Antarctic Affair Read Free Page A

that’s all right then.” What
was his problem?
    “Have you ever seen one?”
    “Sure, in pictures. They’re big, well
equipped and warm.” She tried smiling at him and attempted a joke, “What more
could a girl want?”
    He didn’t smile back.
    “Just make sure you bring warm clothes
okay. Last year we couldn’t get the heaters to work on board until the voyage
home.”
    That did not sound like fun.  
    She tried to appear upbeat. “I’ve got my
ski jacket and my Sheepskin Uggs , so you don’t have
to worry about me.”
    She would never admit that she’d taken
one look in her wardrobe and rushed out in a blind panic to buy everything from
thermal underwear and polar fleece’s to snow goggles and a GPS in the outdoor
store. Whether she’d actually use any of them she wasn’t so sure. The goggles
made her look like Ugly Betty and if anyone at her magazine saw her sporting a
thermal vest she’d be ostracised on the spot. One could not make those kind of
fashion fauxpas in the magazine industry. She made a mental note to take the tags
off everything as soon as she reached her hotel room in Santiago just in case,
or on second thoughts – she cast a glance at the sombre Taj - maybe she’d just
leave them on.
    She saw him glance at the big diving
watch on her wrist.
    “You dive?” he asked with interest.
    “Nope. It’s my father’s, or it was
before he died.”
    “So he was a diver?”
    She shook her head. “My mother gave it
to him. I don’t think he ever used it for diving. Strange isn’t it? I’ve often
wondered why she gave him a diving watch as a gift.”
    “Perhaps he used to dive when he was
younger?”
    She pondered that for a moment. “Mm…
unlikely, my father was a newspaper editor and a workaholic. He hardly had time
for me, let alone recreational activities.”
    Taj raised an eyebrow. “Like father,
like daughter perhaps?”
    Georgina started at him thinking that
was a bit presumptuous. “There’s nothing wrong with being ambitious,” she said
curtly.   Taj raised an eyebrow, probably
at her sudden defensiveness. “No, there isn’t. But there is something wrong
with not ever having any fun, or any time for your family.”
    Were they talking about her or her
father now? She wasn’t sure, but she didn’t like the direction this
conversation was taking.
    “If you don’t mind, I’d rather not talk
about it.”
    “Too personal for you?” he asked, his
eyes searching hers.
    For a moment she stared back. Did this
man not have any boundaries? They’d only just met. She didn’t talk about her
relationship with her parents with anyone. Not even Charles.
    “Yes, actually,” she replied.
    He turned away and broke eye contact.
    “Sorry, I tend to be a little direct
sometimes. It often gets me into trouble. I think it’s because so often people
pretend to be something they’re not. You know what I mean? I like to try and
cut through all that.”
    “I know exactly what you mean,” she said
softly. After all, it was why she became a writer.
    The plane reached its cruising altitude
and levelled out. The seatbelt lights went off and Taj unbuckled and pushed his
chair back into a reclining position.   Georgina reopened her laptop, pulled the blind down again and settled in
to work, trying to ignore the man beside her. When she did risk a glance, she
saw he’d closed his eyes, and was breathing evenly. She tried to read his
biography, but concentration evaded her. She found it impossible to study her
subject when he was slumped so casually in the seat next to her, his powerful
thigh inches away from hers, his long muscular legs extended into the aisle.
She studied his face. How could a man possibly have eyelashes that long? They
were almost stroking his bronzed cheekbones. She sighed. He was just too
distracting. She had to admit, the February issue would be a sell out with him
on the cover.
    A few hours later Georgina was desperate
for the ladies. In order to get there she had to