CHAPTER ONE

Two Years Later

OLIVIA was seasick. The small ferry from Piraeus rolled and pitched in the Aegean Sea. No stabilizers on this old tub. Not many passengers except for the members of their expedition who'd all gone inside for the two-hour ride. She'd headed straight for the rail, taking large gulps of fresh air, trying to keep down the small breakfast she'd eaten on the dock before the boat left.

Keeping her breakfast down was not the only challenge Olivia faced. Even more difficult would be keeping the memories of her last trip to Hermapolis at bay. It was seven years ago, the summer she'd met Jack. A dream opportunity for a new young professor like herself to dig for a rare, multilayered tomb dating back to Alexander the Great.

She hadn't found the burial chamber she was looking for, but she'd found Jack Oakley, smart, tough, brave, ambitious, and so gorgeous he had taken her breath away. Sparks flew. Passion erupted like Vesuvius, the volcano that towered over Pompeii. Theirs was an instant attraction. Impossible to deny. Obvious to everyone within a few yards that they'd fallen madly in love. They were married in Italy in the fall.

Now she was back. Older and wiser. Another chance to dig for the tomb, to find some clay pots, jewelry or copper coins and to finally discover who was buried there. While she was there, she'd have a chance to face the site where she'd met Jack and make sure she was over him for good. She'd better be since she'd filed for divorce in the spring. It was just a formality, because their marriage existed only on paper.

She'd given the marriage her all; they both had. She hadn't heard from Jack since she'd filed, but he must know as well as she did there was nothing left of their union. It was time to make it official.

In her field, when she'd done her best and worked hard, she'd gotten praised and promoted for her efforts. No wonder she went back to work. On this dig she could add to her list of accomplishments. She'd take advantage of the last chance to uncover this site before the owners closed it. She propped her elbows on the railing and kept her eyes on the horizon.

"Feeling better?"

She whirled around. She must be hallucinating. It couldn't be Jack. If he was part of the team, she would have known. She would have seen his name on the list and she never would have come, no matter how tempting the chance to find the lost tomb.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, bracing herself against the railing so she wouldn't lose her balance and fall on her face.

"Same thing as you are. Heading for Hermapolis to dig for old bones. Chasing Alexander the Great. Trying to find out more about Macedonian culture." He gave her one of his old smiles that used to melt her bones. No longer. Never again. She was immune. She was a different person. With a stone wall around her heart.

"Oh, you mean now?" he asked. "I'm bringing you some tea and crackers. You always had a weak stomach."

She straightened and took a deep breath. "I did not. Well, only when the sea is rough."

"The first time I saw you, you were hanging over the rail. Could have been this rail right here."

He would have to remind her of that. Then as now he'd gone to get her something to settle her stomach. How could she resist a guy who'd do something like that for a total stranger? She'd immediately felt better. It wasn't so much the tea, it was having a good-looking man distract her. And Jack was that kind of man, no doubt about that. Dark wind-blown hair, blue knit polo that matched his eyes, khakis and bare feet in Top-Siders. She couldn't tear her eyes away then and she couldn't do it now. And she did try.

He handed her the tea and the crackers, then pointed to a bench on the deck. "Sit down," he said.

She sat and sipped her tea, grateful to have something to do besides stare at her husband. Ex-husband. Separated husband. Estranged husband. Nothing quite fit. They weren't divorced yet, but they certainly weren't together. She hoped no one on the dig thought they were.

"You haven't told me…" she said.

"Yes, I did. I'm here to finish what I started seven years ago."

Olivia held her breath. What did he mean? Only that he was more determined than ever to get to the bottom of that tomb on the farmer's field. So close and yet so far. So tantalizing every archaeologist in his right mind would give anything to get access to it. Just as she was. Nothing personal. Definitely not. He didn't mean her. He was talking about their work.

"In other words, we're all in this together. Excavating Hermapolis," he said. "Should be fun."

Fun? To work with your ex at the same place where you met? That was not her idea of fun. That was her idea of torture. "Why didn't you tell me you were on the team?" she demanded.

"Thought you might not come."

He knew perfectly well she wouldn't have come. Not after what he'd said before he left her. Not after what she'd done. Now was not the time to admit it. Now was the time to play it cool. "Of course I would. This could be the most monumental tomb of its kind ever found in Greece, as you well know. Your being part of the team is completely irrelevant to me," she said, proud of herself for sounding so detached. "Why would I give up a chance to look for the missing clay pots or the small idols?" Liar. She'd even given up trying to tear open the packet of crackers because her hands were shaking so badly. How she wished he was irrelevant. Maybe someday. But not today, that was clear.

Copyright © 2007 by Carol Culver.