We found the bed. Peg and every stitch of clothing made a mountain on the floor beside it. We kissed and touched and moved in ways I remembered and ways that were new, but every bit as perfect. I gasped when he entered me, and I wanted to hold him there forever.

The rain beat down on the metal roof of our little bungalow, and what had once been good was magnificent.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

We made love, took naps, then made love again, making sure it was as perfect as we’d thought. We finally rose and took showers. Apparently ecotourism was code for minimal hot water, but I didn’t care because I had a man balanced against me to keep me warm.

As we stepped outside to find our way to dinner, Teo spotted a pair of toucans I’d missed. But when he pointed, I saw two exquisitely beautiful birds at the edge of a small clearing in the trees, their yellow chests and prominent rainbow-colored beaks unmistakable.

“They came by the name of this place honestly,” he said softly.

I was prepared to watch all evening, but after a few minutes they flew away. I wondered if the management mapped out their route.

Teo put his arm around me and we made our way to the dining room. While we waited for a table, I examined the three people standing behind the bar. Two men were dark-haired and short. The woman with them seemed to be serving, not mixing drinks.

Teo had been watching, too. “We have all night.”

Dinner was a buffet of fresh vegetables, fish, several kinds of rice and a delicious assortment of small desserts. We ordered wine with our meal, and were shown to a table at the edge of the room near the bar.

“Eat slowly,” I told Teo. “Let’s wait him out.”

Unlike the toucans, Kearns didn’t show. By the time we were lingering over cups of delicious local coffee, no one who looked remotely like the mug shot was in the room either serving or eating.

“What next?” I refused yet another coffee refill and couldn’t swallow one more bite of a delicious passion fruit mousse.

“We hang out in the gazebo bar. This time of night I don’t think we have to worry about the pool, but we could swing by on the way and see if the bar’s still open.”

The pool bar was closed, and only a few people were enjoying the water. We strolled arm in arm, and at one point Teo pulled me into the shadows and kissed me. I was sorry we had other things to do tonight.

The gazebo had been transformed. Strings of lights glowed over and around the thatched roof, rafters and posts. The bar itself was softly lit, but not so softly I couldn’t make out the faces of the two bartenders. They were experts, shaking, pouring, taking orders with smiles. One was a woman with short blond hair, and the other a thin, dark-skinned man with hair pulled back in tiny braids.