Stranded(14)

He raised a dark blond brow. “That was a wistful statement if I’ve ever heard one. Don’t you have close friends?”

“Honestly? No. I was a bit of a loner in school. I was gangly, buck-toothed, awkward and shy. People weren’t exactly lining up to be my friend.”

“I find that hard to believe. A gorgeous woman like yourself?”

Most times she was uncomfortable with comments about her looks because in her mind, she was still the skinny, shapeless girl with no looks to speak of that she used to be, but from Grant, the words warmed her. She smiled. “You’re sweet for saying so, but it’s true. I didn’t have many friends growing up. I was too busy trying to live up to the impossible standards my parents had set for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had friends, but a lot of them I’ve lost touch with over the years. I’ve made some good acquaintances I may occasionally see outside of work, but I haven’t formed the kind of friendship you and Rafe obviously have.”

“Did someone mention my name?”

As if she’d conjured him up, Rafe joined them on the beach. The stubble on his golden face was more pronounced this morning, and it only served to heighten his masculinity. Her heart beat faster. It was bad enough dealing with her attraction to Grant, but having the two of them next to her was doing things to her libido that she wouldn’t have thought possible.

India crossed her arms over her chest, hoping they didn’t notice her nipples tightening. “W-we were just talking about friends.” She was unable to tear her gaze away from his macho, hair-roughened face.

Rafe gave her a brilliant white smile. “I hope you count me among one of yours.”

“We barely know each other,” she squeaked.

“Sweetheart, I have the feeling we’ll be getting to know each other quite well, until we’re rescued or find a way off this island.”

India probably would have analyzed his prediction more closely had she not been reminded of their predicament. His words had her crashing back to reality. There was no telling whether they would find a way off or be found. She didn’t want to panic, but her knees grew weak from nerves and her hands began to shake.

“Oh God, we’re screwed.” She bit her bottom lip to hold back a cry.

Grant strode over to India and gave her a gentle shake. “There’s no point in taking that defeatist attitude. Yes, things look pretty grim right now, but I’m sure when the plane didn’t arrive at its destination, someone would’ve sent some kind of search unit to scour the nearby islands for survivors. Until then, we’ll need to gather supplies to hold us over.” He pulled away, his hands falling from her arms as if he’d been shocked.

She’d felt it too. Unable to meet his gaze, she merely nodded in agreement.

“That makes sense,” Rafe concurred. “I only hope it doesn’t take too long for someone to find us.

India couldn’t agree more. How would they last this far from civilization? What would they do for food? How would they bathe? A million questions ran through her mind, but she kept her thoughts to herself, not wanting to sound like a whiner. She was sure the two men had concerns of their own. Besides, complaining wouldn’t help the situation.

She wrung her hands in front of her. “What do you suggest we do first? Maybe we could make a giant SOS sign in the sand?”

Grant nodded. “We can do that, but I think we should start looking for a fresh water supply. I know this isn’t what anyone wants to hear, but we’re going to need to prepare ourselves for a long stay.”

India’s heart sank. He was right. She didn’t want to hear it.

Rafe’s expression went bleak, but he simply rubbed his chin as though in deep thought; finally he said, “I believe I saw some coconut trees when we arrived here yesterday, so if that’s the case, they’d supply us with both food and drink until we find something else.”

Not wanting to be the only one to not contribute to the conversation she suggested, “We’ll need fire. It was freezing last night.”

“Good idea.” Grant gave her a slow smile, revealing deep dimples. Lord, did he have to have a cleft and dimples? Were these men trying to send her into hormone overload? Now wasn’t the time to notice how handsome either one of the men were because the situation didn’t call for it. Different in looks as night and day, one with smooth Latin looks, while the other had the hot boy-next-door appeal, India realized her ass was in trouble.

She didn’t realize she’d zoned out until Rafe snapped his fingers in her face. “Earth to India.”

“Huh?”