Lady Surrender. Кэрол Мортимер

he scorned. ‘I don’t think so.’

      ‘You might regret not listening to me,’ she suggested with soft emphasis.

      ‘I doubt that.’

      She shrugged. ‘It’s important.’

      ‘Just as making sure you have varnish on your toenails is important to you, no doubt!’ he looked contemptuously at the offending toenails, the varnish the same deep shade as her fingernails. ‘You look like a damned slave-girl!’

      ‘Is it a crime to want to look nice?’ she snapped defensively, sick of his criticism.

      ‘I suppose not, when it’s all you have to do all day,’ he dismissed harshly.

      ‘It isn’t!’

      ‘I’m sure it isn’t,’ he derided with a humourless smile. ‘Now let’s get this over with,’ he added decisively. ‘I’ll throw in a necklace to match the bracelet, arrange for you to stay at a hotel until you can find—somewhere else to live,’ his mouth twisted. ‘As long as you move out tomorrow and don’t bother Matt again.’

      ‘And if I don’t?’ she challenged.

      His mouth thinned. ‘As I said, I could make things very unpleasant for you.’

      She smiled, confident that this man could do nothing to hurt her. ‘You’re going to feel extremely foolish when you realise what a mistake you’ve made,’ she assured him.

      His eyes narrowed. ‘You’re staying in Matt’s apartment, there’s no mistake about that.’

      Charly could sense he was becoming uneasy about her cool control, her smile widening. ‘No, there’s no mistake about that,’ she agreed.

      ‘And that story about the fire is pure fiction,’ he accused.

      ‘Is it?’

      ‘Oh to hell with this!’ he moved restlessly. ‘The jewellery will be delivered to you here tomorrow morning, make sure you leave then.’

      ‘Don’t you think you should talk to Matt before doing this?’ she reasoned.

      ‘No, I don’t!’ He slammed out of the apartment.

      Charly’s breath was expelled in a tense sigh, shaking her head to suddenly look down at her watch; she was going to be over an hour late for her dinner date.

      But she couldn’t help wondering, as she drove to the restaurant, what Aaron Grantley’s reaction was going to be once he had spoken to Matt tomorrow.