Something in the way she phrased the statement made Matthew wary. It was a strange choice of words.
“You might say that I’m here as a favor to your boyfriend.”
“He isn’t my boyfriend.”
“Sorry. Your fiancé.”
She started to tell him he was wrong on that, too, but why bother? Matthew Knight would go on thinking whatever he liked.
“I thought you might be Colombian. You speak Spanish like a native.”
“Don’t waste your time trying to flatter me.”
“It was just a comment.”
She waited, but he was silent. After a while, she tried again.
“Are you North American?”
“Last time I checked, Dallas was in North America.”
“How do you know Douglas?”
“Through a mutual acquaintance.”
Her determination to play cool and calm evaporated. “Damn it, don’t you ever say anything that has meaning?”
Matthew looked at her. “The sky is very blue today,” he said politely. “Not a cloud in sight.”
She wanted to hit him. Just ball up her fist and let fly.
“At least tell me where you’re taking me.”
“I told you. Somewhere quiet, where we can talk.”
A cave? A shack in the mountains? A place where nobody could hear her scream?
She took a deep breath. “If you let me go—” She swallowed dryly as he downshifted into a tight turn. “If you let me go, nobody has to know about it.”
“I’d know. So would your boyfriend.”
“I told you, he isn’t my boyfriend.”
“Try telling him that.”
“Besides, he wouldn’t know. I certainly wouldn’t tell him. Neither would you.”
“And what would you give me, if I did let you go?”
Her heartbeat quickened. “What would you want?”
“I don’t know, baby.” His voice turned husky. “You’re the one making the offer.”
She could offer herself to him. Wasn’t that what she’d just been thinking?
No. She couldn’t do it.
Mia took an unsteady breath.