Page 73 of Matteo

The color drains from his face.

“You were cold and rude,” I continue. “I'm not begging for a permanent job here. Neither was Joel, I don't think. He was merry. Happy. Slightly buzzed, but you? You were downright obnoxious towards me.”

“I-I'm sorry,” he says, shaking his head like he’s struggling to process my words. “I didn’t think it would come across—”

“You didn’t think! You didn’t think of me, of how it would make me feel.”

“I’m so sorry, Elizabeth.” He looks crushed, and his apology is sincere and soft and unexpected. It’s almost like he’s been trying to keep it in and couldn’t any longer. “I was out of order. I shouldn't have spoken the way I did.”

At that, the hard edges of my confrontation melt away. “I'm not saying you needed to tell Joel I could work here—that’s not why I'm annoyed. It’s because you were so harsh in your tone and manner. Condescending almost, as if you hated me.”

“I could never hate you,” he says, quickly.

I wait with bated breath for him to say more, but he doesn’t. He can’t even bring himself to look at me.

“I was having a great time until you turned up,” I tell him. My insides are roiling, my hands, still planted on his desk. I feel stuck in a mess that feels too thick to wade through.

“I’m sorry that I ruined your evening.” He sounds miserable.

“I didn't let you ruin my evening. I just didn’t need that.”

A pause stretches out painfully.

“Why did you say all that?” I question, finally straightening myself so that I’m now standing.

He pauses for a moment before answering. “I didn't like the way Joel was talking to you. The way he was flirting with you.”

“He wasn't flirting with me!”

“From where I was sitting, from what I was seeing ...”

“You were watching?”

“How could I not? You were both sitting there, side by side, looking cosy.”

I snort. “Seriously? Looking cosy?” I frown, staring down at him. “He was talking about …” I pause, trying to remember. “… TV programs, movies, I can’t remember.”

“Why can’t you remember? Weren’t you listening to him?” he asks.

“No.”

“Why not?”

I open my mouth, but hold back as the realization hits me like a sledgehammer.

Matteo is jealous.

That's what all of this has been about. The way he behaved, and his reaction.

He's jealous.

Because he thinks I like Joel.

This man is not as clever as I thought.

I feel so happy inside, so stupidly and deliriously happy. “Because I was too busy trying to not think of you.”

My heart misses a few beats and my breath holds. His eyes pin on me, and I can tell that he feels it too; whatever it is I’m feeling. My insides tingle at the thought that this isn't a crazy one-sided infatuation.