Page 19

Bella blinked and felt as if someone had thumped her in the stomach.

So he had gone round to see her after he'd left her in the restaurant.

It really shouldn't hurt so much. 'I'm so glad,' she said, her voice cracking a little.

Then she rallied and resisted the urge to snatch the cup of coffee from in front of him.

'So's Sam,' she said with a bright smile. 'Fine, that is.'

A muscle leapt in his jaw and his eyes narrowed minutely. 'I see.'

Several long slow seconds ticked by. 'So that's good, then. That they're both fine, I mean.'

'Isn't it?' Will threw the contents of his cup down his throat, seemingly impervious to the heat.

The buzzer pinged and Bella shot to her feet as if her chair had unexpectedly caught fire. Grabbing a tea towel, she whipped the croissants out of the oven and slid them onto a plate.

'So,' said Will, watching her every move, 'are you seeing him again?'

Unlikely, seeing as he was going on a date with Rosie, but maybe Will didn't know about that. She sat back down and vaguely waved a hand. 'Oh… Ah… Well, I might. I don't know. '

'Right.' He nodded, looked as if he was about to say something else but then changed his mind, and instead broke open the croissant.

'What about you and Rosie?' she asked, every one of her facial muscles aching with the effort of maintaining her smile.

'What about us?'

'Are you seeing her again? Did you see her again? Maybe after you put me in the taxi?'

Will glanced up and stared at her, stunned incredulity written all over his face. 'What? Of course I didn't.'

'Yet you know she's fine…' Dammit, why couldn't she let this go?

'Because that's what she said when I called her this morning to apologise for leaving her in the restaurant like that.'

Bella's eyes jerked to his and relief spun through her. 'Oh, thank heavens for that. I thought… Well, you probably don't want to know what I thought.'

For a moment there was utter silence, then Will thumped his hand on the table and she and the crockery jumped. 'God, Bella, what kind of man do you think I am?'

Not the sort of man she'd been thinking he was, clearly. She felt herself go red and a fresh wave of mortification washed over her.

'OK, I'm sorry. I just assumed… ' She trailed off and shrugged. 'Never mind.' God, what was wrong with her?

'I went straight home. I assumed you did too.' His jaw tightened and his face darkened ominously. 'Now, though, I find myself revising my assumption.'

'Don't,' she said quickly. 'I mean, you're right. I came straight home too. And I only know that Sam's fine because I was on the phone to him earlier, when you buzzed. Apologising as well, funnily enough.'

Bella thought she heard him mutter something like 'bloody games' but then he pulled himself together and visibly relaxed. 'Did you hear they're going on a date together?'

'So I understand.'

One corner of his mouth hitched and Bella's stomach flipped. 'A couple of regular little cupids, aren't we?'

'Aren't we just.' She wrapped her hands around her cup of coffee, took a sip and reminded herself that Cupid had no business popping up anywhere where she and Will were concerned. The facts, on the other hand…

Bella set her cup back down and forced herself to concentrate. 'So why are you here, Will?'

'I need your help.'

Her eyebrows shot up. 'Oh? With what?'

'Remember my jewellery collection?'

'How could I forget it?' she said dryly.

'Quite. Well, I need to get the fake stones replaced with real ones.'

'Why?'

'Because the collection is to go on display.'

For a moment there was utter silence. Bella opened her mouth then shut it and stared at him as he calmly buttered his croissant. 'But it can't,' she said, appalled.

'I know.' He shrugged and added a dollop of jam. 'However, it is. In approximately three weeks.'

Three weeks? 'How?' she said, her head swimming with questions and bafflement. 'Why?'

Will took a bite, swallowed and sighed in appreciation. 'If you remember the collection,' he said, 'then I imagine you'll remember my aunt.'

Bella tried to focus. How could he eat at a time like this? Her own appetite, which had previously been enormous, had vanished. 'Of course.'

Will sat back and looked at her. 'I discovered last night that she promised the director of the Grayson Museum that they could exhibit the collection.'

Bella frowned. The Grayson was one of the finest private museums in the country. Under any other circumstances it would be a major coup. For both parties. Under these circumstances, however, it was a disaster of epic proportions. 'Why on earth would she do something like that?'

He raised an eyebrow. 'She has bouts of questionable judgement.'

Don't we all , thought Bella darkly as she briefly reviewed her behaviour ever since she'd met Will. 'She certainly does.'

'And apparently he was extremely persuasive.'

Will's tone left Bella in no doubt about the nature the man's persuasion had taken, and she fought back a blush at the memory of how persuasive he could be. 'Can't you say she made a mistake?'

'Unfortunately not. The deal is already done, and to withdraw now would invite questions I really wouldn't feel comfortable answering.'

'Yet you'd feel comfortable with dozens of experts lining up to take a look?'

'Not particularly.'

'Good. Because you do realise they'd know, don't you? In a second.'

Will nodded. 'That thought did occur to me, which is why I'm here. With you repairing the dodgy pieces, I figured we might just get away with it.'

Bella frowned and told herself to focus on the facts and not the bubble of delight spinning through her at his appreciation of her expertise.

'Maybe you could just not show the fakes.

I don't know… Say they're lost. Or stolen or something.

' Because personally she wasn't sure she shared his confidence in her abilities.

Will shook his head. 'Impossible. Caroline already told the director the collection's complete, and to have a last minute robbery would simply invite more of those questions I'm not too comfortable answering. Not to mention a whole host of other problems.'

Bella bit her lip. 'But replacing the stones will cost a fortune.'

Will lifted a shoulder. 'The cost doesn't matter. Discretion, however, does. Which is another reason why I've come to you. The fewer people that know about this, the better.' He tilted his head and gave her a penetrating look that she felt right down to her bones. 'So. Can you do it?'

Bella blinked as her brain churned with so many questions that she couldn't pull out a single one to formulate.

It was all too bizarre. Too much of a coincidence.

On the one hand would Caroline really have promised the collection to a museum knowing the risk she'd be running?

On the other, if she'd really thought she could get away with switching the gems in the first place, then her judgement was definitely questionable.

Whatever had brought it about, and frankly Bella's brain was beginning to hurt at trying to work it out, one thing was certain. The collection couldn't go on display as it was.

Slowly she nodded. 'I can.' With a little help. And then she frowned. 'When exactly does it all have to be ready?'

'The opening night is two weeks on Friday, so ideally that morning at the latest.'

Bella gulped as her stomach twisted with nerves.

It would be tight, but if she sidelined her principles and all her other projects she should be able to do it.

In fact, the increase in workload would no doubt make her forget the fact that the Friday he was talking about was her birthday, which would be a bonus. 'OK.'

'Good,' he said with a quick smile as he got to his feet and put the plates and cups in the sink. 'Then I'll bring the pieces over tomorrow.'

Oh. Bella stared up at him as he plucked his jacket off the back of his chair. That didn't sound so good. It was one thing trying to move on with her life and her goals when Will was nowhere to be seen, quite another if he intended to carry on popping up unexpectedly.

But never mind, she thought, trying not to notice the sliver of taut tanned abdomen between the bottom of his jumper and the waistband of his jeans that the shrugging on of his jacket revealed.

Once he'd brought over the jewellery and she'd started to work on it, there'd be no reason for him to pop up anywhere, unexpectedly or otherwise.

She could keep him updated on her progress by email and courier the pieces directly to the museum.

'Fine,' she murmured, standing up, heading for the front door and opening it, taking care to plaster herself against the wall so that no part of him could touch her.

Will stepped out onto the landing and fished his car keys out of his pocket.

'No Bob?' she said, letting out a breath before glancing down and then back up at him.

'Sadly not. Sunday is his day off. Sundays I have to fend for myself.'

At the look of distress in his eyes, Bella couldn't help laughing. 'Poor baby.'

Will went still and Bella's laughter died in her throat as the distress vanished and something hotter, darker, flickered in their navy depths. Her mouth went unaccountably dry and her pulse began to hammer.

'I know,' he said softly. 'I don't know how I cope.'

For a long second everything seemed to stop. All Bella was aware of was a kind of throbbing electric tension vibrating between the two of them. His gaze dipped to her mouth and she thought he leaned forwards a little.

Her heart thumped and her blood heated. Oh, God.

Was he going to kiss her? What would she do if he did?

Slap him across the face? Or wrap her arms around him and kiss him back?

Or maybe both… Because as much as she'd tried to convince herself otherwise, and as nuts as it would be, she did want another taste of him, another long slow taste of that passion that he'd shown her last night.

And then just when she was wondering what would happen if she gave into the madness and threw herself into his arms, Will was drawing back and giving her a little smile, and Bella felt as if she were the one who'd been slapped in the face.

'I'll see you tomorrow,' he said gruffly, turning on his heel and disappearing down the stairs.