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“Want to see my elephant?” He grabbed Elise’s hand.
“Absolutely.”
She walked away with Jamal, toward his depiction of the jungle. Okay, so Jamal had a wild imagination.
But Kemar, outside the orphanage?
It didn’t feel made up.
Doyle walked out of the chapel, passing a few of the other guests, then stood in the courtyard, scanning for Kemar.
His gaze landed on Tia. She stood holding a cup of rum punch, listening, nodding, something sparking in her beautiful eyes.
Oh, for Pete’s sake. Eyes. Just eyes.
But she seemed mesmerized by the conversation. Or maybe just by the man.
Doyle didn’t know him. Blond, tall, built. A Hemsworth-style guy with round glasses, wearing a suitcoat and jeans, loafers.
And then she laughed, and a spear went through him.
C’mon, Doyle.
He turned away, not caring.
Not caring at all.
This night had all the earmarks of success.Unless...He turned away and headed up to the boys’ dorm, a fist in his gut.
* * *
This was not some sort of competition. So what that Doyle had hugged some beautiful, tanned—and had Tia mentioned beautiful?—donor with long blondish hair and reddish highlights. Not that she was looking! And of course he’d laughed with her and the man who’d walked in with Declan. Tia guessed that might be his former SEAL brother, given the dark and intense once-over he’d given the orphanage compound, and then the tight-lipped nod to Doyle’s story about the altercation at the harbor.
She had to stop thinking about the way Doyle had popped his head into the office and saved her.
From what, she didn’t want to guess, but she knew it in her bones.
Doyle Kingston had used his stupid, annoying charm, not to mention his fancy watch, to get her that X-ray machine and get her to safety, and she owed him.
She hated owing people.
More, she’d been stuck here for the better part of fifteen minutes talking with Ethan Pine, who, albeit handsome, had spun some crazy story about a sunken treasure, and all the while, her stupid gaze kept drifting over to Doyle, sweetly holding Jamal’s hand, then walking into the chapel and?—
Just.stop.
“So, if there’s a way I could spend some time in your library, I might be able to uncover the story.”
Aw.“Um. Remind me again—the story?”
Ethan took a sip of punch, then lowered his voice. “The one about the pirate.”
The pirate.
“I wanna hear about the pirate.”
She glanced over and spotted Jaden standing nearby, dressed in his best shirt, a splotch of curry on the front. Elias stood with him. “Tell us about the pirate.”
Ethan smiled. He walked over to the edge of the fountain, sat.