To Love, Honour and Betray(22)
Callie frowned, puzzled at his sudden change in mood. “Is something wrong?”
He showed his teeth in something like a smile. “Not a thing.”
“You just seem—strange.”
“I’m fine. Shall we have dinner?”
“Sure,” she said reluctantly. Maybe she was so tired she was starting to imagine things. Or maybe it was her guilt talking. With a sigh, she looked around. “Have you seen my purse? I just need to make a quick call.”
“Your family?”
“No,” she said, irritated at the suggestion. “I called them from the hospital and look where it got me. No. Brandon.” Eduardo’s dark eyes flashed in the shadowy room. “No.”#p#分页标题#e#
“He must be back in Fern by now. I’m sure he’s worried about me, and I’m worried about him—”
“He’s fine,” Eduardo said coolly. He finished off his martini and placed the empty glass on the marble mantel. “I just spoke with him.”
She stared at him. “You did?”
“He’d been calling for hours. I got sick of the phone ringing. Ten minutes ago, I answered the phone and told him to stop.”
“What did he say?”
“An earful,” he said grimly. He set his jaw. “What exactly did you tell him about me?”
Her cheeks grew hot. “I was angry after you fired me. I might have called you a world-class jerk.”
“A jerk?”
“And a workaholic with no heart, who lures a new woman into bed each night, only to put her out with the trash each morning,” she whispered. She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it.”
Eduardo gave her a hard smile. “You just told him the truth.” Reaching for his empty martini glass, he pulled the olive off the toothpick with his white teeth and slowly chewed. “I am all of those things. Just as you are secretive, naive and ridiculously sentimental.”
Protestations rose to Callie’s lips then faded. After the way she’d acted, how could she argue with that—any of it?
He came closer, his face silhouetted by the huge windows that sparkled with the lights of the city. “But we must endure it.”
“Endure it?” she whispered.
“Each other,” he said coldly. “For Marisol’s sake.”
Pain cracked through her heart. Just a moment before, she’d been filled with hope. But now she saw she really was alone. No one was on her side. No one.
Stiffening, she held out her hand. “Give me my phone.”
“No.”
“Fine,” she bit out. “I’ll find it myself.”
Moving through the swinging door, she went into a large, luxurious kitchen, with top-of-the-line appliances, a wine fridge, and a pizza oven, overlooking the sparkle of the city and black void of the Hudson River. Her eyes widened as she saw her bag on a granite countertop. She snatched it up, digging all the way to the bottom.
“It’s not in there,” Eduardo said, watching her.
Still digging, she didn’t bother to look up. “Where is it?”
“I threw it away.”
Her hand stilled. “Are you kidding me?”
His voice was like ice. “I won’t let you call him.”
“You can’t stop me!” Her eyes were wide as she gasped with outraged fury. “You had no right!”
“I’m your husband. I had every right.”
“I’ll get a new phone!”
His black eyes glittered. “Try it.”
“This is ridiculous. I’m not your prisoner!”
“For as long as we are married, I expect your loyalty.”
“He’s my best friend!”
“And you are my wife.”
“You can’t possibly feel threatened by—”
“No, why would I?” His voice was low and full of dislike. “Just because he is the man you adore, the man you trust, the man you wanted to be Marisol’s father. The man you tried to marry two days ago.”
“Only because I was pregnant—”
“You were engaged years ago, Callie,” he snapped. “Before I even met you!”
Her mouth fell open. “What?”#p#分页标题#e#
Eduardo leaned his hand on the kitchen countertop. “Last Christmas Eve, when we made love,” he ground out, “I couldn’t sleep with you in my bed—”
“So why didn’t you kick me out?”
He ground his teeth. “I went for a walk. I decided to stop at your apartment to collect a few of your things. I was going to ask you to stay. I never expected to find a man living there with you.”
“You—what?”