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“Then what is the problem? Why don’t you trust me?”
“But I told you. It’s Melinda I don’t trust. You can’t trust a woman—or a man—who’s all eaten up with unrequited love.”
“Eaten up? Gen, listen to yourself. What you’re saying is absurd.”
“No, I don’t think it is.”
“Think again. What real proof do you have? You can’t just assume that Melinda’s carrying some decade-long torch for me. Not from just one look. You hardly know her.”
“Well, all right. When you put that way, I...”
“See? You don’t know. You can’t be sure.”
She couldn’t. And she had to admit that. “All right. I take your point. Maybe, just possibly, I have it all wrong.”
“Of course you do.”
She pushed at his chest. “Don’t make me smack you one.”
He caught her hands before she could escape. “You’re a violent little thing.” He dipped his head again.
And again, she turned away. “Listen. I mean it.”
“Say it, then,” he growled in her ear.
“I only... Well, just for the sake of argument, say I was right.”
“But, Gen, you’re not right.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it matters.”
“Rafe. Please. Just for the sake of argument, let’s say that I’m right. Let’s say that Melinda is and always has been in love with you. And let’s say she did make a pass at you. What would you do?”
“This is ridiculous.”
“But what would you do?”
“Well, I would say no. That I’m not interested.”
“And then, not only would she be suffering from unrequited love, she would have to live with your outright rejection.”
He blew out a hard breath. “If a woman is going to make a move on a married man, she deserves what she gets—in fact, I’ll go further.”
“Oh, well. Please do.”
“We all risk rejection any time we go after something we want—or someone we want. If Melinda was so in love with me, why didn’t she say a word about it all those years ago, when both of us were free?”
She looked at him, loving him, shaking her head, longing to demand, If she had, would you have said you loved her, too?
But no. If he answered yes, she’d only die a little inside. And it wasn’t a fair question anyway. Better to stay in the here and now.
And then she found herself thinking about those two months after their four days at Villa Santorno. She had waited every day, every hour, every beat of her heart, for him to contact her, for him to tell her he wasn’t ready yet for it to be over. Thinking about that time had her understanding Melinda better.
“Oh, Rafe. Don’t you see? Eleven years ago, she was only waiting for a sign from you, a signal that maybe, just maybe, you felt what she felt.”
He stared down at her with a thoughtful expression. For a moment, she thought he understood. But then, just like a man, he argued, “And maybe you have no idea what you’re talking about.”
She was so tempted to start yelling at him then. But no. She’d done the best she could with this. They needed to move on. “Just in case, will you please be careful around her? Be observant, watch your step?”
He snorted out a hard laugh. “You are the most stubborn woman I’ve ever known.”
“Not half as stubborn as you. Will you?”
He looked thoroughly put-upon. “I suppose, for the sake of peace between the two of us, I’ll have to, won’t I?” And then he dipped his head a third time.
She leaned back, so his lips couldn’t quite touch hers. “Was that a yes?”
He caught her by the shoulders. “Kiss first.”
She sucked in a shivery, yearning breath. “Will you?”
And he lifted one hand and cradled the back of her neck. His warm, knowing fingers slid into her hair. He held her there with very little effort as his mouth came down and plundered hers.
She didn’t fight it. It felt too good. She parted her lips for him, inviting his clever, hot tongue inside.
For a long, lovely string of moments, everything faded away. There was only his burning kiss and the pleasure zipping along her every nerve.
And then, when he finally released her mouth, he pressed his forehead to hers. “Gen...”
She asked, one more time, “Will you?”
He teased, “What were we talking about?”
“Answer the question.”
And finally, he gave in. “Yes, all right. I’ll watch my step around Melinda.”
Chapter Nine
Rafe had to go up to London again the next week. Genny went with him. They stayed at his house in Kensington. They ate out at good restaurants and attended the theater.
