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I dropped the rest of my sandwich, startled, then swore. “Damn it, Ian! You scared me! And I wanted that sandwich!”
It was already gone, wolfed down by the disreputable dog by Ian’s long legs. He looked as scruffy as his master—some kind of mix that looked vaguely familiar.
“Ollie!” I breathed, squatting down and rubbing his shaggy head. “I’ve missed you.”
I felt Ian’s stillness, and I glanced up as the dog happily licked my hand, my arm, and my face. “Ollie’s been dead nine years now, Bella. As much as you hate dogs, you still should remember that much.”
I had put my arms around the dog, letting him nuzzle me enthusiastically as I laughed, when his words finally penetrated. Hell and damnation. How could someone not love dogs?
I rubbed the dog’s head. Kneeling at Ian’s feet wasn’t a particularly good thing to be doing either, since it brought me eye-level with his belt and the flat stomach covered by a faded black T-shirt.
I rose, shrugging it off. “I finally found a dog I liked, and realized there was nothing to be scared of.”
“You were scared of dogs? I thought you just didn’t like them.”
Maybe I’d been a bit too sanguine about Ian earlier. Then again, he’d always done everything he could to bother Bella and me—I should have expected nothing less.
I shrugged, tossing my hair. That toss was beginning to hurt my neck. “Don’t be a pain in the ass,” I said, still scratching the blissfully grateful dog behind the ears. “A person can change, you know. And how long has it been since you saw me? Five years? Don’t you think I might have grown up a little?”
There was no expression on his face. That had always been the damnable thing about Wretched Ian—you could never tell what he was thinking. “I would have thought that was an outright impossibility. So you’ve changed your ways, have you? You now like dogs, you travel light, and you’ve developed an affection for Diet Coke. Will wonders never cease?”
“You’ve been talking to Maldonado,” I said, uneasy. “Then you must know that the cousins are here.”
“I know. He also warned me you were off traipsing around the land. Not the smartest thing to do when the sun is setting. Or were you trolling for a farmhand for a quick roll in the hay?”
“A farmhand? Don’t be ridiculous!” I said instinctively. Then scrambled to cover my words. “Not that farmhands aren’t as worthy as anyone else, but they aren’t really the stuff of romantic fantasies. I mean, most of them are middled-aged, with a paunch and dozens of children.”
“Getting democratic, are we, Bella-Beast?”
I stiffened. I’d forgotten that little sobriquet. “Why do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Give people nasty names? Like calling your brother Lunkhead. And poor Podge! That was outright cruel.” I shouldn’t have brought it up, but that name, which had become a comfortable form of address used by everyone at Mariposa, still burned.
Again that inscrutable expression. “It helps me keep people sorted in my mind. And you know perfectly well you were the one who came up with the name Podge. You’re right, it was cruel. Too bad she never realized you were responsible.”
I couldn’t move, frozen there in the rich soil like an ancient vine. “I...” I began, but my voice felt raw. She couldn’t have! Ian was lying.
“You’re looking exhausted,” he said abruptly, and with anyone else, I might have thought there was a note of kindness in his voice. “You’re still jet-lagged. Go back to the house and take it easy. I’m certain Maldonado can forage some food for you.”
I wanted to refuse, but too many things were swirling around in my head, and I needed to sit somewhere quiet and pull myself together. At this rate I’d betray myself. I wanted to, desperately, at that moment. I wanted to weep and rail at Bella, my only ally, but I bit it back. Telling Ian the truth wouldn’t help anyone.
“Good idea,” I said with an approximation of the airy tones I’d perfected. I moved then, my muscles feeling stiff, then glanced back at him. “Are you coming to dinner? Mary Alice has decreed we have it at seven-thirty, but you could overrule her.”
“So could you. It doesn’t matter to me— I usually eat at my place.”
“Your place? You’re not living in the house?”
He shook his head. “I have an apartment over the old stables. I like my privacy.”
I relaxed, just marginally. “Then I won’t be seeing much of you during my stay.”
“Don’t count on it. When Marcus is here, I spend my evenings at the house, and I visit Granda at least once a day, plus I need to check in with Maldonado to make sure things are running smoothly. You never know when I’m going to turn up, Bella-Beast. You’ll need to watch your back.”
“Why? Are you going to stab me in it?”
His smile was thin. “You don’t know me very well, do you? If I ever decide to stab you, it will be in the heart, looking into your cold green eyes, sweetheart. So watch your step.”
