Uncovering the Silveri Secret. Melanie Milburne

on the bath stool,’ Edoardo instructed as he pulled out the drawer where the first-aid kit was stored.

      She sat and held out her hand with a recalcitrant look on her face. ‘It’s just a scratch.’

      ‘It’s just shy of needing a stitch,’ he said as he checked the wound for traces of glass.

      ‘Ouch!’

      ‘Sorry,’ he said.

      She glowered at him. ‘I bet you’re not.’

      ‘You know me so well.’

      She gave him a lengthy look. ‘Does anyone know you, Edoardo?’ she asked.

      He shifted his gaze to her thumb as he carefully placed a plaster over the wound. She had switched from spitting cat to gentle dove within a heartbeat. He had seen her work her lethal charm on others. He had seen grown men fall over like ninepins when she gave them that misty, doe-eyed look. She knew the feminine power she had and exploited it whenever she could.

      But he was not going to let her manipulate him.

      ‘What makes you ask that?’ he asked casually.

      ‘You don’t seem to have a lot of friends,’ she said.

      ‘You don’t seem to need people like other people do.’

      ‘I have what I need in terms of companionship,’ he said.

      ‘Who is your best friend?’

      He released her hand and moved to the basin to wash his hands. ‘You should take care of that thumb,’ he said. ‘You don’t want to get it infected.’

      ‘Edoardo?’

      He dried his hands on the nearest towel and then shoved it back on the rail. ‘I’d better go clean up that glass before Fergus steps on it,’ he said.

      She bit her lip again. ‘I’m sorry …’

      He gave her a brief glance before he shouldered open the door. ‘We all have our limits, Bella.’