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‘Sorry I left you in the lurch like that. Did you have my notes for the speech?’ he asked Diego, stripping off his wet shirt and fighting his way into the clean one that had been provided.
‘I did. But actually, your fiancée, she gave the whole speech herself.’
In the act of zipping himself into dry trousers Samuele froze and ground out a curse.
‘Actually she—’
Samuele silenced him with a hand. ‘No, it’s all right.’ Although it really wasn’t. ‘It’s not your fault. I’ll get this—’
‘But—’
‘It’s fine, Diego, leave it to me.’
Maya had kicked off her shoes but she was still wearing the red dress and she was still raging high on her second wind of fatigue-defying fury when the door opened.
She knew exactly who was standing there but she didn’t turn her head as she crammed the last item into the case and forced the lid closed before she straightened up.
‘I am so, so sorry,cara.’
‘Oh, well, then, that makes everything all right, doesn’t it?’
She moved towards him with a sexy glide of red silk that sent a surge of heat through Samuele’s body. ‘I’m sure,’ he rasped, ‘that it’s not as bad as you think. I’ll phone around and do a bit of damage control.’ He took in the significance of the cases and his expression altered, his eyes hardening. ‘You’re not going anywhere.’
‘No, I’m not—you are.’
‘What?’
‘Don’t look so worried, it’s not as if you’ll have to resort to sofa surfing, but the thing is I just didn’t want to sleep in the same room as you!’
‘Dio, Maya, I know it must have been bad tonight but—’
‘You think I made a fool of myself, don’t you?’ she said. ‘Well, it’s always good to know what a wonderful opinion you have of me, but sorry, I don’t require your efforts in damage limitation, because I smashed it—I was a success, brilliant.’
‘That’s fantastic! I knew you could do it—’
She folded her arms across her heaving chest and directed a narrow-eyed glare up at his face. ‘Not two minutes ago, you didn’t! You thought I’d fall flat on my face and you let me do it because you’re a selfish bastard who really doesn’t give a damn about me.’
‘Look, I’m sorry but tonight—I shouldn’t have left in the first place. I should have refused to jump through hoops for the sake of the statues.’
‘Easy to be wise in hindsight,’ she sneered. ‘Tonight you did me a favour—it really brought a few thing into focus. I would walk away from you right now if it weren’t for Mattio, butheneeds me, soIwon’t abandon him. I will marry you, and I will do this sort of nonsense tonight, but I willnotcontinue to share my bed with a man who cares more about a few lumps of old marble than he does about keeping p...promises he has m...made to people.’ She scrunched her eyes closed and stood there, her hands clenched into fists. ‘I will not cry over you.’
‘Oh,cara...’
Her eyes flew open again, wide, dark and stormy. ‘Don’t“cara”me! I am making the rules now. I was a very good deal for you, Samuele, and you blew it!’
‘My God, you’re so gorgeous.’ With a hunger approaching desperation, his eyes moved over the soft, delicate contours of her face.
‘Do you really think that a few compliments will make me melt into your arms? Oh, yes,’ she added, in full flow now, ‘and I have decided I want to alter the terms of ourcontract. That open-marriage deal you suggested? I’ve started to think it’s a damned great idea!’
It took a while for his brain to decipher the words she’d just spoken, but when it did he went pale and literally swayed where he stood.
‘Open marriage?’His woman seeing another man?HisMaya, hiswife, being touched, made love to by someone else? The reaction to the images in his head rippled through him like an electrical charge and his body went rigid with rejection. He scowled fiercely. ‘I don’t think so.’
A sudden need to reach out to her made him take a step forward but then she snapped out, ‘It was your idea to begin with,remember?And unlike most of your ideas, I think it’s a good one. Verycivilised!’ she hissed.
‘This is all just a misunderstanding,’ he protested.
‘No, it’s not. Have you even heard a word I’ve said? I hate you!’
