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CHAPTER

8

THE NEXT MORNING, Matthew was pacing the VIP lounge at Pearson International Airport, thinking about last night and feeling completely responsible. What a disaster! If it hadn’t been for him, Cal and Sophie wouldn’t have had a big fight, and he wouldn’t have been on the receiving end of Sophie’s hard-ass glare. She may come in a small package, but she could hold her own.

He half expected Cal to change his mind, but on the other hand, Cal could be just as every bit hotheaded and stubborn as Sophie.

He dropped into a chair and let out a deep breath. Pacing wouldn’t get his friends there any faster. Not that they needed to be there right that instant. Blue Skies already had their information for the flight manifest.

He caught sight of Cal and stood up. He waved, and Cal came over.

“How are you?” Matthew cursed himself instantly. What a stupid thing to ask. There was no way the guy could be good.

“I’m here, and I’m doing this.” Resolve soaked Cal’s tone, but it was sapped of enthusiasm.

“I’m sorry I even asked you to come along.”

Cal shook his head. “Don’t be. The topic was bound to come up at some point.”

“And you and Sophie?” Matthew broached the subject directly, figuring he’d already ventured this far.

Cal dropped the bag he’d been holding to the floor. He was also wearing a backpack. “We’ll be fine. Eventually.”

Matthew felt his chest expand for a breath, but it wasn’t a full one. Eventually didn’t sound too promising.

“We made relative peace before I left, but I don’t know…” Cal shook his head. “If she can’t accept me for who I am…”

Matthew didn’t know what to say. What advice could he possibly have to offer about relationships? Cal was looking at him like he expected him to say something. Maybe if he just approached it from a more detached standpoint, leaving out reassurances…

“Sophie’s always accepted you,” he said.

Cal’s shoulders stiffened. “So you’re on her side?”

Matthew held up his hands. “I’m not taking sides.”

“Well, she’s told me many times that as long as I’m happy, she’s happy. But whenever an expedition comes up, I watch the light fade from her eyes. It’s been that way since I started going on them.” Cal clenched his jaw briefly and then let it relax. “I know it’s not the safest thing for me to be doing, but that’s why I love it. Does that make sense to you?”

“Ah—”

“Wait a minute, look who I’m asking.” Cal laughed.

“Yeah, you should have known better.” Matthew was smiling, and he looked past Cal to see Robyn coming toward them.

“Hey, losers,” Robyn called out, grinning.

The greeting was uncharacteristic for Robyn, but the playful nature at the outset of an expedition was not—at least when they weren’t being coerced.

Robyn’s enthusiasm dimmed when she reached them, and she put a hand on Cal’s shoulder. Cal and Robyn made eye contact, and Matthew picked up on their silent conversation. He figured it was something along the lines of her being sorry for how things went with Cal and Sophie.

Robyn pulled her hand back from Cal and adjusted a strap from her backpack. She’d also come armed with a wheeled hardside suitcase.

“You know what she told me?” Cal looked up at the ceiling and shook his head. “Sophie said that if I die over there, she’ll just leave my body there because I made the choice to go. She’s not even going to bury me. Yeah, she went so far as to add that. Can you believe it? This from the woman I’m going to marry.”

A wave of nausea rolled over Matthew at the pain in Cal’s eyes.

“Well, maybe the time away will do you both good, give you both perspective to realize how much you love each other.” Robyn’s voice was as delicate as a flower petal.

“I can only hope.” Cal paused. “She gets so worked up sometimes that she shoots me these glares that remind me of Medusa. I fear turning to stone.”

Matthew wasn’t going to correct Cal’s recounting of the Greek myth. It was technically just looking upon Medusa’s face that did the trick.

“And here we are this morning, saying goodbye and pretending for the moment that everything between us is okay.” Heartache spilled into Cal’s voice, and he cleared his throat. “We’re all about not going to bed mad at each other or going our separate ways without kissing goodbye. But this morning…” He deflected and pointed at Robyn. “She’s mad at you, too, you know.”

“Me? Why?” Robyn shot Matthew a look as if to imply that if Sophie should be mad at anyone else, it should be him.

Matthew narrowed his eyes at her. “Gee, thanks,” he muttered.

Cal glanced at Matthew, then back to Robyn. “You broke your date with… Oh, I can’t remember his name right now. But she set you up. You promised her you would follow through with it.”

“Yes, and I told her I’d go out with him when I got back.” Robyn avoided eye contact with Matthew despite his staring her down, which only amplified his curiosity.

“Who’s this guy?” he asked.

“Someone Sophie works with,” Cal answered. “She thinks that he and Robyn will hit it off.”

Giving real thought to Robyn dating drilled an ache into Matthew’s heart. But thinking Robyn would hit it off with someone other than him hurt even more.

Robyn was shaking her head. “Who likes blind dates anyway? It was nice of me to agree to go in the first place.”

“It’s not the date so much as the fact that you broke your word because of…” Cal didn’t need to finish. It was because of the expedition.

Robyn’s face fell, and she swept a hand through her hair. “I’ll message her from the plane.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t do that,” Cal cautioned. “I think putting space between you and her might not be a bad idea.”

“Well, this isn’t personal.” Robyn tilted her chin upward. “And she knows what all of us do by this point. I am incredibly sorry for all she went through in the past due to our explorations, but we make a difference by doing it.” She was putting up a tough front, but sadness crept into her eyes.

Matthew wanted to comfort her, but it wasn’t his place. Not anymore. That was a job for whomever she was dating. And as much as it wounded him that Robyn was dating at all, he had to expect it. She was beautiful and intelligent. He was just grateful he had her in his life.

“Okay, let’s get outta here,” Matthew said enthusiastically, corralling his friends for what promised to be not only the adventure of a lifetime but a means of saving the world.