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“Exactly what I wanted you to say,” Marcus said, his smile exposing every single one of his perfect teeth, and I wanted to groan.
“Sounds like it’ll be a lovely evening,” Ian drawled. “I won’t be joining you two, thanks for asking. Young love gives me hives.”
“And Valerie and I can look after ourselves, I suppose,” Mary Alice said in a long-suffering voice. “We wouldn’t want to interfere in your plans.” She looked like she wanted to do exactly that.
Marcus startled, looking guilty. “You’re welcome to join us if you want, all of you. I was thinking a moonlight dinner would be romantic, but I would never think...”
“Don’t worry about it,” Ian cut him off. “I made arrangements when I was in town for a romantic dinner myself. I expect to be fully occupied.”
And there it was, that slash of pain and something else, something I refused to recognize. I was going to be fending off Marcus’s advances while Ian was in bed with that glorious creature I saw the first night I got here. Or maybe someone else—there was no reason to suppose he was in a monogamous relationship, and for some reason that made me feel even worse.
“I’ll just go upstairs,” I said faintly. “You’re right—a shower will do wonders. What time should I be ready?”
“We’ll eat at nine. There’s time for you to take a short rest before you spruce yourself up. I’ll come and get you.”
Spruce myself up? Slightly bedraggled Bella was still miles ahead of plain old Podge, and I wanted to kick him, until I saw Ian’s smirk. Plastering a charming smile on my face, I nodded. “You’ll get the works, Marcus.”
“I can’t wait.”
I really wanted to leave Ian with some parting shot, but everything I could think of gave away too much, so I simply tightened my smile and took off, not relaxing until I was through the door into my room. I slumped down on the floor in relief, leaning my head against the thick, solid door, and let the tension just drain out of me. It wasn’t that bad. So Ian knew I wanted to leave—I’d already told him that any number of times, but he was determined to keep me here for Granda’s sake. He had no suspicions, no ulterior motives—how could he? I should just relax and enjoy myself in the warm, spring weather. Back in Hanover they’d still be getting frost.
I could see an advantage to all Bella’s elaborate potions and preparations. By the time nine o’clock rolled around, I felt unrecognizable beneath the mask of makeup and crimped hair—the real Kitty was deep inside where no one would ever find her, not through the tinted contact lenses or the lipsticked mouth or the arched eyebrows. I was an actress, playing a role, and no one was going to get hurt, except, quite possibly, me. I could handle this.
Marcus’s approximation of a gentle knock thundered at my door, and I opened it quickly, determined to get this evening over with, when Marcus looked me up and down with a low, appreciative whistle. “You do clean up well, Bella,” he said, holding out his arm. He was wearing a pink linen jacket that accentuated his golden tan, and I knew a million women would be on their knees in gratitude for the promise of a night in his company. It was just too bad I wasn’t one of them.
“Could we stop and visit Granda?” I asked, as he led me through the wide hallways and up the tiled staircase.
“He’s already asleep,” Marcus said, but for some reason the regret in his voice didn’t sound quite right. “I told him we were having a romantic dinner and he was very pleased. You know how much he wants us to be together.”
I was prepared for this and didn’t squirm. “I know.”
He drew me out onto the third floor terrace, and the setting was almost laughably romantic—the candlelit table for two, the wine chilling in a silver bucket, the soft sounds of canned music in the background. It was probably called “Music for Seduction” but it was just the sort of gloppy, sentimental mush I hated. Play me a little Marvin Gaye and “Sexual Healing” and I might have even jumped Marcus’s bones. If Ian had set up a romantic dinner, the soundtrack would probably include something down and dirty like “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails.
I laughed, when I really shouldn’t have, and Marcus pulled me around, a confused expression on his face. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.” I quickly controlled myself. “I was just thinking of something highly unlikely.”
Marcus didn’t appear particularly pleased with my answer, but a moment later, he plastered his suave smile across his face, the one that used to make me go weak in the knees. “I don’t want you thinking about anything but me tonight,” he said in a low, seductive voice, and I just managed to hide my knee-jerk reaction. Marcus was a young girl’s dream. He was a grown woman’s...nightmare would be too harsh, but I couldn’t think of any other word. I had plenty of things to think about besides him, things that I’d rather think about.
The evening moved at an excruciating pace, but I played my role perfectly. Marcus’s conversation alternated between showing off and showering me with effusive compliments, and I simpered appropriately, letting the words wash over me and paying them no attention. In this case, I was doing exactly what Bella would do—she was so used to being beautiful that she didn’t need fulsome praise to shore up a flagging ego. Selene had outdone herself with the food, and I ate quietly as I listened to Marcus’s opinions on music, movies, politics, money, marriage.
I heard the last one with increasing edginess. Surely I had made myself perfectly clear, but then Marcus’s handsome head was a lot thicker than I remembered. He waited until we were eating leche frita, the famous fried milk dessert, to finish off the wonderful meal, and then he went in for the kill.
“I’m not taking no for an answer, Bella,” he said with what he must have fancied was a winning smile. “This is too important, for Granda’s sake. You don’t have to marry me, but I’m hoping you will. We belong together, we both know it, and we’ve wasted enough time as it is.”
What Would Bella Do? Would she want to marry Marcus? They’d certainly been devoted enough when we were young, but Bella had barely mentioned him when she showed up at my apartment with this absurd masquerade in mind. The masquerade I’d said yes to, I reminded myself.
Marcus was charging forward. “But if you’d just agree to an engagement, just to make Granda happy... What harm can it do? The old man needs peace of mind, and you know he always wanted us together, just as he wanted Ian and Podge.”
“Well, he failed at that, because Kitty and Ian hate each other.” I absolutely refused to call myself “Podge.”
“I don’t think so.” There was a sly expression on Marcus’s face. “But then, you never paid them any attention.”
No, Bella hadn’t. And it would serve her right if she made her triumphant return to Mariposa to find out she was engaged to her ex-boyfriend.
But you said yes to this, I reminded myself. I had no right to be angry with Bella—it was my own damned fault. “I’m not going to marry you,” I said firmly.
“But will you at least agree to an engagement? For Granda’s sake?”
