Chapter Ten
Bella rises from bed, hearing a commotion in the hallway outside her apartment. Zoë and Claude argue, and she imagines her friend with her back to the door warding off the man who wants to enter.
Cautiously, she turns the knob hoping Zoë won’t stumble inside.
She whispers through the three-inch crack. “In this inn my guests expect to relax in peace, without the interruption of people arguing like children in the hallway. They come here to escape from that annoyance. If you need me, knock on the door quietly.”
Claude is fuming; Zoë breathing so hard Bella notes the lovely swell of her chest with a pang of desire.
“Your young libertine denies me access to you,” Claude charges in a muted but exasperated voice.
“As well she should. I have company,” Bella replies tersely.
“Th
