Alex turned to see Jeroen van Dissen smiling at her. �Good evening, Jeroen. What are you doing here?�

�I�m waiting for a friend of mine.� He nodded to the others. �Are you enjoying your first day in Bora Bora?�

Rachel smiled at him. �Very much so. It�s a beautiful island.�

�Yes, it is,� he agreed as he sat in the empty chair. Alex caught the rise of Nick�s eyebrows as Jeroen took Derek�s seat. �If there�s anything I can do while you�re here, any questions you may have, I hope you�ll call on me.� He turned to her. �I�d love to show you the spectacular sunsets along Taimoo Bay." His finger lightly stroked her arm.

She laughed. �I�ll let you know.�

�I�m sorry I�m late.� Another Dutch voice, low with a touch of annoyance, but this was one that made her pulse race.

�I was wondering what was keeping you.� Alex said softly before gazing up at him.

�I had to check a few things with� the office,� he said as he eyed Jeroen.

�Oh, I�m sorry,� the younger man said. He grinned sheepishly. �I guess this seat must be yours.� He stood up, then waved to someone across the room. �There�s my dinner guest. Have a good evening, and I hope you enjoy the show.�

�Thank you, good night,� Alex said as she watched him leave. She turned back to the others. �Isn�t that strange that he should be here.�

�Maybe not,� Nick said. �With that flower over your right ear and you dressing in that hot number, maybe he was waiting for you to show up.� He arched his eyebrows at her.

She gave him a mock glare. �Nick! Don�t be ridiculous. I�m sure that he was here for a perfectly innocent��

�Excuse me.� A waiter stood next to her with a bottle of champagne. �The gentleman over there wanted you to have this with his compliments.� Alex turned and Jeroen waved to her.

�Yeah, perfectly innocent,� the ex-SEAL snickered. �You keep wearing things like that, and you�ll have to beat them off with a stick.� He winked at her.

�Now, Nick,� Rachel warned.

�Hey, I�m just saying that I really like her dress. She should wear things like that more often. At least it�s better than some of her other stuff.�

�Like what?� her voice rose.

�Geez, remember that black dress you wore the night that Soltar�s medallion was stolen?� Nick gave her a big grin. �I hope you burned that thing.�

�It wasn�t that bad!� she sputtered.

�Right, and neither was your hair.� He laughed as she swatted him with her napkin. �It looked like something my mother wore in the 40�s.�

�Nicholas Boyle, behave yourself,� the blonde woman chastised as he and Alex exchanged napkin blows. Derek cleared his throat loudly and the offending cloths quickly returned to their proper laps in the midst of stifled laughter.

�So what did you three do today?� the precept asked the others.

�I sat mostly by that beautiful pool.� Rachel rubbed her arm. �And I think I stayed in the sun too long. I should have used more of that suntan lotion and remained under an umbrella.�

�Hey, I can call you Red,� Nick teased her before he turned to Derek. �Alex and I took a walk around the place. She dragged me into a couple of shops, then we joined Rachel. I love the bar and restaurant by the pool.�

�And the cold beers they serve,� the dark woman kidded him at him. Her two friends laughed, but Alex noticed that Derek only smiled. It was a polite one too, not one that made it to his eyes. Was it due to his phone calls to the London Ruling Council? What trouble were they causing now� Or was it any anxiety he might have since he had promised to tell them what had happened at the portal? Sometimes it was hard to believe that this was the same man she had as a professor in grad school, the one who held her rapt attention as he taught Biological Anthropology. �This was such a wonderful thing to do for us, Derek,� she said softly.

�Yes, and thank you if I haven�t said that already,� Rachel said. �Um, Alex said that you were going to tell us what happened at the portal.�

�I shall,� the precept said, when music suddenly played. �But first is the show.�

Drums banged as young men and women walked out to the middle of the room. Lei wreaths were around their heads and the woman wore them around their waist as they began their ceremonial dance. The men wore brightly colored sarongs, while the women wore short, flowered tops and skirts. After several minutes they chose members of the audience to join them on stage. One man held out his hand to Alex.

�Oh, I don�t know�� she said, glancing at her friends

�Go on, Alex,� Nick encouraged as he tried unsuccessfully to suppress a laugh as a lei wreath was placed on her head.

She turned to Derek, but he only gave her a bemused look. �It seems you�re very popular tonight.�

�Please,� she heard the young man say. She took his hand and stood next to him, attempting to follow his movements and the woman next to him. Alex placed her hands on her hips as she danced, laughing as she struggled to imitate their hand gestures and hip motions. The drums abruptly stopped and the dancers threw their hands in the air. She did as well, then bowed with the rest to the applause that filled the room.

She giggled at Nick�s wolf whistle as she was escorted back to her table. �Nice moves there, Alex.�

�You were great, honey,� Rachel said, giving her a hug.

She gazed at Derek, and her heart lifted to see the amusement in his eyes. �You�ll have to give the rest of us lessons.�

She blushed and the merriment continued. Alex had Derek open the bottle of champagne from Jeroen as more dishes were brought out for them to sample. For the next hour they enjoyed the different food and drinks of the islands. As things wound down, Derek gently tapped a knife against his glass.

�My friends,� he started. They looked at their friend and precept. �"I think it's time that I told you what happened at the portal."

�Are you going to tell us the whole truth?� Nick stared at the older man.

"Faith has need of the whole truth." Alex said quietly as she gazed at him.

Derek looked at her and she saw a slight grin. �Yes, the whole truth,� he told them. �But outside.� He put his hands on her chair to pull it out for her. �Why don't we watch the sunset from the beach.�

End part 10