By the time they reached the hot pool where Adam wanted to swim Paige was tired again. He had acquainted her with more fumaroles, gushing springs and strangely formed mineral deposits than she had known existed. She had waited patiently for a geyser that never went off and thrown small sticks into another boiling mud pool, only to watch them sink forever out of sight.
Adam had spoken little, other than to give detailed speeches about each geological phenomenon. If Paige had spoken about anything, it would have been about the tension between them and what they should do about it. And since those weren't thoughts she could speak, she had remained silent.
Now she sank down to the ground and rested her chin on her knees. The hot pool poured steam into the morning air, where it condensed into visible droplets. The ground around the pool was scattered with wildflowers and ferns, and the pool itself was crystal clear and brilliantly blue. "Can we really swim here?" she asked doubtfully. "In New Orleans we boil crawfish in water that doesn't look any hotter than this." Adam favored her with an arrogant smile. "Shall I go first?"
"Would it be to your advantage to get rid of me?" He grunted, and she knew it was an answer she could interpret either way. "I guess I'll have to trust you," she said, sitting straighter. Crossing her arms, she pulled the sweater over her head.
Adam's mouth went dry as Paige began to unbutton her blouse. Rationally he knew she was probably wearing a bathing suit under her clothes, but some irrational part of him was still praying.
Paige stood and stripped off her pleated wool pants. It was strange to be standing in the cold air naked except for the sleek, French-cut bathing suit. She reached up to twist her hair into a knot, then laughed at herself. "Now that's a habit for you. I cut my hair almost a year ago, but I still forget sometimes."
Adam turned his gaze from the sight of her. For a moment he'd filled his eyes with the sumptuous curves of her breasts and hips, the tiny circle of her waist, the long, exquisite length of her legs. Now he forced himself to sound nonchalant when he felt anything but. "I can imagine you with long hair." And he could. Long, black pigtails framing dancing dark eyes.
Paige watched Adam undress. She was sure he swam in the pool often, and just as sure that when he did, he didn't bother with a suit. She wished she could be a bird in the cabbage tree beside her at one of those moments. Adam naked would be a study in masculine beauty.
He turned, and she made herself breathe. Adam in a swim-suit was a study in masculine beauty. The untanned portions of his body were the same creamy olive as hers. His shoulders were broader than she had realized, tapering down to a narrow waist and flat stomach. His cut-off jeans hung low over slender hips and taut, muscular thighs. His chest was finely matted with hair as silky as a butterfly's cocoon. She wished she could explore him with her hands.
She pulled herself back to reality. The only exploration she would do that day was of the thermals. "Well, who goes first?" she asked, suddenly cold.
Adam saw her shiver and wondered how much of it was the temperature and how much the tension. He held out his hand without weighing the consequences. He wanted her to be warm. He wanted to be warm. "I'll help you in. It's a shock at first."
Hesitantly she slipped her hand inside his.
Adam led her down to the water's edge and walked in as if the temperature was of no concern. Paige followed, but her lips clamped shut in painful surprise as the water covered her feet.
Adam felt her hand jerk, and he stopped, waiting for her to adjust. "You'll get used to it."
Paige inched in until the water came up to her knees. She resisted looking down to see if her body was still covered with skin.
"After the first jolt, the temperature seems more bearable." Adam lowered himself into the water so everything but his head was covered. He tugged lightly on her hand. "Coming?"
"This can't be healthy."
"On the contrary, your friend Armstrong is banking that this spring and others like it are healthy to the tune of millions of dollars of tourist business. He'll come in and pipe it into a concrete shell, chlorinate it and count his money."
"Who would pay to be boiled alive?"
Adam tugged again. With a sigh Paige shut her eyes and lowered herself into the water. Adam felt her hand tense in his. "Give it a minute, and if you don't like it, we'll go."
She waited, counting slowly to sixty, but by thirty, the water was beginning to feel more comfortable. By forty, she opened her eyes. "Am I getting used to it, or have all my nerves short-circuited?"
Adam wished his nerves would short-circuit. It would make it easier to be close to her. "A hot pool like this one figures in another Maori love story."
Paige could feel the heat penetrating her bones. "Is it as sad as the last one? Tears from the sky and agonized cries from the earth?"
"Do you like happy endings, kaihana?”
"I like them, I just don't believe them."
"I'll tell you this story, and you can decide whether to believe it or not. There's a spot at the edge just made for stories." Adam led her to a shallow, sandy shelf that sloped down to deeper water. He sat while she considered how to make herself comfortable. Before she could decide or he could think clearly, Adam spread his legs and pulled her to sit between them. He circled her with his arm, forcing her to lie back against him. His wrist brushed her breasts, and she could feel her nipples harden from the contact. For a moment she couldn't breathe.
"Comfortable?" he asked.
"Not at all."
Harsh laughter rumbled against her back. He began his story before he could begin something else. "In the middle of Lake Rotorua, there's an island, Mokoia Island, that figures in Arawa history. Did you see it when you were there?"
She knew better than to draw attention to her reaction. She forced herself to breathe. "I didn't see the lake except from a distance."
"I'll take you there someday, and we'll swim in a hot pool like this one. It's the one where Hinemoa and Tutanekai swam." His arms tightened until she was his prisoner.
"Tell me about them," she said, trying to relax.
"Tutanekai was the stepson of Whakaue, and he had three elder brothers who resented him because Tutanekai was illegitimate—"
"Haven't you left something out?"
He backtracked. She had turned her head, and her cheek was warm satin against his chest. "Tutanekai's mother fell in love with another man while her husband was away from home. But being an understanding, gracious sort, he accepted the child of that union when he returned."
She managed to stop herself from snuggling closer. "Are all Maori men that understanding?"
"I wouldn't attempt to find out." His mouth skimmed her hair in a kiss she couldn't feel. "Tutanekai grew up on Mokoia Island, a handsome, strong young man, skilled in every way. At the same time, at Owhata across the lake, there was a beautiful young maiden named Hinemoa, the daughter of a very influential chief. Because of her high rank, Hinemoa was made a puhi, which means she was declared tapu. She couldn't sleep with any man nor choose her own husband as most women were allowed to do. She had to let her hapu choose a husband for her. When she reached maturity, many young men came to ask for Hinemoa's hand, including all the elder brothers of Tutanekai. But her father refused them all."
"So she was destined to live a virgin?"
"Not so. Our people have always gathered for meetings. In those days, we did the same. Hinemoa saw Tutanekai at one of those meetings and fell in love. Tutanekai fell just as hard. Because of Tutanekai's lowly birth, they couldn't even speak to each other, but each time they met they conveyed their feelings with their eyes."
Paige stirred in his arms.
He held her tighter. "Tutanekai was so unhappy about this state of affairs that every night he would sit with his good friend Tiki on the beach of Mokoia Island and play sad music on his flute. All the way across the water Hinemoa would hear him, and sadness would fill her, too."
"A flute like yours?"
"I copied mine from one in the Auckland Museum that's said to have been Tutanekai's."
Paige remembered the sad melody Adam had played for her, and she knew how Hinemoa must have felt. "Go on."
"After many nights of this, Hinemoa knew she could never marry anyone except Tutanekai. Her people began to suspect as much, and, worried that she might try to go to Tutanekai, they began to pull their canoes well up onto the beach at dusk to keep Hinemoa at home. Finally, it was more than Hinemoa could bear. She decided that if she couldn't use a canoe to reach Tutanekai, she would swim. The next night she told her people she was going to the whare tapere, which was the place where games were played and dances performed, but instead she went to the cooking house, where she stole six calabashes."
"Calabashes?"
"Hollow gourds used for storage, or transporting drinking water. Hinemoa fashioned them into primitive water wings, took off her clothes, slipped into the water and began to swim the mile to Mokoia Island." Adam brushed Paige's hair with his lips again. "Shall I tell you the rest of the story?"
"Umm... Please."
His hands slowly traveled down to her hips and rested there. "After a very long, tiring swim, she made it, guided all the while by Tutanekai's music. When she climbed up on the beach, however, she was alone and very cold, so she headed right for the warm bathing pool called Waikimihia, which was just below Tutanekai's house, to rest. After she had warmed up, she realized she was in a bit of a predicament because her clothes were on the beach at Owhata, and she was beginning to feel shy."
"A fine time to think of that."
His fingers fanned out to caress the firm flesh of her thighs. "Shall I go on?"
Paige felt her pulse begin to speed. Her oxygen supply had stopped at the touch of his roving hands. "Please," she said in a breathy voice.
"About that time, Tutanekai began to get thirsty, and he sent his slave down to the lake for water. When Hinemoa heard someone passing, she called out and asked in a gruff voice who the water was for. The slave replied it was for Tutanekai, and Hinemoa, secluded from his sight, reached out, grabbed the calabash and broke it. The slave went back inside and reported what had happened, and Tutanekai sent him back to the lake with another calabash. The same thing happened again. This time when the slave returned to tell Tutanekai, Tutanekai was furious, so, grabbing his best feathered cloak and a weapon made of greenstone, he marched down to the pool to fight the stranger who dared to break his calabashes."
Paige covered Adam's hands with hers, halting their progress. "It's a good thing she brought her own along to replace them."
"I don't think Tutanekai was too worried about his calabashes, kaihana. When he arrived at the pool he issued a challenge, but there was no answer. Hinemoa had moved to a spot where a small overhanging rock gave her cover. Tutanekai felt along the edge of the pool until he reached the place. Catching her by the hair, he pulled her clear and shouted, 'Who are you? Who dares to annoy me?' She answered, 'It is I, Hinemoa, who has come to you.' Tutanekai lifted her from the water, and I'm sure he thought he had never seen anything so beautiful. Then he covered her with his cloak and led her to his house, where he took her to his bed, and thus they were married."
Paige had a sudden longing for the good old days. "It was that simple?"
"The next day her family, suspecting what had happened, came to the island, but because Hinemoa had shown so much courage, they couldn't be angry with her. There was feasting and rejoicing, and a lasting peace was made between the two families."
"A much happier ending than Shakespeare would have given it."
"Tutanekai and Hinemoa lived on Mokoia Island for some years, but later they moved to the summit of Tihi o Tonga. It's said that Tutanekai was the chief who had steps carved in the face of the cliff there, leading to the cave where Horo-i-rangi was kept."
Paige turned so she could see his face. "Did Tutanekai have anything to do with the Horo-i-rangi you're looking for?"
"I don't know. The story is too obscure."
"It would make sense, wouldn't it, that a man as much in love as Tutanekai would see fertility and the life force in a carved stone goddess?"
"It would." Adam reluctantly lifted his hands from her legs and brushed her hair back from her face, framing it with his palms. "Did you like the story?"
She had found the story strangely touching, especially hearing it with Adam's arms around her. "I'm glad you told me."
"And the happy ending?"
"Reserved for legends."
Adam wanted to kiss away her cynicism. Instead his hands moved to her shoulders, and he lifted her so that he could move away. If he held her for one more moment, he might never let her go.
He struck out for the middle of the pool. Paige watched him until he turned and waited; then she followed. The pool wasn't large, but by the time she joined him, she was tired. The heat of the water after the long hike made her feel boneless and good for nothing.
"Feel the difference in the temperature." Adam stood straight, his head barely above water. He stretched out a hand to help hold her up.
"It's cooler here. Why?"
"We're farther from the spring itself."
Paige lay back in the water and closed her eyes, half-floating. A warm feeling of well-being overlay the awareness he had kindled. "You must come here often."
"Not as often as I'd like. I don't have the time."
Paige thought about Adam's words. She hadn't given much thought to the time he was taking out of his schedule to guide her. He was a man with a large farm and a small son, and both needed his full attention. She wondered if she was so used to getting what she wanted that she just assumed others should be at her beck and call. An apology seemed in order. She moved a little closer.
"You know, I've taken up more of your time since I came here than I have a right to. I'm sure you must have a hundred other things you should be doing right now."
"Two hundred. But none more important than this."
"Someone else could have taken me through."
"I wanted you to see the thermals with me."
She knew he meant because he could give her the most comprehensive tour, but she liked the way the words had sounded, anyway. "I wanted to see them with you, too," she admitted.
"You hid that fact well."
"You made me angry."
"It might have been safer if you'd stayed that way."
She straightened, no longer relaxed. Without a word she swam to a shallower spot.
Adam joined her. "And now I've made you angry again."
"Do we need anger to keep our distance from each other? We're not children. You've made it clear you want our relationship to be purely business. I'm happy to oblige."
Adam straightened, too. "Are you happy?" he asked, one lifted brow signaling his distrust. "I shouldn't have thought so, but then, maybe I misread what happens to you when I touch you."
For a moment Paige's usual candor deserted her. She wanted to tell him that he had misread her, but Adam wasn't a man to be lied to. She made herself meet his gaze squarely. "I respond to you. But you're not the first man I've responded to, and you won't be the last. I've seen too much to think the world revolves around the chemistry between a man and a woman."
Adam knew he should applaud, but he had never felt less in the mood. Instead he felt anger at the men who were responsible for making her belittle the potent attraction between them. Somewhere she had learned to expect nothing from any man except a fleeting physical release. He wanted to prove to her that more was possible, even if he knew it was wrong to try.
"Not a very romantic sentiment for a woman who likes happily-ever-after’s," he said at last, schooling himself to sound calm.
"Romance?" She forced a laugh. "My husband bled it out of me, one drop at a time."
"And what replaced it?" He moved a step closer.
"Good sense." Paige stood perfectly still, but her heart beat faster.
"Sheila bled me dry. Apparently, I wasn't as lucky as you were."
"What do you mean?"
"No one transfused me with good sense." He took another step.
"Then we're lucky I've acquired enough for both of us."
He shook his head as he moved closer still. "I'm beginning to think there isn't enough good sense in the world to keep us apart."
"Adam, no."
"No, what? No, there isn't enough good sense? No, you don't want this?"
"Maybe I should remind you of yesterday's lecture. You don't want me remember?" She stood her ground, but it took all her strength to do so. She wanted to retreat from the new feral gleam in his eye and the pounding of her own heart.
"I'm beginning to think what I want isn't the issue." He reached for her, splashing water around her shoulders as he did. "I'm beginning to think we have no choice." His arms entwined around her back, but instead of the kiss she had expected, he just pulled her through the water until she was leaning against him. He held her as if he wasn't sure whether to shake her or kiss her.
If Adam had kissed her, Paige would have resisted. But his restraint was enough to catch her off guard. His body was as tense as hers, and she knew he was fighting himself. Still he held her as if she were fragile glass. Fragile glass about to shatter. "I never know what you'll do next," she said, her words strangely like a groan.
"You're a woman of the world. Can't you guess?"
"Not with you. You might stand here holding me like a brother forever."
He pulled her closer and ground his hips against hers. "Do I feel like a brother, kaihana?"
"You don't feel like a cousin, either." Paige lifted her face to his. "You feel like a man who wants a woman."
"And do all the men you respond to feel this way?"
"It's possible I exaggerated the number."
His lips curved slowly in a dark, secret smile. "And will you be thinking of any of them when I kiss you?"
"I imagine that when you kiss me, I won't be thinking at all."
"Both of us had better be thinking, or it won't stop at a kiss." Adam bent his head and took her mouth with his, not gently, as he had kissed her on the porch, but with the passion that had built slowly in him since that moment. The battle he had fought only heightened what he was feeling now. He filled his senses with the essence of her, the full, sweet flavor of her mouth, the sleek warmth of her body, the subtle spicy fragrance that was as much a part of her as the blood coursing through her veins. His hands learned her ripe curves, and the rest of his body learned the pain of denial.
Paige leaned into Adam, her lips parting under the insistent pressure of his. She wanted to suppress her response, just as she suppressed the expression of all her feelings, but Adam made that impossible. In seconds he broke through defenses it had taken her a lifetime to perfect. As the kiss deepened, she let herself move against him, learning his strength and his warmth by degrees until her arms were clasped around his waist and her body was bonded to his.
Only then did he end the kiss. He pulled her head to his shoulder and tightened his arms around her. "The world may not revolve around us, kaihana, but our own worlds are spinning out of control."
She heard his battle for control. She tried to pretend the kiss had been less than it had. "We both know how little this meant. We're diversions for each other, nothing more."
Adam heard her words. At the same time he felt her arms tighten spasmodically around him. They mocked her denial and proclaimed her need. "Not diversions," he reassured her. "And not substitutes."
"What, then?" She forced herself to unwrap her arms and push him away.
"Something that has no name." He waited until she was almost out of reach, then easily pulled her back to him. This time his fingers tightened on her shoulders to hold her still. Her mouth eluded his for only a moment; then she was locked in his embrace again. In another moment, she was embracing him.
Desire ran through her in hot, shuddering waves, and she felt the full strength of Adam's answering desire as she pressed against him. She knew in that moment how much she wanted him and how wrong it would be to have what she wanted. He could hurt her, and, just as surely, she could hurt him. They were not diversions, not substitutes.
"Something that has no name?" She moaned the words as he lifted her and trailed kissed down her neck to the soft flesh about her bathing suit. "Adam, the name is tormentors." Her knees gave way as he nudged aside the strap of her suit. "Haven't both of us had enough torment not to want more?"
And because he knew that, in the end, that was exactly what they would bring each other, he stilled, his fingers biting into her waist for control. He was suddenly cold, as if the water had been transformed into an icy spring. His cheek fell against her chest, and he listened to the speeding rhythm of her heart. Her skin was wet satin, and for just a moment he let himself mourn what would never be.
Paige anchored her fingers in his hair as his fingers loosened and he let her slide fully back into the water. Her hand was unsteady, and although he had managed to wipe all traces of expression off his face, somehow she was unable to do the same. Her eyes shone with vulnerability, and Adam knew that for the rest of his life, he would remember the way they searched his face.
Little by little she regained control, covering what she felt. Finally she stepped away. "I've used up enough of your day. We'd better be getting back."
He knew that would be best, but as she turned to head to shore, he grabbed her hand and held her still. "I would never willingly bring you torment, kaihana."
"What would you bring me, then?" she asked softly. When he didn't—or couldn't—answer, she pulled her hand from his and left the water.
Paige and Adam tried to avoid touching each other for the rest of the morning. What conversation they made was strained and polite, as if they had never progressed beyond being strangers.
Although the areas of the thermals Adam had initially shown her had been filled with interesting phenomena, there had been natural pathways leading to them. Adam had explained that these were the areas local people visited, and, with a knowledgeable guide, they were safe enough.
There were other areas, however, vast uncharted territory where few ventured, only those who, like Adam, knew and respected the land's idiosyncrasies. Here there were no paths. The land was as treacherous as a quicksand-filled swamp, its dangers hidden by the thin shells of rocks, the seeming innocence of glistening silent pools. Adam understood that the rocks would give way to roiling cauldrons and the silent pools could spurt boiling water from hidden fissures. He warned Paige as they explored.
Adam guided her through one such area, coaching her on where to place her feet, where not to touch. Paige had believed his warnings, but as they walked along a steaming cliff stratified with all the colors of the earth, she developed a profound respect for his knowledge.
"I was in Hawaii when Hurricane Eve struck," she said, hesitantly accepting his hand as they crossed a narrow ledge leading to an innocent grassy plain. "I thought I'd discovered all I needed to know about Mother Nature's fury."
"There's always something to learn." Adam dropped Paige's hand, then leapt a narrow crevice. Turning, he held out his arms to her. "Don't look down. I'll catch you."
Without thinking, she leapt. She felt his arms tighten around her momentarily. Then he moved away. If he'd felt anything at all, he didn't show it. "Do you know where we are?" he asked.
She shook her head.
"We're on the other side. After a short walk we'll be on my pasture land."
Disappointment that their morning together had ended filled her. Hiding it, she spun slowly, as if trying to get her bearings. "I'm thoroughly turned around."
Adam continued in the lecture mode he had been using since their swim. "We circled several times. Loosely, the thermals are bottle-shaped. If the bottle lay on the ground, your house would be at the lower middle. My land is on the upper top. One of the easiest ways for either of us to enter is at the bottleneck, on either side of the Valley of Regrets."
"How much did I see?"
"About three big sips."
"I've seen a blowup of the area. The thermals didn't seem that big."
"If you could cover them by auto or even in a logical progression on foot, they wouldn't seem so large. But we had to backtrack constantly. We were actually near your house when we swam."
She hadn't realized. "How long will it take me to see the rest?"
"Another day or two to see even the highlights."
"Where do you search for the mauri?"
"We didn't see that area today."
"When will we?"
He was no longer the lecturer. One eyebrow lifted, as if the cynical Adam had reasserted himself. "How wise will it be to spend that time together?"
She tossed her head. "We'll manage. Neither of us lacks self-control. We proved that today."
"Is that what we proved?"
"I want to help you look for the mauri. I hope you're not going to go back on your word."
"Never."
"Good, then I'll wait to hear from you."
He smiled his most taunting smile. "Are you saying goodbye for the day?"
She became aware that she was far from home, and the way back was through the thermals. "I'm at your mercy, aren't I?"
"What a pleasure that would be." His smile warmed for a moment, then disappeared. "Granny's expecting us for tea. Then I'll drive you home."
"Aren't you tired of feeding me?"
Adam turned and started through the field. He was tired of nothing about her, but telling her wouldn't change a thing. "Don't fish for compliments. Just come home with me and have tea."
And because she had no choice, she followed.
In minutes Four Hill Farm spread out before them. By the time they reached the pasture nearest the house, Paige was exhausted. Since they were just in time to see two of Adam's workers transfer a mob of sheep from that pasture to another, she rested, leaning on the wooden fence to watch the remarkable maneuverings of two dogs who looked like Cornwall. Adam observed with her.
"It's a pretty sight, isn't it?" Paige asked as she watched the dogs and men work the sheep, entranced. "Those dogs have more sense than half the people I know."
Adam was surprised by her obvious enjoyment of a spectacle he never tired of himself. "Those dogs have more sense than one of the men working them." He whistled sharply after the dogs had succeeded in moving the sheep in the right direction. One of the men turned, and Adam beckoned.
"Be glad you don't speak Maori," he said as the young man walked toward them.
Paige turned to him, puzzled, but she understood immediately when Adam began a harangue that would have been unmistakable in any language.
She compared the two men as the volume of their conversation increased. The younger man was dark-haired, like Adam, but he was stockier and smiled easily. His eyes were the same midnight hue, but even when he smiled, they were lit with rebellion.
The argument ceased abruptly, although Paige would have bet that neither man was satisfied. There was a short silence before Adam spoke in English. "Paige Duvall, I'd like to introduce my cousin, Pat Tomoana."
She held out her hand politely, but Pat smiled and shook his head, wiping his hands on his trousers. "You don't want to shake," he protested boyishly. "I smell like an old leg of mutton."
"Does Granny know you're back?" Adam asked.
"I stopped by and saw her this morning before I came up here."
"And Hira?"
"She's forgiven me. You should do the same, cousin."
"And if someday I don't?"
Pat shrugged. "We're family."
"Don't count on the old ways to protect you forever."
Pat seemed to be struggling to look remorseful. "I won't do it again."
"And don't count on me believing that." Adam pushed himself away from the fence. "Ready, Paige?"
She smiled her goodbye to Pat, then followed Adam down the hill toward his house. "I think I'd do just about anything not to be on the other end of one of your lectures," she commented. From the corner of her eye she could see the muscle in Adam's clenched jaw still jumping in anger.
"He was lucky it was only a lecture."
"Hira was the singer at the hangi, wasn't she?"
"My niece."
Paige put together what she knew and what she'd heard. This was obviously a family drama, and not just the first act. Families fascinated her. She had never had enough of her own to understand what made them fight or stay together. She had grown up watching other people's from afar and wondering.
"You stick by our own, don't you?" Paige wasn't prepared for the strange look Adam gave her. The question had been rhetorical.
Adam's answer—if he had planned to make one—was interrupted by a high-pitched shout from the yard behind the house. Paige watched as Jeremy barreled across the ground at top speed to throw himself into his father's arms. She had a sudden, perverse inclination to hug the child herself. Dressed in dark overalls and a plaid shirt, Jeremy was the same sturdy male cherub she had met on her front porch. With his face aglow with love for his father, he stirred maternal feelings she hadn't even known she'd had.
Wrapped in his devotion for his son, Adam stirred feelings in her, too. She liked seeing him this way: relaxed, careless about showing love, proud of the little boy in his arms. She felt a bond, as if something was right about their being together. It was different from the strong physical attraction she felt, but just as overwhelming. And possibly more dangerous.
"Say hello to Miss Duvall, Jeremy," Adam prompted after Jeremy had settled down.
Jeremy obeyed with a one-syllable hello.
Paige murmured her response without quite looking at him, watching out of the corner of her eye, as she waited for him to move as far away from her as his father's arms would allow. Instead she saw that Jeremy was watching her inquisitively. Faced with the chance to begin establishing a relationship with the little boy, she was at a loss for what to do.
Just as she was sure she ought to say something, anything, to break the silence, a bell rang from the direction of the house. "We're here just in time," Adam said. He set Jeremy on the ground. "Run ahead and tell Granny we're coming."
Jeremy said something in Maori, and Adam smiled. "Yes, she's going to eat with us. But I promise she won't eat you."
Paige peeked at the little boy just in time to see a fleeting smile cross his face. His eyes held hers for just a second before he scurried down the rest of the hill. "Did he smile at me?" she asked when Jeremy was out of earshot.
Adam glanced at her curiously. "Would you have noticed?"
"I like children. I just don't know what to do with them."
"Much the way you feel about dogs?"
"Much the way I feel about you," she added dryly. "I like you, Adam, but damned if I know what to do with you."
"Or about me."
She nodded. "Or about you." She stopped at the feel of his hand on her arm. Each separate finger seemed to mark her skin.
"We'll swim together again."
"No, I—"
"We'll swim together again," he repeated. "We'll protest what's happening between us and swear we're stronger than it is. And then, finally, we'll realize we aren't stronger at all. And when that day comes, kaihana, you'll know what to do with me, and I with you."