She gritted her teeth. ‘I did no such thing.’
‘I will expect you here at eight p.m. We will have dinner together to discuss your ideas on the project so far,’ he said as if she hadn’t spoken.
‘I’m not having dinner with you,’ she said with stiff force. ‘I have another commitment.’
‘Cancel it.’
Three beats of silence passed.
‘I don’t usually see clients out of office hours,’ she put in guardedly.
‘I am sure you will not mind making an exception for me, since we are old acquaintances, hmm?’
‘So what we had together has been downgraded to mere acquaintances, has it?’ she asked with bitterness sharpening her tone.
‘Old friends, then.’
‘We were lovers, Alessandro Marciano, and as a result you are the father of my child,’ she said through tight lips. ‘Don’t you dare insult me by referring to me as a mere acquaintance.’
‘Are you suggesting you wish to be elevated to the role of my mistress?’ he asked.
‘Of course not!’ she spluttered in indignation.
‘It can easily be arranged,’ he put in smoothly. ‘In fact, I have been thinking about it since I ran into you last night with your boyfriend. He seems pleasant enough, but I bet he has not been able to make you writhe and scream the way I did.’
‘It’s none of your business what I do or who I do it with.’
‘And yet you responded to me so delightfully when I kissed you. I had only to touch you and you went up in flames.’
Scarlett knew she had no way to defend herself, but it didn’t stop her trying. ‘Lots of ex-lovers temporarily revisit the context of their past relationship. It doesn’t mean anything.’
‘It means you are still attracted to me, in spite of your involvement with another man,’ he said.
‘You’re a fine one to talk,’ she shot back. ‘If you’re so heavily involved with Velika Vanovic what business did you have kissing me?’
‘Ah, but that is what I wish to discuss with you this evening,’ he said. ‘I will send a car for you, so do not think of trying to wriggle your way out of it.’
‘Can I bring my son?’
The silence stretched and stretched, until Scarlett seriously wondered if he had hung up on her.
‘I do not think a small child should be up at that hour, do you?’ he asked. ‘If money is an issue I will pay for a babysitter.’
Scarlett let another little silence slip past.
‘Don’t send a car,’ she said, on a sigh of resignation. ‘I’ll make my own way there.’
‘I am sending you a car and I expect you to use it,’ he said in a tone that brooked no resistance.
She felt her top lip go up in a sneer. ‘Is this a late show of concern for my welfare on the streets alone at night?’
There was a tiny almost immeasurable pause.
‘Yes, it is, actually,’ he said gravely. ‘I deeply regret the way I treated you four years ago. It was ungallant and unfeeling of me.’
‘It was also totally unjustified.’
There was another small, tense silence before he broke it by saying, ‘I will see you this evening. Ciao.’
Scarlett let out her breath in a whoosh, and replaced the receiver on its cradle with a little clatter. ‘Ooh I hate that man!’ she growled.
‘Do you need me to babysit?’ Roxanne asked.
Scarlett folded her arms and began to pace the studio. ‘I’m not going. I swear to God, I’m not going.’
‘I’ll be there at seven-thirty,’ Roxanne said. ‘That’ll give me time to go to my Pilates class first.’
‘I can’t believe I signed that contract with that stupid clause in it.’ Scarlet was still pacing, her expression thunderous. ‘I should have known he would want to tighten the screws, so I had no choice but to get involved with him again.’
‘Whoa! Back up a bit,’ Roxanne said. ‘I think I missed something somewhere. What’s this about getting involved with him again? Do you mean involved as involved?’
Scarlett scowled. ‘He implied something along those lines, but I’m not going to stand for it.’
‘Are you sure you can resist him?’ Roxanne asked with a concerned look. ‘He’s one hell of a package, Scarlett. If I wasn’t so off men at the moment, I’d be tempted myself.’
‘I’ve changed my mind,’ Scarlet said, putting up her chin. ‘I’ll go around to his house tonight and prove to him that I’m not interested. I’ll take some sketches and layouts, and keep things formal and businesslike at all times.’
‘Yeah…right.’
‘What do you mean, “yeah…right”?’
Roxanne didn’t answer, but her expression was communication enough.
‘You don’t think I can do it, do you?’ Scarlett said.
‘I think you’re in very great danger of getting hurt all over again,’ Roxanne said. ‘History has a habit of re-marking its territory.’
‘Repeating itself,’ Scarlett corrected. Roxanne was always mixing her metaphors. ‘History has a habit of repeating itself, not re-marking its territory.’
‘It’s kind of the same thing, though, isn’t it?’ Roxanne said.
Scarlett was glad the front door of the studio was opened by a client at that point, so she didn’t have to answer.
CHAPTER SIX
MATTHEW WAS already sound asleep by the time Roxanne arrived, so Scarlett offered her a drink and sat down to chat to her while she waited for the car Alessandro was sending for her to arrive.
At ten minutes to the hour the doorbell rang, but instead of seeing a chauffeur standing there Scarlett came face to face with the tall, commanding figure of Alessandro himself. ‘Oh…It’s you.’
He cocked one dark brow at her. ‘You were expecting someone else?’
‘No, but you said you’d send a car for me. I thought it would be a limo driver or…or something.’
‘I was not prepared to take the risk that you would refuse to be transported to my house by my driver, or indeed not turn up at all.’
She glowered at him. ‘I’m not that much of a coward.’
Alessandro cast his gaze around the small flat, and encountered Roxanne sitting on the sofa with a bemused expression on her face. ‘Good evening, Miss Hartley,’ he said. ‘Are you babysitting for Scarlett?’
‘Yes, but don’t hurry back,’ she said. ‘I’ve brought a good book, and there’s a late-night movie on the TV I’ve been dying to see.’
Scarlett sent her a ‘what do you think you’re doing?’ glare, but Roxanne deflected it by sending a beaming smile in Alessandro’s direction.
‘That is indeed very kind of you, but I will not keep Scarlett out too long,’ he said. ‘I have an early flight to catch in the morning.’
‘Milan?’ Scarlett couldn’t quite remove the trace of hopefulness from her voice.
His eyes collided with hers. ‘Melbourne, actually.’
‘Another