‘I do.’
So what else did she know? And did any of it have anything to do with why she’d cancelled their date?
‘Then you’ll know I’m not only a duke,’ he said.
‘No.’
‘What else do you do?’ asked Sam.
‘I trade.’
‘So do I,’ Sam said, eventually sliding his hand from Bella’s shoulder to butter his roll. ‘Who for?’
‘Myself.’ And because he realised he really had to relax before his blood pressure shot through the roof, Will made himself dredge some sort of small talk and said, ‘How about you?’
‘Parker, Collins and Black.’
Will gave a brief nod of recognition. ‘Good company.’
‘Why the Cayman Islands?’ asked Bella.
Because of the tax benefits? Because of the diving? Because he could leave his house unlocked without worrying about anyone breaking in? Or all of the above?
Hmm. Will might have decided to make a bit more of an effort in the way of conversation but no way was he going into all that. ‘I like the heat,’ he said eventually, staring straight at Bella and watching the flush in her cheeks deepen. ‘Don’t you?’
Something flickered in the depths of her eyes and she swallowed. And then she pulled her shoulders back, sat up a little straighter and flashed him a bright smile. ‘Not a bit of it,’ she said lightly. ‘I hate the heat.’
‘Really?’ He lifted his eyebrows and shot her a smouldering smile. ‘I’d have thought you’d have loved it.’
Her eyes widened. ‘I can’t imagine where you’d get that idea.’
‘You seem that kind of woman.’
For a moment, everything else ceased to exist. For a moment it was just the two of them, enveloped in a bubble of heat and electricity and vibrating tension. Will arched an eyebrow. Curved his lips into the barest hint of a smile all the time wondering who exactly she was trying to convince.
Bella caught her lip with her teeth, then blinked and looked away. ‘Well, I assure you, I’m not.’
The urge to push it, to carry on needling her until she was forced to acknowledge the chemistry between them was so strong, so insistent that it brought him slamming back to his senses. Hauling himself under control, Will shrugged and frowned and made himself back off. ‘My mistake.’
‘The Arctic’s my kind of thing,’ she said firmly. ‘The colder the better.’
‘I agree,’ said Sam, ‘which is why I’m taking her skiing in a few weeks. The Alps, I was thinking. Log fires and whisky macs. Sheepskin rugs and Bella.’ He smiled. ‘What more could a man want?’
Will’s jaw almost snapped. Skiing? Log fires and whisky macs? Sheepskin rugs? What the hell was going on? ‘What indeed?’ he muttered.
‘Personally I vastly prefer the heat,’ said Rosie, fluttering her eyelashes at Will. ‘I’d love to visit the Cayman Islands,’ she added wistfully, and planted a hand on his thigh.
He tensed, was about to remove it when he saw Bella’s gaze drop to it and a tiny frown pucker her forehead. Ha, he thought, and decided to leave it there.
‘Perhaps Will will take you,’ said Bella, lifting her eyes to his.
Not a chance. ‘Perhaps,’ he murmured and wondered if he might have accidentally stepped into some sort of parallel universe.
‘Have you known each other long?’ asked Rosie.
‘A couple of weeks,’ said Sam with a shrug. ‘Not long, I know, but it’s been pretty intense, hasn’t it, honey?’
At first the implication of Sam’s words didn’t register. Bella’s knee had bumped against his and a jolt of electricity was shooting straight to his groin, making his body tighten with need and his pulse race.