The Bridesmaid's Secret. Sophie Weston

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СКАЧАТЬ Hell, no. It’s just another added complication.’

      Bella stared. ‘Complication of what, for heaven’s sake?’

      ‘You, me and the advanced class in pair-bonding,’ Gil answered literally

      ‘What?’

      ‘Well, we skipped stages two through five right there on the dance floor tonight.’

      Bella sat bolt upright.

      ‘No, we didn’t. We didn’t skip one single stage,’ she said outraged. ‘Your chat-up technique definitely needs attention.’

      ‘No technique,’ he said, spreading his hands eloquently.

      ‘You can say that again,’ muttered Bella

      ‘Not when it’s important. This isn’t a game. And, anyway, I’m not a player,’ he added with a grimace. ‘Not usually.’

      ‘So what are you?’

      He leaned forward, suddenly not laughing at all. ‘A man in a hurry.’

      Bella met his eyes. She did not want to. But she could not withstand that silent insistence. She saw he meant it.

      He took her gloved hand and held it between both of his, as if that would somehow make her understand.

      ‘I can’t tell you how awful the timing is. Not just the flight tomorrow—no, today. Everything. I can’t tell you how much I’ve got to clear up before I can even think about dating.’

      Bella withdrew her hand. ‘You’re married,’ she said flatly.

      That stopped him dead in his tracks. ‘What?’

      She felt a mild triumph. He was so totally blank. He had not seen that coming. Even now he could not quite believe she had seen through him.

      Suddenly Bella began to feel in control again. She almost forgave him his deception. She was still a sophisticate in three continents. Nobody need feel sorry for her.

      ‘Your wife doesn’t understand you?’ she suggested tolerantly. She had heard it before and, oddly, it was one of the things she could deal with, unlike the roller-coaster of uncertainty that Gil Whoever-he-was had put her on up to now. ‘The moment you saw me you knew I was the sort of girl who would appreciate how hard you have to work. Or how much you have to travel. Or the time you have to spend with clients.’

      He was utterly silenced.

      She raised a mocking eyebrow. ‘Is that one of the steps you think we skipped at Hombre?’

      For the first time he looked at her as if she was a stranger.

      ‘Go out with a lot of married men, do you?’ he asked at last, slowly.

      ‘You don’t have to go out with them to get to know the spiel.’

      His face was unfreezing again. The wide, full-lipped mouth was still eloquent even in the crude neon lighting of the diner. It gave him the brooding mystery of one of the Regency rake poets. And the air of a man who would say any damned thing he liked.

      She was still startled when he said coolly, ‘Are you naturally cynical? Or has somebody hurt you?’

      She jumped as if she had driven a splinter under her fingernail. He watched, interested.

      ‘Still in recovery, are you?’

      Bella folded her lips into a thin line to stop them trembling. ‘None of your business.’

      ‘Don’t worry. You’ll get over it. We all do.’

      Suddenly she didn’t want to talk to him any more. No matter how exciting he was on the dance floor, this was altogether too dangerous to her peace of mind.

      She drained her cup and looked at her watch.

      He sighed. ‘All right. I’m insensitive. Always was. But I’ll be sensitive later, when there’s time. Tonight—’

      ‘This morning,’ corrected Bella with a wide, false smile. ‘And late. I really need to get home.’

      She stood up.

      He said, ‘Stay. Just for five minutes.’

      But she was not looking at him. Not at the wide dark eyes that could go from melting to mocking with such disconcerting speed. Not at the mobile, expressive mouth. Not at his un-gloved hands.

      ‘But we still don’t know anything about each other.’

      ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ she said drily. ‘You’ve taken a few layers of skin off me. How much more do you want?’

      She eased out from behind the table and pulled her big shoulder bag in front of her.

      ‘You don’t know anything about me.’

      ‘I know as much as I want.’

      She held out her hand to him to shake hands and say goodbye. He did not take it.

      Instead he got up too and threw some notes down on the table without looking.

      ‘At least let me get you a cab.’

      She shook her head. ‘Not necessary. I only live a couple of blocks. I can walk. If we see a cab, you’d do much better to take it yourself.’

      The sensual mouth set in a stubborn line. ‘I’ll walk you.’

      She shrugged, indifferent. They went out into the street.

      ‘You’re not the least bit worried, are you? You think you can handle me,’ he said in an odd voice.

      Bella huddled her coat up round her ears. She was only too aware that, underneath it, she was wearing silken straps and a bare midriff.

      ‘You’re not going to jump on me in the middle of the street. It’s too cold.’

      ‘Cold is the ultimate passion killer?’

      His breath turned to smoke in the icy air. She was conscious of a sudden flicker of that awareness again. Under her chilly flesh there was warmth and it was turning to him.

      She said breathlessly, ‘Usually works, yes.’

      She was striding out, almost running. To speed up her circulation, she assured herself. Not to get away from the disturbing feeling that if she let him put his arm round her he could keep her safe and warm for ever.

      He kept pace with her without effort. She remembered how, in the club, she had had the sensation of extreme fitness. Now it was confirmed. He kept up a steady monologue.

      ‘I’m thirty-three. No wife. No dependants of any kind. I live in Cambridge—that’s Cambridge, England—but I travel a lot. I don’t like being tied down. And I only do one thing at a time.’

      ‘What СКАЧАТЬ