“Why do you want to know?” She mimicked his stance, folding her arms over her chest. “This has nothing to do with you. This is none of your concern whatsoever. Indeed, nothing having to do with this household or its respective members has been your concern for, oh, more than eleven years now.”

For a long moment, he stared at her in silence.

“If you have something to say, do be so good as to simply say it. Then”—she jerked her head toward the door—“get out. Or better yet, get out now!”

His tone was cool, calm and entirely too reasonable. It was most infuriating. “The last time I was here—”

“No, no! I don’t want to hear it!” She clapped her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes closed tight. “I didn’t want to hear it then. I don’t want to hear it now!”

“Camille—”

Damnation, she could still hear him. “I’m not listening! Go away!”

He didn’t respond. With her hands over her ears and her eyes shut, she couldn’t tell if he was still here or if he’d left the room. With any luck at all, he was gone. She counted to ten slowly, then opened her eyes and groaned.

“You’re still here.”

“I said I wasn’t leaving.”

“Why not?”

“Because I am fairly certain you need my help,” he said simply.

She stared in disbelief. “I need what?”

“My help.”

“My God.” She nearly choked on the words. “You are as stubborn and arrogant as you always were.”

“Come now, I was never arrogant.”

“No?” It was her turn to raise a brow.

“Admittedly, there might have been a moment now and then—”

“A moment? Hah!”

“I don’t remember—”

“I can name any number of examples of your arrogance in the past, if I were so inclined, but I’m not.” Her voice rose. “Because that would take a great deal of time and I want you to leave!”

He ignored her. “What have you gotten yourself into, Camille?”

“You can’t simply appear in my life after all these years without a word and insist on . . . on . . . rescuing me!”

“Is it that bad?” His brow furrowed. “Do you need rescue?”

“No, no, everything is going quite well.” The lie flowed easily from her lips. “Better even than I had expected.”

“Not to my observation,” he said wryly.

“You’re not leaving, are you?”

He shook his head.

She studied him closely. “If I tell you, will you leave?”

“If you tell me, I will consider leaving.”