‘That’s very reassuring,’ he said with a mocking slant of his mouth.
‘Rebecca seems a very nice person,’ she said. ‘The least you could’ve done is said a proper hello to her.’
‘I don’t like impromptu visitors,’ he said. ‘If she wanted to see me, all she had to do was call me and arrange a time.’
‘Maybe she doesn’t like being called in the middle of the night to suit your needs.’
He gave a loose shrug. ‘She’s not my type.’
‘No, because she’s got a brain between her ears,’ she shot back. ‘I can only imagine what your type is like: big boobs, toothpaste-commercial smile, long legs and no conversation. Am I close?’
A half-smile kicked up the edges of his mouth. ‘Close enough,’ he said.
‘Have you dated her?’ she asked.
‘We had a drink a few weeks back,’ he said.
‘Have you slept with her?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’ she asked.
He put the glass down on the counter. ‘What’s with all the questions?’ he asked. ‘Are you jealous?’
‘Of course I’m not jealous!’ Bella retorted. ‘I just think you could really hurt her if you don’t do the right thing by her.’
‘It’s not my problem.’
‘It is your problem,’ she said. ‘You should nip it in the bud before she gets too involved. You shouldn’t encourage her to just drop by if you’re not serious about her.’
‘I didn’t encourage her to drop by,’ he said. ‘I’ve given her no encouragement, full-stop.’
Bella folded her arms across her chest. ‘She obviously thinks you have,’ she said.
‘Then she’s mistaken.’
‘Is she who you went to last night?’ she asked.
‘No.’
‘Who did you see?’
He leaned back against the counter in an indolent fashion. ‘Are you sure you’re not jealous?’ he asked.
She rolled her eyes. ‘How could I be?’ she asked. ‘I’m about to get engaged.’
‘It’s not official.’
‘It will be soon.’
‘There’s been nothing in the press about your relationship with your preacher boy,’ he said. ‘Not even a whisper.’
‘That’s because Julian doesn’t attract press attention,’ she said. ‘Anyway, I want to wait until he gets back from Bangladesh before we tell anyone anything. I’m going to meet his family and then we’re going to make a formal announcement.’
‘You’re assuming, of course, that I’ll agree to this match.’
Bella unfolded her arms and clenched her fists. ‘You can’t prevent me from marrying the man I love.’
His blue-green eyes challenged hers. ‘If you love him so much then why aren’t you over there with him?’ he asked.
Bella floundered for a moment. ‘I...I have things to see to here,’ she said. ‘I’d be in the way over there. I need to learn the ropes a bit before I go with him on a mission.’
He made a sound of scorn in his throat. ‘I just can’t see you handing out trinkets to the natives.’
‘That’s not what missionaries do these days,’ she said. ‘They help to build schools and hospitals.’
‘And what will you do when you do accompany him?’ he asked.
‘I’ll support him in any way I can,’ she said.
‘It’s what every man of the cloth needs,’ he said with a curl of his lip. ‘A rich wife to bankroll every do-good project.’
Bella glowered at him. ‘You think I haven’t got a clue, don’t you? You think I’m too stupid to do anything but get my nails done.’
‘You’re not stupid,’ he said. ‘You’re naïve. You’ve lived a sheltered life. You don’t know how the other half lives. You don’t know how desperate and ruthless people can be.’
‘Like you, you mean?’ she said with an arch look.
His eyes glinted as they locked down on hers. ‘I can be very ruthless when I go after something I want.’
Bella felt the skin of her arms lift in a tiny shiver. ‘You can’t always have everything you want,’ she said.
The corner of his mouth lifted in a devilish smile. ‘Who’s going to stop me?’ he asked.
She quickly moistened her parchment-dry lips, her heart doing double time inside her ribcage. ‘I’m not going to sleep with you, Edoardo.’