For a second there was silence. Then Will sprang back and raked his hands through his hair, his eyes blazing. ‘Of course I’m bloody jealous,’ he said, so fiercely that Bella gasped. ‘Two days ago you were writhing on top of me and now you’re out for dinner the evening we were supposed to be going out wrapped around another man.’
‘You’re not exactly sitting at home pining,’ she shot back, unable to keep an odd trace of hurt out of her voice at the thought of the beautiful Rosie and where she’d had her hand.
‘Now who’s the one sounding jealous?’
‘I’m not jealous,’ she snapped. ‘Just pointing out the facts.’
Will let out a sharp hollow laugh. ‘Oh, give up the games, Bella.’
Bella bristled and battled back a wince of shame because shame had no place in this conversation. ‘What games? If anyone’s playing games, it’s you, Will. You started this when you decided to come over and say hello and then embarked on a two-tiered conversation.’
‘No. You started this when you cancelled our date for no apparent reason.’
‘I had my reasons,’ she said, glaring at him.
‘Which are?’
Bella set her jaw. ‘Never mind.’
Will swore beneath his breath. ‘Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?’
She folded her arms over her chest and stuck her chin up. ‘No.’
Will took a step back and clenched his fists as if to stop himself from shaking her and for a moment they bristled at each other in silence.
The door opened and Bella jumped. The woman who’d gone in earlier came out, glanced at each of them in turn, avid curiosity spread all over her face, and then darted off as if worried she might catch some of the fraught tension swirling around the place.
The interruption lasted only a matter of seconds, but it was enough to break the stand-off.
‘You know,’ said Will with a sigh as he frowned and rubbed a hand along his jaw, ‘I never play games.’
Bella’s mouth went dry and she swallowed. ‘Neither do I,’ she said, her voice sounding annoyingly husky. ‘I’ve always thought them a complete waste of time.’
‘Me too.’ He glanced at her. ‘Yet here we are, playing games with each other like it’s a matter of life and death. Why do you think that is?’
Her breath caught in her throat. ‘I don’t know.’
He took a step towards her. ‘Yes, you do.’
She did. And wasn’t that exactly the trouble?
Feeling all the energy drain out of her, Bella sighed and ran her hands through her hair. ‘Look, Will,’ she said wearily, ‘I’m sorry for making you think that there was more to Sam and me than there is. I’m sorry your evening’s been ruined. But I have a headache and I want to go home.’
Will paused and frowned. ‘OK. Then I’ll take you. We can talk on the way there.’
Oh, no. Not a chance. ‘No.’ She put up a hand and gave him a quick smile. ‘Thank you. But I’ll be fine. We don’t have anything left to talk about and, besides, you have a date who, I’m sure, is looking forward to being taken the circuitous route home.’
Will tensed. ‘What the hell does that mean?’ he said in a dangerously low voice.
God. Why couldn’t she have kept her mouth shut and just left? Bella’s heart began to thump. His eyes burned into her, demanding an explanation all over again and she realised that any closure that they might have been working towards had evaporated.
With her mouth firing off without her consent, she needed to leave before she said or did something she really might regret. ‘Oh, nothing,’ she said making a move to march off and then having to halt when Will blocked her.
‘Right,’ he said sardonically.
Bella’s hackles shot up. ‘Do you mind … ?’
‘Yes, I do.’