the last couple of days.

“And we don’t really need another photographer. We have Seth.” Jasper was being relentless, and Alex was shaking her head.

“I know you like Seth, but he’s not a professional,” she countered.

“But he’s one of us.” Resentment coated every word, giving Matthew some insight into Jasper’s strong reaction to Cal.

“And now Cal is, too.” Alex clamped her jaw shut, and by doing so, she shut down the discussion.

They traveled for some time without anyone speaking a word, and Matthew wondered how Cal and Robyn were making out with Jeff in the other Jeep.