“Well, then, why not? I mean, it’s the perfect opportunity. You can have a pleasant evening, and then you have the perfect excuse not to complicate things. We’ll be leaving for Monaco in a couple days.”
“If I were looking for something like that, I would hardly call the evening I would be embarking onpleasant.”
His breathing halted and then sputtered, sounding hoarse and ragged to his own ears just as a warmth that felt thick like honey began to spread between his legs.
Looking into her dark eyes, he had the sudden thought that she was telling the truth—that a night with her wouldn’t bepleasantbecause that was much too tame a word.
She tossed her head. “But as I said, I’m not interested in anyone, so you don’t need to worry about any competition from me.”
“Why are you being so combative?”
She held out her arms. “I’m Inigo Montoya.”
He laughed despite himself. But he quickly stopped. He wasn’t about to let her off that easily.
“Costume aside. It’s like you’re looking for a fight.”
“We’ve been fighting for years online. Nothing new. Nothing’s changed.”
But something was new. Something had changed.
He shook his head. “You know that’s not true. Okay, it was true. But I haven’t given you any reason today, yesterday, frankly since we were locked in that room in Barcelona, to be mad at me. At least I don’t think so. But you’re coming at me as though I have. You’re making a point of being nasty and disagreeable.”
“Nasty and disagreeable? That should hardly surprise you—cockroaches generally are.”
Rocco frowned. “I told you I never called you that.”
“Well, it’s obvious you lied.”
“I didn’t lie.”
“Should we ask Dario?”
“Dario?” And then it suddenly occurred to Rocco. “Did Dario just tell you that? Really? I can’t believe he did that!”
“What? Tell me the truth?”
“No. I told him my nieces thought I’d called you a cockroach.”
“Why would you tell him that? To have a good laugh at my expense?”
“No!” He hesitated. He didn’t exactly want to tell her any of the rest of his conversation with Dario. “I only told him about that to explain to him that you would never—”
“Never what?”
“That there was no danger of—”
He huffed.Just say it already.
“I told him so that he would know you’d reject any move I made. If I did make a move. Which I have no intention of doing. So, you don’t have to worry about it.”
“What do you mean, ‘make a move’?”
“You know what I mean. A move. Like the kind you think I want to make on Tiffany Bright.”
“Why would you make a move on me?”
“I wouldn’t.”
