And then Sam’s gaze slid over her shoulder and his eyebrows lifted and to her complete consternation the back of her neck began to prickle. Every one of her nerve endings tingled and her stomach fluttered. The sounds of the restaurant, the clinking of cutlery and the quiet hum of chatter faded. She felt a dart of alarm, a twinge of panic and then as her body began to heat the smile slipped from her face and her whole body tensed as trepidation began to wind through her.
Oh, God. Oh, no. Surely not. Not when she’d managed to convince herself that she was moving on … That really wouldn’t be fair.
But then when was life fair? she thought, her stomach plummeting to the floor. The back of her neck had only ever prickled once before and that had been when she’d been in the vault at the bank pretending to be completely absorbed in setting herself up and she’d sensed she wasn’t alone.
As her heart began to thunder she realised that there was no use pretending she didn’t know exactly who it was that Sam was staring at, who it was who was standing behind her. And it was equally no use pretending that he wasn’t there.
Surreptitiously taking a deep breath and praying she’d be able to play it cool, Bella plastered a bright smile to her face and swivelled round.
To find herself staring straight at a crotch, far closer than she could have possibly imagined. And not just any old crotch, she thought, her head swimming and her heart lurching. No. This one she’d had the pleasure of before. She knew exactly what lay behind the buttons of those jeans and exactly how good it had felt inside her. As the desire that had been annoyingly elusive all evening began to pour through her she had to grip the table to stop herself slithering to the floor.
‘Hello, Bella.’
Will’s voice, lazy and deep, came from somewhere high above and Bella, battling back a fiery blush and ordering her heart to steady, made herself calmly lift her head.
As her eyes roamed up over the stripy shirt stretched over his chest and the chocolate brown jacket, all train of thought vanished. She couldn’t even remember what was on the menu, let alone what she’d toyed with the idea of ordering. And as for playing it cool, well, that was a joke.
There was a tightness gripping his body and a hardness to the set of his mouth and her heart banged against her ribs. He looked dark and brooding, like a man on the edge. On the edge of what, she had no idea, but he was definitely teetering on the brink of something and it made her heart thump even harder.
Without warning, he bent down, brushed his lips against her cheek and Bella nearly passed out. His scent, his heat, the proximity of him stole the air from her lungs. Lust shot round her and she clamped her mouth shut to stop the whimper that was racing up her throat from escaping.
God, if she’d needed any convincing about the appeal of sexual chemistry she had it. An odd sort of buzz was spreading through her body and her blood wa
s heating and all she knew was Will was being all grim and dark and overwhelming and she was falling under his spell all over again. Quite happily, she thought, going dizzy at the realisation.
Or rather, quite happily until she clocked the presence of the gorgeous leggy redhead draping herself over his arm.
With gritted determination Bella fought back a scowl and kept the smile in place as she ran her gaze over the woman Will was with. So much for the fleeting idea that he’d sounded annoyed when she’d cancelled their date. Unlike her, it clearly hadn’t caused him any sleepless nights. He’d probably put her straight out of his mind and been on the phone to the redhead within seconds.
Huh.
She watched the redhead lean a little further into him and shoot him a smouldering smile, and she wondered whether they’d come by car and whether Will had instructed Bob to take the circuitous route.
Whether he made a habit of telling Bob to take the circuitous route.
Jealousy flooded through her and Bella had to stifle a gasp at the pain that speared her. Jealousy? What on earth was that all about? She had no reason to feel jealous. She was the one who’d cancelled their date, so Will could take the circuitous route with whoever he liked. Just because she didn’t want him didn’t mean that no one else would. Apart from the tiny issue with commitment he had, he was the most eligible bachelor in the country.
And besides, she’d moved on, hadn’t she?
‘Will,’ she said, swinging her gaze back towards him and determinedly deepening her smile. ‘What a surprise.’
‘Isn’t it?’
And then her eyes met his for the first time and she immediately wished she could dive beneath the table and stay there all night. Because his eyes were ice cold, as hard and flinty as lapiz lazuli, and cut right through her, making her shiver and putting a chill back in her blood.
He was fuming, she realised, completely poleaxed. But fuming about what? Surely he couldn’t be angry with her, could he? All she’d done was cancel a date. Hardly the crime of the century. Yet here he was, bristling down at her, the hostility rolling off him in waves and practically drowning her. It was baffling.
‘A pleasant one though,’ she said, burying the lie in politeness and thinking that actually ‘pleasant’ was way too bland a word to associate with Will. In any context.
‘Then why don’t we join you?’ he said with a smile so cool it was sub-zero.
What? Bella’s eyebrows shot up and her stomach jumped. Oh, no. No no no no no. Grabbing back some sort of control, she flashed both Will and his date an overly bright smile. ‘Oh. Well, that would be delightful, of course, but I’m sure—’ She glanced at the redhead.
‘Rosie,’ she supplied huskily.
‘Rosie would rather you had your own table,’ she said.
‘Rosie doesn’t mind,’ said Will abruptly.