Page 11 of Ruining His Smirk

“Now move it back. Go over this section again.” I put my finger against the screen, tracking the shape beneath it.

She eased the probe back over the same stretch of seabed. The room had gone quiet, everyone watching while I went back and forth across the image for five long minutes, covering every inch of it.

I rocked back on my heels and let out a slow breath. “Yeah. She’s still there and I think I fell a bit more in love.”

Captain Birch broke into a huge grin and clapped a hand on my back, hard enough to rock me forward a step.

“Perfect.” He turned around and started walking out of the hangar. “Be on deck tomorrow at noon. Dress in your Sunday finest.”

“Um, Captain?” I called out. “Care to explain?”

“It’s a surprise.” He waved over his shoulder. With that, he wandered off whistling.

“There he goes,” I muttered. “All jolly and mysterious.” I turned to find Keith studying me with his blue eyes. “What does he mean it’s a surprise? I’m not a kid at Christmas.”

“Honestly? I think to him you’re a kid. His old friend’s kid. And well, technically, it’s close to Christmas.”

I blinked in confusion. “Am I getting… a visit from Santa? In Antarctica?”

Keith grinned. “The ways of the Captain are not for us mere mortals.”

I thanked the technician and followed my friend out of the science hangar.

* * *

The following day, Sunday, arrived bright and clear. The Antarctic sun shone overhead, reflecting off the surrounding sea ice. Everyone on deck wore dark sunglasses against the glare.A steady wind swept across the ship, rattling loose gear and tugging at our jackets.

I glanced down at myself for what had to be the tenth time. Considering we were on a research vessel in Antarctica, that mostly meant my least rumpled cold-weather gear, but I had at least shaved, put on my cream-colored cashmere sweater, and done my best to style my shoulder-length hair.

Beside me, Keith stood with his hands buried in his jacket pockets, looking entirely unconcerned.

“You seriously don’t know what this is about?” I asked again.

He shook his head. “Nope, but it brings back memories of my barracks days.”

“When your commanding officer would drop in suddenly and everything had to be spick-and-span?”

“Yep.”

I let out a sigh. “If this is some inspection of my cabin by the Commander whoever, I’m doomed.”

Keith grinned beneath his beanie.

A few yards away, Captain Birch stood near the bow with the unmistakable posture of a man enjoying himself far too much. Every so often he glanced toward the horizon before returning to an annoyingly cheerful tune he continued whistling.

“I don’t understand why he’s so pleased with himself,” I muttered.

“He likes secrets.”

“He likes tormenting people.”

“That too.”

I folded my arms against another gust of wind and stared out over the endless white horizon. Then a faint rhythmic thumping reached us. I frowned.

A dark shape appeared in the distance, growing larger as it skimmed over the frozen landscape before crossing above the open channel our ship had carved through the sea ice.

“A helicopter?” I said.