Point of no return

Chapter 2

Elizabeth was done with the evening. She'd had enough. She was tired, irritated and all she wanted was to lie down and go to sleep.

She felt as though this evening belonged in some sort of a farce performance. Like the ones, you see in the theater.

Mateo was either a very good actor, or he genuinely felt some warmth for Samantha. She wouldn't say he would categorize her as the one. Not yet anyway. Her cousin was more into him; then he was into her. But that could grow. And the talk about Michael actually put some things in perspective for her.

She shouldn't judge.

When she had announced to Samantha at the tender age of eighteen that she was getting married after dating a man for just shy of nine months, her first boyfriend none the less, Sam had been as supportive as you can be.

It wasn't her job to criticize but to be supportive. She had lost track of that somewhere along the line. So that's what she was going to do from now on. Support.

And if shit hit the fan be there to help pick up the pieces.

She heard the door to the restaurant open and turned expecting Samantha to walk out; instead to her utter disappointment, it was Mr. Sensitive.

He really was drop dead gorgeous. He oozed power and masculinity. But the man had manners that suited better in a barn.

'Elizabeth.'

She didn't want to hear anything more this man had to say. He had a way of saying her name and talking to her as though they were old friends. Like they'd known each other for years, she didn't like it. The man was a complete stranger, and she wanted him to go away. Now.

'What's it going to take to get rid of you?'

He stopped dead in his track.

'Excuse me?'

Elizabeth could tell he heard her, but his baffled tone with a hint of amusement in it told her he wasn't use to hearing a question like that. Well, she wasn't amused.

'I asked. What is it going to take to get rid of you? It's not a hard question. I think I made it very clear I didn't want to talk to you anymore.'

'Why are you so angry?'

This man must be delusional.

'I'm not mad at you. I don't get mad at perfect strangers. But let's just say you're not my cup of tea.'

'Why not?'

Did she really have to explain this to him, were they at the same dinner?

'Well let's see. You crash a perfectly lovely dinner party, for some reason dropping the atmosphere down to below freezing with just your mere presence, which tells me you and Mateo are not friends at all. So why on earth you decided to stay, is beyond me. Then you forcefully grab my arm to inspect my hand, to see if I'm wearing any wedding rings. That hurt by the way. And then, when you find out my husband passed away, you don't just show relief but glee and joy. What kind of a sick and twisted person does that?'

'One that's interested.'

He completely bypassed the Mateo issue, and Elizabeth noticed that.

'Interested in what?'

He now gave her a look like she was the crazy one.

'In you.'

This just capped off the night for her. This man was too much.

'You don't know me.'

'I intend to.'

'Well, I'm not interested in you. So there you have it.'