Three
He wasn’t sure?What did that even mean?
I gazed at him with a mixture of frustration and something else, something that shouldn’t even exist inside of me. If I were in a fanciful mood, I could probably think that we had everything required for a romantic scene.
The setting was ideal, with warm sunlight peeking through the gaps of space between the trees that towered over us. There was even music in the air, with birds chirping in the distance, and the leaves faintly rustling on the ground every time a breeze made them dance.
And most importantly of all, there was a boy, and there was a girl.
It was a perfect setup for a love story, really – only if the boy wasn’t Marcus Ravelli and the girl wasn’t Anneke de Konigh.
I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling cold despite the summer heat. “What do you want from me?”
The words seemed to startle him, and I didn’t get that either.
“It’s not supposed to be like this,bambina.”
“What’sit?” I was even more frustrated now.
A faint smile touched his lips. “Flirting. This – asking such straightforward questions – isn’t how flirting is supposed to work.”
Oh.“I see.”We were flirting?“I’m sorry.”That was flirting?“I truly beg your pardon.”We really had been flirting?
“Va bene.” Marcus’ words drew my attention back to him. He was smiling again, but this time it no longer reached his eyes. “I shouldn’t have been the usual with you anyway.”
“I see.” I wasn’t sure what he meant, but his words awfully sounded like he had compared me to other women—-
And he had found me lacking.
I managed a smile. “Then that’s that, I suppose.” And once again I found myself walking away.
I heard him curse under his breath, but again it only made me walk faster.
Marcus reached my side, but I forced myself to ignore him.
“Do you know,” he muttered under his breath, “you are the only woman I find myself running after?”
Then that made us even,I thought, for he was the only man to make me exhibit such rudeness.
He suddenly blocked my way, forcing me to stop. “I don’t like this.”
“I don’t like it either,” I heard myself snap and felt appalled right after. It was yet another act of rudeness, and again it happened because of him—-
Marcus Ravelli.
Last night I had spent hours tossing and turning in bed, trying to figure out why he affected me so. I wasn’t so stupid I thought it was love at first sight. I didn’t need actual experience to understand that what existed between us was nothing more than a powerful attraction, the kind of chemistry that was off the charts.
But what I still didn’t get waswhy.