flatly, refusing to consider his assurance that he had known her by that other name because such an astonishing claim raised questions about her past she could not yet bring herself to ask. âWhy on earth did you bring me here?â
âYou needed time out.â
With a sudden start of dismay, Faith checked her watch. It was almost one. She began to scramble off the bed with alacrity. âI need to pick up Connorââ
âCall Mrs Jennings. You should eat before you get back behind a steering wheel.â
Mrs Jennings? What an odd way to refer to her mother! Struggling to regain her equilibrium, Faith was even more disconcerted by the untidy cascade of hair now falling round her face. The clasp must have fallen off while she slept. Thrusting the waving mass back behind one small ear, she frowned in Gianniâs general direction. âEat? I have to pick up Connorââ
He extended a mobile phone to her. âAsk Mrs Jennings to do it today. We need to talk.â
âNo, Iââ
âYou canât run away from this.â
You canât run away from this. That blunt statement unnerved her. Her lower lip trembled, and then firmed. She twisted her golden head away and snatched in a shuddering breath. Once again Gianni DâAngelo had seen right through her. Her parents and Edward had always been content to accept what they saw on the surface.
And how was her fiancé likely to react to the sudden appearance of Connorâs natural father? Badlyâprobably very badly, Faith acknowledged dully. Edward was a very conservative man. And he had once admitted that the very fact he was the only man involved in Connorâs life had made it easier for him to accept her son.
The mobile phone was pressed into her tense fingers.
âYou think you can just tell me what to doââ she began accusingly.
âRight now, youâd seize on any excuse to walk out of here again!â
Reddening at the accuracy of that stab, Faith turned back reluctantly to look at Gianni DâAngelo.
And, like a slap in the face, she saw all the cool control she craved etched into the arrogant angle of his dark head and the steadiness of his burnished dark gaze. He had complete dominion over himself.
âWhen youâve made your call, weâll have lunch.â
Her teeth ground together. She couldnât hold back her hostility any longer. âI really donât like you.â
Gianni stilled with one brown hand on the door. âI know⦠The Sleeping Beauty woke up to a kissââ
âShe also woke up to a prince!â Faith heard herself interrupt, and then she stiffened, disturbed by the speed of her own retaliation. She never argued with anybody. She was far better known as a peacemaker.
âIf Iâd kissed you, you might have screamed assaultâ¦although possibly thatâs only what youâd prefer me to believe.â Gianni surveyed her, a sardonic slant to his expressive mouth. âI think your body remembers me better than your brain does.â
Faith was aghast at that suggestion. âHow dare you?â
Gianni gave an exaggerated wince. âTell me, how do you square the outraged prudish virgin act with the reality that youâre a single mother?â
Beneath his coolly enquiring gaze, Faithâs soft mouth opened and closed again. Colour flooded her complexion.
âWhen something irritates the hell out of me, I usually mention it,â Gianni shared, before he turned on his heel and left her alone.
In his wake, a combustible mix of anger and chagrin engulfed Faith. She punched out her home phone number with a stabbing finger. Her mother answered.
âItâs Faith. Iâm sorry, but I wonât be home for lunchâ¦and I hate to ask you at such short notice but could you pick up Connor from nursery for me?â Faith asked tautly.
âOf course I can, darling,â Davina Jennings responded instantly.