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“Cassie,” he sighed with frustration. “It is nothing. Do not overanalyse it.”
“It’s not nothing,” she denied quickly. “It’s … too much.”
“So you’ve said,” he murmured, lifting the necklace from the box so that he could lay it around her front. He hooked it behind her neck then stood back to admire it. “Beautiful.”
“Yes, it is, but I can’t keep it.”
His eyes flared. “It is not up for discussion. Throw it away, if you must, when I am gone. Until then, it is yours.”
Cassie stared at him with impatience. “Layth…”
“I do not intend to argue with you.”
Their eyes locked in a silent battle, and finally she sighed. “I don’t need this.” She just needed him.
8
The supermarket inside Waterloo was packed.
Just her luck. Cassie blew her hair out of her face for lack of other options. Her hands were weighed down with far too many things to hold. But she’d refused a basket
upon entry, and she’d stubbornly stuck to that decision.
The queue inched forward minutely; she shuffled in line with the snake.
Mentally, she ran through the recipe, trying to make sure she’d grabbed everything required. Chicken, mushrooms, white wine, paprika, crème fraiche, rice, yes.
They’d had traditional Takisabad food the night before. The night before that, it had been burgers. Cassie figured it was her turn to choose again. But this time, she was cooking.
A smile of anticipation tingled on her lips as she thought of him.
Layth Sati. Her gut pulled with pleasurable desire. As soon as she’d paid for these groceries, she’d hail a cab and go to him.
Her eyes drifted to the enormous clock just outside the M&S express. She was later than she’d intended to be, but a last minute complication at work had kept her.
Her phone began to vibrate in her handbag and she frowned. No way could she juggle the various items she was balancing and answer her phone. She mentally shrugged and inched forward a little.
Finally, after what felt to be an interminable wait, she was at the front of the line. She went through the motions of polite conversation with the assistant and paid with cash. The bag was a relief to hold after managing so many items. She fished her phone out as she left the store and saw a missed call from Melinda.
Cassie dialled on autopilot, and paused, waiting for the call to connect. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a dark figure. Someone familiar. She turned, the hairs on the back of her neck standing instantly.
“Hey babes.” Melinda’s voice made her smile, but tension was still pulsing beneath her skin.
Who had she just seen?
She paced across the front of the store, her eyes peering into the shop. A flash of black, disappearing behind a fridge.
A frisson of fear danced down her spine. It couldn’t be Antonio. She had a restraining order in place.
“Cass?”
She shivered, and clutched the bag tighter. Moving more quickly now, she stepped out of the station, and scanned the street for a cab. Traffic was at a standstill.
“Yeah, hi. Sorry, I’m lugging groceries.”
“Oh. Okay. Did you hear what I said?”
“No, I didn’t. Go again.”
