Isabella smiled as she chatted with many guests gathered around her at the party. She leaned over to her brother and thanked him for serving as her escort for the evening.
“If I had to go to one more of these things on my own, I think I’d have burst at the seams from boredom,” she said to Luca.
“No worries,” he said. “I was happy to get out and mingle for a while. Even if it is with my big sister who loves to tease me.”
She squeezed his cheek. “I wouldn’t ever tease you, my wittle baby brother,” she said in a baby-talk voice.
They both laughed at her remark because he knew she liked nothing better than to do so.
He’d just relayed a story to the director of the museum about how Isabella used to lock him in the bathroom so that she could nab his dessert after dinner at night.
“You’d think he’d learn after a few times,” she said, laughing as she remembered... until she noticed the woman handing her canapés and instead furrowed her brows.
“What the bloody hell is she doing here?” she whispered to her brother Luca.
He looked at the woman, who by then had moved along. “I haven’t a clue who she is. Is there a problem?”
“You’re damned right there’s a problem,” Isabella said. “She is a horrible, horrible person. Why would she be here unless she wanted to cause me more grief?”
“Bell, I’m afraid you’re going to need to be more succinct in your description,” Luca said. “Is she dangerous to you? If so, let me know immediately, because I’ll get our bodyguards to remove her from the premises.”
Isabella shook her head. “She’s not going to hurt me. Well, at least, I don’t think so. But I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if she planned to humiliate me. She seems to have a particular talent for it.”
It was then she caught sight of Sawyer, and she raced over to confront him.
“How dare you bring that woman here!” she said. “I thought you were better than that, Sawyer.”
“Listen,” he said, an imploring look in his eyes. “Isabella. Let me explain. It’s not what you think.”
“I think I’ve heard that very line before,” she said.
“I haven’t even been able to talk to you for over a week,” he said. “How could I have even let you know in advance? For that matter, I didn’t even know you were to be in attendance, let alone here with a new man.” He frowned toward Luca.
“So, all the more reason that you could fraternize with the likes of her,” she glanced in the direction of Amelie and glared. “It clearly is irrelevant to you that she is my enemy.”
“Princess,” he said. “Kitten!”
“Don’t kitten me,” she said.
“But you really don’t understand,” he said.
“I am not going to make another scene over you or your cohorts,” she said. “But do realize that by consorting with the likes of her, I’ll have nothing to do with you.”
Sawyer threw his hands up in frustration. “You know what, Princess? You could do everyone a favor if you’d stop leaping to conclusions and instead enter the world of facts. And if you knew the facts, I think you’d feel awfully foolish for your behavior right now. For that matter, maybe I did you a favor all those years ago sticking that vibrator in your backpack. Maybe I spared you years of enduring more insults. It may have taken that long before the others would have outgrown their bullying behavior. So you can say a simple thank-you to me rather than constantly wanting to hate me.”
She just glared at him.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got work to do. Go off and enjoy your little boy toy over there.”
With that, Sawyer turned on his heels and walked away from the most infuriating woman he’d ever met—unfortunately, the very woman with whom he was falling in love.
~*~
“Sometimes, my dear friend, you would do yourself a favor to not pass judgment on things about which you know very little,” Clementine said the next day, trying to talk some sense into her friend. “I swear, I think you’ve caught whatever it is my brother Edouardo has. Hothead-itis, or whatever you’d call it. When did you start behaving so irrationally?”
Bella shook her head as she paced the floor of her private apartment in the palace. Now that they were grown, each of her siblings had their own separate quarters, all conveniently tucked away for the sake of privacy. Bella’s apartment was very warm and inviting, a mix of subtly placed animal prints with an Italian villa flair. The walls were painted a warm ochre, and artwork evoking the old-world charm of peasants working the Tuscan fields was strategically placed on the walls. The décor was coupled with a sense of fun as seen in the hooked zebra-print rug and the oversized zebra-and-leopard-print pillows scattered about the large white L-shaped sofa.
“I don’t know why it is, but somehow I just get crazy mad when it comes to that man and the things he does.”
Clementine smiled. “Passion does that to a person.”
Isabella glared at her. “Passion? I’ll show you passion. My passion for strangling the man with my bare hands, that is.”
“The lady doth protest a bit loudly, methinks.”
“Oh stop with the Shakespeare nonsense.”
Clementine laughed. “I suspect literary scholars wouldn’t appreciate your calling Shakespeare nonsense!”
“Good thing there are none here to bear witness, then.”
“Seriously, Isabella, you’ve got to pull yourself together. Maybe it’s time for you to admit that you have feelings for Sawyer.”
Isabella pursed her lips.
“You do know you look like a stubborn little girl when you do that.”
“So perhaps I’m entitled to be one. What business is it of yours?”
Clementine burst out laughing. “Now I know you’re joking,” she said. “Are you kidding? This has been completely my business from the get-go. I got this ball rolling and I will see it to its completion.”
“Well let’s just put a big hole in that ball and deflate the air. Then we can all call it a day.”
“Won’t you talk to him at the very least? I think Sawyer’s feeling a little desperate.”
“If he’s desperate, he can call on his new girlfriend. I’m sure she’ll give him what he wants.”
“I swear, I might have to resort to clubbing you over the head and dragging you to him.” Clementine cracked a smile. Not only at her little joke but also because suddenly she had an idea. If she couldn’t bring Mohammed to the mountain, then maybe she needed to bring the mountain to Mohammed.