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I wonder what her sweat tastes like.
I clear my throat and keep my expression neutral, but I'm unable to do anything about the fact that my pulse is hammering in my ears as I realize that I've never been so affected by a woman, ever. And she lo
athes me.
"Emma." Her eyes widen in what looks like a split second of confusion at my use of her name. But then she crosses her arms over her chest and glares at me.
“Why would you invite someone like him to dinner?” she demands.
“How was I to know your cousin is a gold digger and that you think it’s a virtue to be praised?” I respond. I’m annoyed and frustrated by this whole fucking evening.
Her mouth falls open in shock, and then it twists into a frown.
She runs a hand through her long, curling hair and clears her throat as she gains her composure. "Now that you’ve thoroughly ruined my vacation, I thought I’d come and say goodbye formally.”
“That hardly seems necessary, it’s not as if-" I say quickly and ready for this encounter to be over.
“You gave me money the night we met,” she interjects, surprising me with the random comment.
"Yes, wasn’t it enough?” I ask, confused by her reincarnation of this subject. Maybe she’s a gold digger, too. I start to reach for my wallet.
"You're unbelievable," she hisses, her eyes narrowing to tiny slits. "I don't want your money." She flings the last word at me and glowers down her perfectly symmetrical, slightly pugnacious nose. Even when she's angry, her voice is soft and melodious.
"You're so beautiful," I say before I can stop myself.
Her head jerks backward, her mouth falling open and her eyes widening in utter disbelief.
"Beautiful? Did you hear what I said?" she sputters.
"Yes, I heard you. And yes, beautiful. Very. It's too bad your personality leaves so much to be desired," I return dryly, and look down at my wine trying to decide if I should finish it before I leave.
The waiter walks up and drops a plate of cake and ice cream that I don’t remember ordering in front of me, and says “Enjoy,” without even coming to a full stop.
I look up and find her glaring down at me, her little hands balled into fists at her sides.
“You’re still here.”
"I’m leaving. Just wanted to give you this," she grits out, her lips barely moving and the muscle in her jaw jumping. She raises her left hand, holding a tightly clenched fist over my plate. She opens it to reveal a mangled clump of pound notes in her palm. Her plump lips broaden, and the corners tip up in a smile that is at odds with the stony anger in her beautiful eyes. I almost sigh at how bitterly disappointing all of this is.
Slowly, she tilts her open hand and the money falls unceremoniously onto the ice cream.
"Really?" I ask. My humor starts to flag as I stare at the meal on my plate.
"Really," she returns mockingly, and she leans in toward me. "You bumped into me. You knocked me over, spilled your drink all over and then when I had the audacity to be annoyed, you insulted me and walked off. And then you appeared to seek me out to continue your insults this afternoon at the pool. I'm not sure how you were raised or where you're from. But I'm sure that there's nowhere in the world any of that would be considered anything other than spectacularly rude."
I fish the money out of my food and fix her with a look of dark glower, even though there's a part of me that's actually enjoying it. But I won't let her misconstrue what happened the other night.
"We collided because you weren't looking where you were going. And yes, I thought your reaction was completely disproportionate. You behaved as though I walked up to you, pushed you down and then poured my drink all over you. And I thought it was generous to offer to pay for your dress."
"Generous? You threw money at me when all you really needed to do was apologize." She puts a hand on her hip and cocks her head to the side.
"I said I was sorry," I snap and then look around her, trying to find a server who can take my plate and bring me a new one.
"You didn't mean it then, and you don't mean it now. I'm here to relax. I was doing that until you," she thrusts a finger at me, and I'm tempted to lean forward and bite it, "showed up and tried to ruin it."
"So, you're also a mind reader? I didn't try to ru--"
She cuts me off. "Just stay away from me. This resort is big enough that we can avoid each other without working too hard." I narrow my eyes at her, and a surge of anger propels me to my feet.
