Free Master of the Deep by Cleo Peitsche Page A

crossed his arms.  
    He knew what that sound meant. A lecture was coming his way. What put him on the defensive was that Spencer was invariably correct.  
    “What is it?” he asked.
    “It’s good to see you happy again.”
    “And?”
    Spencer shook his head. “What makes you think there’s an and ? You’ve been unhappy for so long. Things are obviously better since you started the company. That brought you hope. But hope and happiness aren’t interchangeable.”
    It was slick the way Spencer slowly wove in what he wanted to say. Koenraad held his tongue. He knew from long experience that if he just waited, it would all be over soon.
    “You probably think it’s the woman, but I don’t think so,” Spencer said.
    There it was… though Koenraad had no idea where Spencer was going with this line of thought. “What do you mean?”
    “You have to walk before you can run.”
    “Any other clichés?”  
    “Clichés exist for a reason. I’m thrilled to have you back among the living, but I think it’d be a mistake to give the credit to this woman. This is time’s balm, doing what it does best. You make it about her, when… I mean, if things go bad, it could set you back months. Baby steps.”
    “We’re hardly about to elope. She’s a tourist, here for a week,” Koenraad said. “And I don’t agree that I’m so changed.”
    Spencer shrugged, but Koenraad wasn’t fooled. Spencer never gave up; he merely changed tactics. “I’m worried because it sounds like you might have come on too strong.”
    “Five seconds ago you were telling me to just reveal myself.”
    “Only because you’ve already started. She knows part of the story but not all of it. At this point, dragging things out isn’t wise. But if you had come in here today, happy like this, and if you’d asked if I thought you should tell her, I’d have done everything in my power to talk you out of it. It’s too fast.”
    “But it’s done. She knows.”
    “No one appreciates unsolicited advice, but we’re friends, and it’s my job to tell you when I think you’re heading for a disaster. If you can’t find a way to fix this, it’s not your fault. It was just too soon. Don’t let it tear you apart.”
    “I’m not a child,” Koenraad said. “I’m not going to lose my mind over a woman I’ve only known for a few days.” But he couldn’t muster up any significant amount of indignation; Spencer had a point. “So we’re clear, I had to reveal myself to save her life. It wasn’t like I downed a case of vodka and then decided it would be fun.”
    Spencer held his gaze steadily. “You sure about that?”
    “You weren’t there.”
    Spencer shrugged again. For a man who backed down from confrontation, he sure managed to do a lot of damage nonetheless.  
    “You mind if I take a look through the microscope?” Koenraad asked. “Because it’s not like you’re doing it.”
    With a sigh, Spencer turned and bent over the eyepiece. “Congratulations,” he said. “It looks like water.”

Chapter 8

    Monroe left the ice cream shop with the most expensive waffle cone of her life. Of course, she had no idea what the exchange rate was. For all she knew, it might have only cost fifty cents.  
    She also wasn’t completely sure what flavor she’d ordered. Cherry, she’d thought, but she’d gotten four scoops of something white.  
    Apparently her high school Spanish, in which she’d gotten perfect test scores, had rusted during the last few years.
    She contemplated the three-story, rectangular building that housed the lab. It was lovely, with plenty of windows and lots of trees on the grounds, and the lobby was bright and spacious, but she could see nice buildings in New York. She wanted to explore. Koenraad had said they’d be here for an hour. As long as she was back in forty minutes, there shouldn’t be a problem.  
    Across the street was a park that looked promising. She strolled through it, crunching on the assorted sugary