When I told Adam about Kat's invitation the next day, for dinner and a movie, he was more nervous than I thought he'd be.

"Kat won't bite. Just be yourself."

"It's not that, it's just...never mind. Of course we can go. It's kind of her to invite us."

"Awesome. My two favourite people in Fidda Hilal at the same table."

"Kat and Mo?"

"Kat and you, you dope."

I was starting to get used to it now, but that smile still made my heart skip.

"Glad that was your answer. So, what do you want to do for the rest of the day? I picked up a brochure from the tour company in reception."

I flicked through it. Trips to Petra and St. Katherine's monastery, horse riding, camel trekking, dinner in the desert at a Bedouin village...

"These all look great, but we'd need to book them in advance. Why don't we choose something for tomorrow?"

"Sounds good. The Bedouin dinner?"

"Why not?"

"But that still leaves today," Adam pointed out.

"How about we pop into town? I need to pick up some gifts, and I haven't had a chance to mooch around in the high street yet."

I may have got a tiny bit carried away with the shopping. For such a hot country, the shops sure sold a lot of scarves, and I bought a whole rainbow of them, plus every time a waif of a child asked me if I wanted to buy a bracelet made from colourful string, of course I said yes.

I got dried hibiscus flowers to make tea, a guidebook for the town, and a couple of necklaces. I fell in love with a painting of a dolphin and that found its way into my bag too, as did a selection of postcards and a miniature shisha pipe, just because it was twinkly.

Adam bought a T-shirt.

Although he'd agreed to come into town, he didn't seem to be having much fun. Shopping had actually been one of Bryce's strong points—although he used to gripe about the prices, he understood colour, and he didn't mind spending an afternoon on the high street. Adam moped around, waiting in the corner of each shop while I browsed.

"We can go if you want. I don't have to do this."

"If you want to shop, we'll shop," he insisted.

I wrapped it up early. I could always go back another day with Kat. She loved shopping too. I'd already seen at least ten of the scarves hanging on a hook in her apartment, and she kept her bracelets stuffed into a pot on a side table.

We were due at Kat's at six, which gave us plenty of time to shower and change. I decided on a jade green skirt with a sparkly white tank top. Even though it was just Kat's and she'd seen me in my pyjamas often enough, I was going with Adam so I still wanted to look nice. A pair of jewelled sandals, and I was ready to leave.

Adam had made an effort too. It was the first time I'd seen him in a button-down shirt, and he'd dug out a pair of tailored shorts. The combination made my heart flip.

Since we were running early, we decided to walk. Adam dragged his feet like a condemned man walking to his execution. What was wrong with him today?

"If you really don't want to go, we can still dip out," I offered.

"No, we're going."

Step by step, we walked up the single flight of stairs, and I knocked on the door. Adam stood behind me, suddenly interested in his feet. Why had he gone so shy all of a sudden?

Nobody answered the door. I knocked again. Nothing.

Kat's home was on the top floor of a two-storey building, accessed by a metal set of stairs screwed to the side. I leaned over the railing, trying to see through one of the windows.

Adam grabbed me. "Careful you don't fall."

"I don't know why she's not answering. She definitely said six o'clock. She wanted an early night because she's got a new group of windsurfing pupils arriving first thing tomorrow morning."

"Could she have gone somewhere else first? The grocery store? Or perhaps to buy more liquor?"

Stopping to buy alcohol was a definite possibility for Kat.

"I guess. She was going diving with Mo, but that was in the morning. I got the impression Mo was going to cook something special, so wouldn't he have had to start preparing the ingredients? Why isn't he here at least?"

Adam tried to see in the window himself. With his extra height, he could lean farther across.

"It's dark, and I can't see any movement. I don't think they're home." Adam looked out to the street. "What car do they drive?"

"Mo just borrows a truck off a friend when they need it."

"Try calling Kat."

I pulled out my phone and dialled, but it went straight to voicemail. Had Kat mentioned going anywhere else yesterday? I sifted through memories and came up blank.

"She's not answering. What if they had an accident? While they were diving? It was only the two of them. What if they got caught in a current or tangled in a net or something?" Now I felt sick. "What if they drowned?"

"If they were going diving, they'd have needed to borrow the truck. They couldn't have carried all the gear otherwise. So if they didn't come up, the truck will still be there."

"We need to go and check."

Adam laid a hand on my arm. "Steady, baby. We will. Do you know where they went?"

"Not exactly. I mean, Kat said the place didn't have a name. It's near Lionhouse reef, to the south."

"I'll call Gabe, see if he's familiar with it. Hopefully he'll know somebody with a vehicle we can use."

Gabe did better than that. He met us back at the hotel with the dive centre's truck.

"Before we drive all the way out to Lionhouse reef, are you sure your friend didn't mention any other plans? Going to a restaurant, maybe?" he asked me.

"I'm certain. Well, almost. Ninety percent."

"She's sure," Adam said.

After twenty minutes, we left the asphalt and continued on a sandy track. Good thing it didn't rain in Fidda Hilal, because that "road" would have been a mess.

Five minutes later, a uniformed policeman stopped us at a checkpoint. Adam and I kept quiet and let Gabe do the talking. He spoke Arabic? I hadn't realised that before. After a few minutes of back and forth, I saw a banknote change hands, and we were on our way.

"I told him we're going to visit some friends at the Happy Life Hotel. There's not much else out here. He was in a good mood so I got away with paying the local bribe rate rather than the one they charge to foreigners."

"That's common?" Adam asked. "Bribery?"

"Out here? It's a way of life. We've got one more checkpoint to go, but I bet there's nobody there. The guy who mans it usually sits in the hotel kitchen, watching the football."

Gabe was right. We got through unhindered. Another five minutes, and he pulled up by the rocky shore.

"Well, this is the place. It's the only place you can dive between Lionhouse Reef and the next dive site along. And that's only three hundred yards more in that direction." He pointed back the way we'd come.

There was no truck in sight. Just to be sure we hadn't missed an important clue, we set out on foot, searching with the torches Gabe had fetched from the equipment locker before we left.

We'd been walking back and forth for half an hour when something glinted in my torch beam. I stopped to pick it up. The sight of the slim silver bracelet with a couple of charms on it—an ice cream cone and a cat—sent a chill down my spine.

"This is Kat's. She was here today."

"Are you sure?" Adam asked.

"I gave it to her for her birthday the year before last. Her cat had died a month earlier, and she missed him."

"The ice cream?"

"She's a girl."

"You can't be sure she dropped it today," Gabe said. "It could have been lying there for weeks."

"She was wearing it when I saw her yesterday evening. I remember because I planned to get her another charm for her birthday."

I'd even looked for one on our shopping trip today.

"Well, even if she was here earlier, she's gone now."

"Unless she's still in the water."

"The truck's gone."

"What if somebody stole it?"

Gabe was silent.

"Buddy, that's possible," Adam said.

"I guess," Gabe conceded.

The three of us looked at each other, and it wasn't hard to see that Adam and Gabe were thinking exactly the same as me: what now?

I spoke first. "We need to check down there. Can we go back for the diving stuff?"

Gabe took his time answering. "I suppose we could come tomorrow and take a look. Man, I hate dead bodies."

Adam glared at him. "Have some tact."

"Sorry."

"What about tonight?" I pushed. "We did a night dive before."

"I've only ever dived here once. The entry's tricky, and the site itself is difficult to navigate. There's a maze of coral pinnacles before the reef wall drops off into the blue. Even if you two weren't relatively inexperienced, we wouldn't stand a chance of finding anyone in the dark."

Adam put an arm around me. "Baby, he's right. And I hate to say it, but if they are down there, an extra couple of hours won't make much difference."

Nausea turned into dizziness, but Adam held me tight. In my head, I knew they were both right, but that didn't make it any easier to climb into the back of the truck beside Adam and drive away.

At the dive centre, Gabe checked the tides online. High tide at the site would be at ten the next morning, and we'd be there.

I was still shaking as Adam walked me back to my room. Kat was my best friend. She'd always been there for me, and now I'd be there for her, but the thought that tomorrow I might find her body terrified me.

"Let's order some food and then try to sleep," Adam said. "That way, we can be fresh in the morning."

"I don't think I can eat anything."

"You have to try. Please? You need to keep your strength up."

I managed half a slice of pizza and six fries. I couldn't stomach any more.

"How about dessert?" Adam suggested. "I could order something else."

I shook my head, a move I instantly regretted because it made my fledgling headache worse.

"No, I couldn't stomach it, but I'll try to eat breakfast."

"Do you want me to come over and eat with you in the morning?"

Now I went tongue-tied. I tried to speak, but no words came out. All I managed was a pathetic cough, and Adam handed me his glass of water.

"You okay?"

"Yes." No. Not even a tiny bit. I took a sip of water, which at least soothed my throat. "I was just hoping that you might... stay with me tonight. Just to sleep. Nothing else."

His expression softened. "Of course. I'll get my pillow from next door and take the couch."

"I meant in the bed. I just... I just want to be close to you."

"It'd be my pleasure, baby."

It felt strange having a man next to me at night again, kind of like having a hot water bottle when I'd been without one all summer. Plus Adam was different to Bryce. Bryce had had his side of the bed and I'd had mine, and any accidental invasion on my part had been met with either a nudge or a polite request to move back to my own domain.

Adam slept smack in the middle and held me so tight I could feel every muscle in his chest. I'd been convinced I'd never sleep, but cocooned in his arms, I managed to get a few hours' rest.

In the early hours of the morning, I woke ages before the alarm to find the quilt had fallen off and I'd draped myself over Adam like a contented cat. Heck, I'd probably been purring in my sleep.

I moved one leg and...wait. Oh boy, that was an impressive piece of kit. Adam's eyes were closed, and his breathing was steady. Surely it couldn't hurt to have a little peek?

Slowly, slowly, I lifted his waistband and peered in. Then gulped as something the size of one of the Petronas Towers stared back at me. How in hell was that even supposed to fit?

"Sweetheart, if you're curious, you only have to ask."

I jumped out of my skin and snatched my hand away and glared up at Adam, my cheeks heating. He was grinning, the sod.

"I, uh, I..."

"That belongs to you. I belong to you. Do whatever makes you happy."

Did I dare? Be adventurous, right? I reached down again, and this time, I pushed his shorts off his hips to get a better look.

"That's never going to fit."

"Believe me, it will. Once I've warmed you up, it'll slip in easily."

I wanted to believe him, but still... Logistically, it was ambitious.

I ran a fingertip across veiny skin, silk over steel, and jumped when a shudder ran through him.

"Did I hurt you?"

"Quite the opposite. If you carry on like that, we're going to make a mess."

"I don't mind cleaning up," I said quickly, then sighed. "But as you've probably gathered, I don't really know what I'm doing."

"Want me to show you?"

I couldn't look him in the eye.

"Please," I whispered.

He took my hand and placed it on his hardness, with his hand over the top. It wasn't long before he let out a low groan.

"I'll grab a tissue."

I got halfway out of bed before he pulled me back.

"Just stay with me for a few minutes, would you? I want you in my arms."

I stayed. He slept, and I slept.

When the alarm finally played "Blurred Lines" at eight o'clock, we made even more mess.

Neither of us cared.