I wrap my fingers underneath Hugh’s jacket straps and yank down to make sure they’re snug. I can feel the heat from his body through his stinger suit. He’s as still as a statue, and I yank a bit harder than I have to, seeing if it’ll break his flat expression, but he doesn’t react. I check his air pressure. I press on his regulator and his backup. I inflate and deflate his BCD. I try to be collected and professional, but I’m terrified I’ll miss a step and he’ll notice. When I finally drop my hands and settle back onto the bench, Hugh reaches over to begin his check.

‘Regulator,’ he says, pressing the button. He’s murmuring in a low voice, and it sends chills up my spine.

‘Air pressure.’ He picks up the gauge and his fingers brush my waist.

‘BCD.’ He slides his fingers into the space between the strap and my chest. His face is so close to mine I can count the freckles on his perfectly sloped nose. I stop breathing. He’s moving excruciatingly slow, like he can sense my discomfort.

‘You don’t have to be so thorough.’ My voice comes out of my throat in a low growl.

‘Just because I don’t respect your work doesn’t mean I want something to happen to you,’ Hugh murmurs back, ‘then I’d have to be the one to drag your body to the surface, and it’d be a whole big hassle . . .’ His voice is gravelly but has a teasing note. I stare out at the water, aching to jump in and clear my head to shake off this encounter. How can I be attracted to him and so aggravated by him at the same time?

‘A hassle,’ I muse, unable to resist calling him out. ‘Not a loss though, especially considering I’m just someone who works in a lab. We’re not the same kind of marine biologist. You are far more important.’

Hugh’s eyebrows raise in surprise as he processes my comment.

He glances at Andrew. ‘That isn’t what I meant,’ he says in a low voice. ‘We just have a different attitude towards the field. Don’t act like you haven’t realised that.’

‘No, we do n—’

‘You guys ready?’ asks Vanessa, interrupting me.

‘All good!’ Hugh says suddenly, snapping back into his normal voice. He straightens up and straps on his mask.