Mitchell shifted his gaze in the direction she indicated and named the song the musicians were playing. ,” he said, but he didn’t make a move to dance with her, and Kate decided the continued presence of the waiters on the terrace was the explanation for his hesitant behavior.
Since she couldn’t restore the mood to what it had been just before the waiters arrived, she decided to try for the friendly banter she’d shared with him at dinner and, hopefully, an opportunity to learn a little more about the man she was about to go to bed with. know you like music,” she said lightly. can tell that from the way you dance. What’s your favorite kind of music?”
.”
Kate sighed in exaggerated despair. prefer jazz because you don’t bother listening to lyrics. With jazz, you don’t even have to pretend you’re listening to them. What’s your second favorite kind of music?”
,” Mitchell replied.
hasno lyrics to listen to,” she said so smugly that Mitchell grinned in spite of himself. ’s your third favorite?” she asked.
,” Mitchell replied.
has lyricsyou don’t understand, ” Kate pointed out drily, lifting her palms as if his answers had completely proven her point, but a hesitant flicker in his expression made her drop her hands and study him more closely. you understand Italian?”
Italian was Mitchell’s first language, not English, but rather than tell her that and provoke more questions, he nodded and said a dismissive, .”
youspeak it as well? I mean, are you fluent in Italian as well as English and Dutch?”
’m not fluent in Dutch,” he reminded her.
From that reply, Kate deduced he was, however, fluent in Italian, and she looked as impressed and fascinated as she felt. many languages do you speak?”
’ve never counted them.”
’s do it now,” Kate joked, and started to hold up her fingers.
’s not,” Mitchell replied curtly, dousing her smile and her enthusiasm with a swift efficiency that made him dislike himself so thoroughly that he made a quick, clumsy effort to atone for his rudeness and ended up giving her an ill-advised explanation that confused her and required clarification. Europeans are multilingual,” he said.
sound so much like an American that I never imagined you’re a European.”
’m not.”
what are you?” she asked, her green eyes searching his.
’m neither,” Mitchell replied bluntly. ’m a hybrid,” he added, because that’s exactly how he thought of himself, but when he realized that he’d just been lulled by a soft voice and shining eyes into saying something he’d never admitted aloud, he didn’t like the feeling it gave him. Impatiently, he glanced toward the terrace, and then he put his hand under Kate’s elbow, turning her in that direction. waiters have left. Let’s go inside,” he said, intending to take her to bed without further conversation.
When she nodded and walked obediently beside him, Mitchell assumed she was willing to go along with that plan, but when they stepped onto the terrace, she foiled him either purposely or inadvertently by backing up and sitting on the stone balustrade. —” She said his name for the first time in a low, sweet voice; then she glanced down and paused as if saying his name had given her the same twinge of surprised pleasure that he’d felt hearing it.
Mitchell perched his hip on the opposite balustrade and folded his arms over his chest. ?” he said, resigned to naming a few foreign languages he spoke before he could get her to go inside with him.
She lifted her face to his, her smile quizzical. did you call yourself a ‘hybrid’?”
I’m an American by birth and a European by upbringing.”
She nodded as if satisfied. you have brothers or sisters?”
Startled and annoyed by her unexpected line of questioning, Mitchell said shortly, , not really.”
really,” she repeated, and then half jokingly she said, about a mother or a father?”
.”
have no family anywhere, is that it?”
the hell difference does it make?”
, really, I suppose,” she said, but a hint of sadness and resignation had crept into her voice, giving Mitchell the distinct impression that for some reason, any further refusal to answer her questions was going to weigh heavily against him in whatever decision she was struggling with.
have a sister-in-law, a nephew, and a great-aunt,” he conceded in a clipped voice, refusing to acknowledge the existence of his grandfather.
can you have a sister-in-law or a nephew if you have no brothers and no sisters?”
is this conversation going?” he said shortly.
you in the CIA or MIA or something?”
If he hadn’t been so annoyed, he would have laughed. one.”
, of course not,” she said lightly, standing up. you were, you’d have a much better cover story, wouldn’t you?”
Mitchell stood up and answered with a curt, impatient question of his own. you always so inquisitive?”
It was a thinly veiled reprimand and a warning to back off. And Kate backed off—literally as well as figuratively. Turning away from him, she faced the cold reality of the situation and not the dreamy idyll she’d cherished a short while ago. The only thing he wanted to share was an hour or so in bed, and his only interest in her was as a convenient sex partner. For a moment she actually considered settling for that, but she already had all the sorrow and uncertainty she could shoulder waiting for her when she returned to Chicago. She didn’t need to add humiliation and guilt to her burdens.
Her body language was unmistakable, and Mitchell suddenly decided the evening was better off ending exactly this way. Much better off. In fact, he was relieved it was ending like this. Tomorrow, when they were in St. Maarten, he could enjoy her at arm’s length—mentally and physically. ’s getting late,” he said in a calm matter-of-fact tone. ’ll pick you up at ten tomorrow.”
Instead of agreeing to that as he expected, she shook her head; then she cleared her throat and said, . I’ll manage on my own tomorrow, but thank you.”
She was sulking, Mitchell decided, and because he couldn’t stand women who sulked, he was perversely pleased to discover she was one of them. Except that when she turned around and looked at him, he realized she wasn’t sulking at all. Smiling softly, she said, -bye, Mitchell. Thank you for a lovely, memorable evening. I wouldn’t have missed it for anything in the world.”
Mitchell was so disarmed by her expression and what she said that he reversed his earlier decision about the best way to end the evening. doesn’t necessarily have to end now,” he pointed out.