Page 59 of David's Proposal

Her frustration is palpable.

“I didn’t think it would be an issue. And it shouldn’t be an issue. I had dinner with James, Lex, and Tiago. And then I came here. I don’t need to inform everyone about my whereabouts.”

“They are still at the Casino, having dinner,” she says, her expression frozen.

“How do you know?”

“I just know. And you came here with business. Scheduled business, I might add. That’s why Sabina’s snitch knew you’d stop by.”

I shrug.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter.”

“No, it doesn’t. I’ll talk to Sabina tonight. And you’ll send her a gift basket tomorrow morning and a severance package. I don’t want to run into a similar situation again. She stalked me.”

“That’s why I asked…” she says evenly. “Were you with that gorgeous redhead?”

She doesn’t blink while I ponder her words.

Am I flattered by her observation? I probably am.

And while this is one of the oldest tricks in the book, I fall for it without having the slightest regret.

“You think she was gorgeous?”

Her expression remains frozen for a few more seconds, her eyes not leaving mine before her lips move into a smile.

“Men are so easy––Miranda taught me that. And I was convinced it wasn’t true. And I even argued with her that a man wouldn’t be so foolish to fall for it. Men and flattery, a dynamite combo when it comes to fishing for information.”

I smile.

“I knew what you were doing, so it doesn’t count.”

“You couldn’t wait to talk to me about her…” she says, and my lips pull into a straight line.

“It’s not about that. You don’t always need to know everything about me. As I just said.”

“That means yes.”

Her eyes sparkle with a smile.

“You and her are meeting secretly.”

“That’s, um… not it.”

“Yes, it is. You’ve become so obsessed with keeping Sabina away. Okay, okay…” she says, pushing upright and holding her hands up. “I’m not asking you why it has to be a secret. But, as much as I find it romantic…Why does it have to be a secret?”

I say nothing.

“All right,” she says in a softer voice. “It’s your business.”

She looks away and then back to me, questions flickering in her eyes.

“Were you truly with that woman?”

Again, I remain silent.

---