Discovering Sophie

by Anderson, Cindy Roland

  By the time Sophie finally got her bath, Jack still hadn’t come back to the bungalow. He was probably still consoling Elaina. As Sophie sunk down in the warm water, she told herself it was better this way. She just needed to focus on her goal of finding her father. She believed Mario would be well enough for them to leave some time tomorrow. Once she found her father, she could figure out what she was going to do about Peter.

  Not Jack. Jack didn’t seem like the type of guy to make any commitments. She just needed to remember that the next time she saw him.

  * * *

  Outside their bungalow, Jack finished shaving, leaving his beard reduced to the shadow he liked to wear. He pulled on a clean shirt and glanced around to make sure Elaina hadn’t tracked him down yet. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could take her advances.

  While her boyfriend lay unconscious, Elaina had pulled him aside and giddily informed him she would be able to go with him to the fiesta tonight. Jack pointed out that Andre would probably like to have her there when he woke up. Elaina didn’t seem to care about that. By the time he’d finally given up trying to convince her otherwise, Sophie had disappeared with Hector.

  When Jack had returned to the hut, Sophie had been taking a bath. He and Hector had discussed the situation about Elaina and had both agreed in light of her past behavior, it would be best if Jack escorted Elaina and Hector took Sophie. He hoped Sophie would understand, and wanted to have the chance to tell her that in person.

  Kneeling down, he tied the laces on his boots, frustrated with the whole situation. Tonight would’ve been the perfect opportunity to talk to Sophie about her relationship with Peter. That discussion would definitely need to wait until they were gone from Por El Rio.

  Glancing at his watch, Jack stood and wondered how much longer Sophie would be, and if she had found the gift he’d left for her. Since he wouldn’t be taking her to the festivities tonight, Hector had suggested Jack should do something nice for Sophie and gave him the idea of buying her something pretty to wear to the party. So Jack had purchased an authentic Costa Rican dress for her as well as some simple sandals made by one of the natives. He knew most of the women would be dressed up tonight, and he didn’t want her to feel left out.

  Just as he was about to knock on the door to see if she was okay, Sophie emerged from the hut. Jack’s chest tightened as he admired the new dress on her. The bright, multicolored skirt was full and hung just above her ankles, showing off the delicate sandals. The simple white top had a round neck with tiny red, blue and yellow flowers embroidered at the neckline. A bright red sash, tied around her waist, completed the ensemble.

  When she noticed Jack watching her, a frown creased her brow. “Where’s Hector?”

  “He’s getting cleaned up.” He took a step toward her. “You look beautiful.”

  “Thanks.” She smiled and smoothed her hands down the soft material of her skirt. “I wanted to thank him for getting me the dress. It was sweet of him since I told him I was sick of wearing pants and T-shirts.”

  Now he knew where Hector had gotten the idea. “Uh, that’s what he told me, so I bought the dress for you.” He smiled at the incredulous look on her face. “I’m glad you like it.”

  “Oh.” Her dark eyes softened. “Thank you. You look nice too.” She looked him over, scrutinizing him a little closer. “I thought you said you were going to shave?”

  Jack ran a hand across his whiskers. “I did.” Maybe she didn’t like the bad-boy-Hollywood look he’d kept for the past couple of years. “You don’t like it?”

  She tilted her head. “Are you fishing for a compliment?”

  “Yes.”

  A giggle escaped. “Okay. You look extremely handsome.”

  “Extremely?”

  She pushed his arm. “Yes, Jack. Extremely. Now are we done with the flattery?”

  “Not if there’s more.”

  Hector came around the corner and whistled when he saw Sophie. “Muy bonita. Jack did well, ¿no?”

  “Yes—sí.” Her eyes flickered to Jack’s. “Jack did well.”

  Suddenly, the light in her eyes dimmed as she stared at something over Jack’s shoulder. He turned and saw Elaina walking toward him. He swallowed hard and knew he was in trouble. Elaina wore a similar dress to Sophie’s, only the top looked like it was a size too small and came off her shoulders.

  He averted his gaze to her face and hoped the heat crawling up his neck wasn’t visible. This was bad. Why couldn’t she have waited a few more minutes before showing up unannounced? He’d never had the chance to explain things to Sophie.

  A wicked smile parted Elaina’s red lips. She sidled up close to him and wrapped her fingers around his bicep. He didn’t dare look down, so he kept his gaze straight ahead.

  “Ready?” Elaina said in perfectly accented English.

  Sophie stood there staring at him, as if she couldn’t quite wrap her mind around what was happening. Hector was right beside her, his gaze transfixed on Elaina’s top. He snapped out of his trance when Sophie took a hold of his arm. “You two have a good night.” She yanked on Hector’s arm. “We’ll see you later.”

  Jack blew out a long breath, watching as Sophie practically had Hector jogging to keep up with her. His only hope at redemption was for Hector to explain why Jack was escorting Elaina.

  Not left with much of a choice, Jack and Elaina followed the same path as Sophie and Hector. Jack asked about Andre, but Elaina said he had still not awakened. He continued to ask Elaina questions about her and Andre until Elaina finally snapped at him, telling him she didn’t like Andre and had intended on breaking things off with him.

  It seemed awfully convenient that her boyfriend was laid up, leaving Elaina free for the night.

  By the time they reached the party, Jack’s headache was back. The first chance he got, he was going to leave. And, no matter what, he was going to have that talk with Sophie.

  It looked as if the entire village had turned out for the celebration. It was so crowded that Jack lost sight of Hector and Sophie. Elaina tried to get him to dance with her, but he adamantly shook his head and told her he needed to get something to eat. Despite how upset he felt, he was hungry, and the tantalizing aroma of slow-roasted pig made his mouth water.

  Elaina guided him to sit at her father’s table. Manuel sat next to a pretty woman Jack didn’t recognize. Since Manuel’s wife had passed away several years ago, he seemed to like playing the field rather than finding another woman to settle down with.

  “Mi amigo,” Manuel shouted over the noisy gathering and raised his glass up in acknowledgement of Jack.

  Jack smiled and sat down next to Elaina and tried his best to ignore how close she was to him. He scanned the crowded courtyard and found where Sophie was sitting. He wasn’t surprised she already held a small child on her lap. She was beautiful, laughing and playing with the little girl. Jack longed to be the one sitting next to her instead of Hector.

  Elaina pressed her body close, placing her hand on Jack’s thigh. The exotic scent of her perfume made his eyes water. Had she used the entire bottle? Schooling his emotions, he removed her hand. “Please pass the rice,” he asked, trying to distract her.

  “Sí, mi amor.” She reached for the steaming bowl, her arm brushing against his. Jack wished Manuel would do something about his daughter, but he was too enamored by the woman he was with to pay any attention to Elaina’s antics.

  Once again, Jack looked across the expanse to watch Sophie. More children had surrounded her and clamored for her attention. He loved the smile on her face as she interacted with the kids.

  As if she sensed him watching, her eyes lifted and their gazes connected. Even from this distance, she made his pulse leap, and he couldn’t look away. Her mouth curved up into an alluring smile, the angry look no longer marring her features. Hector must have done a very good job of explaining things.

  “Jack,” Elaina said, taking his face with her hand and turning him toward her. She held a pie
ce of fresh pineapple, dripping with sweet juice. Without giving him a chance to say no, she thrust the fruit between his lips. Elaina used her thumb to wipe away the excess juice around his mouth, then placed her thumb between her own lips, eyeing him seductively.

  Jack nearly choked on the piece of fruit and knew he needed to call it a night. They were leaving tomorrow, and he was tired of playing this game. Elaina picked up another piece of pineapple, ready to repeat the intimate gesture. Jack held up his hands to ward her off and reached for his Coke to chase down the fruit.

  His eyes automatically sought out Sophie again. The smile had completely vanished, her lips now tightly pressed together. Dropping her gaze, she turned away and touched Hector on the arm. Jack watched helplessly as Sophie handed the baby to the mother and walked away with Hector.

  Frustrated with the whole situation, Jack tried to come up with something that would allow him to leave while Elaina stayed at the party. When he was eleven he had faked a stomach ache so he could stay home from church to watch the World Cup final match. He had gone as far as making himself throw up so his parents would believe him. If it would get rid of Elaina, he wasn’t afraid to go there.

  Everyone at the table was saved from his plan when a group of girls came to get Elaina for a dance they would be performing as part of the program. Jack couldn’t believe it had been that easy. He stayed in his seat for at least two minutes, just to make sure Elaina really wasn’t coming back right away.

  In order to not offend Manuel, Jack stood up and held a hand to his gut. He apologized for having to leave such a wonderful party early, but something at dinner hadn’t agreed with his stomach. It was all true, just not the whole truth. Given the situation, Jack could now sympathize with Sophie and the reason she hadn’t corrected his assumption that she was a man in the first place. He would have to tell her, that is if she would even talk to him.

  Jack made his way toward Guadalupe’s hut. He knew he’d find Sophie there and hoped she wasn’t too mad at him.

  The Latin music faded with each step he took. As he approached the humble dwelling, he could hear Sophie humming. He peeked inside, finding her hunched over, changing Mario’s dressing.

  The boy’s grandmother smiled widely and waved him inside. “Entras, Señor Jack.”

  Sophie’s hands froze and she stopped humming. Her gaze flitted over to him, and he saw his coming here had surprised her. Jack started to smile but stopped when a flash of anger darkened her eyes.

  Shoot. He had a lot of groveling to do.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sophie wanted to ask why Jack was here and not back at the party with Elaina, but she was not in the mood to talk to him. Plus, she didn’t want to hear him try to justify his actions by saying he was protecting her. She knew flirting when she saw it.

  Turning back around, she tried her best to ignore him as she finished with Mario’s dressing. Jack crouched down next to her to talk to Mario. His voice was soft and Mario listened to each word with wide, alert eyes. With Jack so close, she caught the scent of his spicy deodorant. Despite being so mad at him, her body betrayed her and reacted to his nearness. She took a slow and steady breath, trying to decrease her racing pulse rate.

  “Sí,” Mario said to Jack as a grin spread across the little boy’s face.

  Jack patted the child on his head before rising up. The distance allowed Sophie to concentrate on her task. She was pleased with how well the wound and infection had responded to the medication. The child’s appetite had returned, and he was taking in adequate fluids for the IV to be removed after the next dose of antibiotics. Her supply of ampicillin was running low anyway, so it would be good for him to switch over to oral antibiotics. She had a limited supply of those as well, and she hoped she wouldn’t encounter anyone else who needed them as much as Mario had.

  Sophie stood up and cut a sideway glance at Jack. “Can you tell Mario I’ll remove his IV in the morning?”

  Jack relayed the message, and Mario grinned at the news. Guadalupe nodded her head, a pleased smile on her wrinkled face. She spoke, looking directly at Sophie. Jack translated for her, and the words of gratitude from the older woman warmed Sophie’s heart.

  With nothing more to do for Mario, Sophie wanted to check on Elaina’s boyfriend. Since she needed Jack to go along with her, she reluctantly met his blue eyes. “I’d like to check on Andre. If you’re not busy, would you mind coming with me?”

  He studied her for a few seconds before his mouth lifted up into a crooked grin. “I don’t mind, but we’ll have to be on the lookout for Elaina.”

  Sophie’s stomach curdled. “Sure.” She averted her gaze and hurried outside. Jack followed close behind her, and she whirled around, deciding she didn’t want his help after all. “I can find Hector to help me. That way you can go find Elaina and enjoy the rest of your evening.”

  Jack’s eyes sparked with amusement. “I told you we need to be on the lookout for Elaina so I can avoid her.” He grinned. “Right now Manuel thinks I had to leave early for…digestive problems. My symptoms came on suddenly when Elaina left the table to go perform a dance as part of the evening’s entertainment.”

  Comprehension of his words slowly disrupted the jealous thoughts she was fighting. “Oh.” She fumbled in her pocket for her lip gloss, trying to reconcile what he was saying with what she had witnessed—Elaina feeding him intimately. “That’s too bad you’re sick,” she said sarcastically. “From what I could see, it looked as if you were enjoying the food.”

  One of Jack’s brows lifted. “What you saw was Elaina attempting to woo me.”

  “Did it work?”

  “No, having someone shove food in my mouth just doesn’t do it for me.”

  She was so tempted to ask him what did work, but kept her mouth shut as she applied her daiquiri flavored gloss to her lips.

  A slow smile spread across his handsome face. “Aren’t you going to ask me what does work?”

  “Why would I?”

  He shrugged. “I just figured if you’re ever interested, you might want to know what I like.”

  “Thanks.” She rolled her eyes. “If I’m ever interested, I’ll be sure to ask you.”

  “Ouch.”

  Sophie laughed and realized Jack had managed to use his sense of humor to dispel her anger. She liked that about him.

  “I’m sorry about tonight,” he said softly. The sincerity in his voice drew her gaze to his eyes. “I didn’t want to be with Elaina.”

  Sophie wanted to believe him. Hector had given her the history of Elaina’s fatal-like attraction for Jack and told her that he’d only been trying to protect Sophie by escorting Elaina to the party. But a tiny part of her knew there were times when Jack had purposely flirted with the girl.

  She stared into his incredibly blue eyes, and the honesty she saw reflected in them made her give him the benefit of the doubt. “That’s what Hector told me.”

  “Hector’s a great guy,” Jack said with a smile. “With him as your date, I hope you at least had some fun tonight.”

  She thought about the pretty dress she still had on and how she had hoped the evening would go. “It was nice.” She sighed. “I really do wish I would’ve learned Spanish, though.”

  “Yeah,” he said dryly. “Our teenage rebellious moments do have a way of coming back and biting us in the butt, don’t they?”

  “I knew I should’ve never told you that story.”

  “I swear never to tell anybody else,” Jack said, holding up his fingers in the Boy Scout promise.

  She gave a light laugh. “Somehow I don’t believe you.”

  Jack feigned a wounded look as he flattened his palm against his chest. “That hurt.”

  “You are so annoying.”

  “So I’ve been told.”

  They both were smiling now, the feelings between them much more amicable. Jack nodded his head to his left. “We better go check on Andre before the party ends.”

  “Oh, that’s right,” she
said as they started walking in the right direction. “You’re trying to avoid your date.”

  “Very funny,” he muttered. “Since Mario is doing so much better, please tell me we can leave tomorrow.”

  “Yes. I believe we can.”

  The path narrowed, and their arms touched as they continued side by side. “Good. We have another three days to travel before we reach the village your father was last living in.”

  Her stomach clenched, and she felt guilty for not focusing on the reason she was here in the first place. Flirting with Jack wasn’t supposed to be a part of the plan.

  “I didn’t realize we were so close. I hope the information the university gave me was accurate. Peter seemed to think it wasn’t a good sign when the private investigator I hired couldn’t come up with anything else.”

  She felt Jack’s gaze on her, and she briefly glanced up at him. His eyes were filled with an emotion she couldn’t quite define.

  “I’ve been meaning to ask you something about Peter.”

  “Yes.” She halted when Jack stopped walking.

  “Are you planning on marrying him?”

  The tone of his voice was so intense, and it occurred to her that he might be…jealous? Warmth slipped over her, making her feel as if she had just immersed herself in a hot bubble bath. Still, she wasn’t sure how to answer him. “It’s complicated.”

  He looked away and then started to walk again. She took a few quick steps to catch up with him. “Peter asked me to marry him. I just haven’t been able to give him an answer.”

  “Can I ask why?” he said, glancing over at her again.

  Because I’ve never felt anything for him like I do when I’m around you. She let out a big breath. “Like I said, it’s complicated.”

  Jack was quiet, and Sophie wasn’t inclined to say anymore at the moment. Andre’s house was only a few feet ahead of them. The sounds of the fiesta were loud here, and the music playing had changed, sounding more like a Calypso band.