Will nodded and sat on the edge of the bed, his arms folded across his chest as he looked slowly down the length of her body. ‘You could.’
Every inch of her burned and then began to melt. ‘What about your therapy?’
Will unclipped her stockings and slid them down her legs, so achingly slowly that Bella trembled. ‘Later,’ he murmured, running the silk through his fingers and giving her a devastatingly wicked smile before leaning forwards and wrapping the stockings over her eyes. ‘Much later.’
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
IT WAS over.
The last of the guests had gone, the director of the museum was locking up and Bella was standing alone in the dark deserted alley, waiting for Will and summoning up the strength to say goodbye. The exhibition had been a raging success and the
collection was en route to Paris.
Whereas she, Bella thought wretchedly, was en route to a lifetime of misery.
She’d never imagined that the end of their affair would be so excruciatingly painful. She’d never imagined that every fibre of her being could hurt, that her heart could physically ache. But it was. It was aching so much that it made her knees tremble and her bones feel like rubber.
Because somewhere along the line, despite everything she knew about him, how pointless it was, she’d fallen in love with Will. Head-over-heels, stomach-flipping-with-every-smile in love with him.
Will was everything she’d ever wanted. And a whole lot more. Over the last wonderful couple of weeks, they’d talked, laughed and had endless sex, and as she’d tumbled into love with him like a pebble in an avalanche she hadn’t stood a chance.
How could she ever have thought she’d be immune to him? she thought desolately. She had no defences whatsoever where he was concerned. They’d crumbled to dust long ago, leaving her open and exposed and so very vulnerable.
Bella huddled into her coat as if that might somehow protect her from the pain as well as the cold.
Oh, she really shouldn’t have come this evening. What had she been thinking? When Will had invited her to the exhibition’s closing party earlier this afternoon she should have said no. She should have picked up her clothes, given him a cool goodbye kiss and left with dignity.
But the thought of spending another couple of hours with him before they separated for good had been too heart-wrenchingly tempting to resist, and she’d given in, even though she’d known that she’d only be prolonging the agony.
Now the party was over and so was their affair.
As they’d agreed.
But did it really have to be?
Bella froze as the thought slammed into her head and her heart began to thud with something that felt suspiciously like hope. As it had done relentlessly over the last few days. And then she ruthlessly wiped it out because of course it had to be over and she was an idiot to yearn for anything else.
She stamped her feet and watched Will come out of the museum and walk towards her, aware that all they had left were a few minutes and feeling her heart wobble.
He stood in front of her and she wrapped her arms around her waist to stop herself reaching up and tracing his face with her fingers in an effort to commit it to memory.
‘So this is it,’ she said, fixing an overly bright smile to her face to compensate for the crack in her voice.
Will looked down at her, his eyes guarded and expression completely unreadable. ‘I guess it is.’
‘It’s been … fun.’
He nodded. ‘It has.’
A couple of seconds of silence fell and Bella’s heart twisted. This was awful. After all the time they’d spent together, everything they’d done, they’d been reduced to polite small talk as if they were awkward strangers. ‘Will I see you at Alex and Phoebe’s wedding?’ she said.
‘It’s unlikely. I’m flying home tomorrow. I don’t know when I’ll be back.’
‘Right.’ She frowned and bit her lip and focused her gaze on the banner bearing the museum’s name that hung from a flagpole and fluttered in the breeze.
‘I hope you find what you’re looking for, Bella,’ he murmured and she could feel his gaze roaming over her face.
Her vision blurred and she blinked to clear it, her whole body clenching in agony. Because she’d already found it, hadn’t she? ‘You too.’