He stuck his hands in his pockets. “So you’ve been out looking for spores?”

“Yes. I’ve found a thriving colony right here,” she exclaimed, energized all over again. Kneeling back down at the base of the palm tree, she pulled out her magnifying glass and handed it to him. “Come and see.”

“Spore porn?” he said dryly. “I can’t wait.”

She smiled at him. “I’m sure you think it’s odd, but I actually find it quite fascinating to watch them reproduce.”

He knelt down next to her, so close that their shoulders and hips were touching. Taking the glass from her, he bent down and stared for a while. Then he straightened and gazed at her. “So they’re basically having sex right now?”

Her eyes widened. His face was a mere inch away from hers. If he leaned in… But he wouldn’t, of course. What was she thinking? She took a moment to swallow around her suddenly dry throat. “Um, yes. I suppose you could call it that. They do it around this time every morning.”

One eyebrow shot up. “I guess you’ve got to admire their discipline.”

“Oh, I do, I do,” she murmured, mesmerized by his flirtatious smile. He had beautiful, straight, white teeth and his mouth had a sexy, sardonic curve to it that she found nearly irresistible. Oh, my, she thought. Was he moving closer to her? He stared into her eyes, then his gaze shifted to her lips. Was he going to kiss her? She could feel herself melting. She really should’ve worn a hat.

Standing abruptly, she said, “I’ve got to go. Got to get these back to the room. Got to… Well, goodbye.”

She took off like a startled bunny and could actually feel his gaze locked on her as she ran down the beach. On her mad dash back to the hotel, she berated herself for behaving so foolishly. Had her emotions shown on her face when she realized his mouth was a few millimeters away from hers? She hoped not, but she knew she wasn’t sophisticated enough to fake a look of bland disinterest in a moment like that.