All was quiet in the hallway as she walked along it. Even Elenora was nowhere to be seen. And the door to Dami’s study was shut tight into its housing, telling her that he must have taken Adelina in there.Outside, it was still raining, raining, raining. She waved down a cab and climbed inside. Linate Airport was busy. It was always busy, but she managed to get a seat on a flight about to leave for London. Three short hours later, she was walking through the arrivals gate at Gatwick.And the first face she focused on was her father’s. Tears once again started to threaten. "H-how did you—?""Dami called me," he explained, then nodded his head at someone standing behind her.Charley glanced around, then withered out a smile as she turned back to her father’s sombre face. She had been followed from the moment she’d stepped out of the apartment, tracked every foot of the way here by one of Dami’s security team.She didn’t know why her tears picked that moment to break, but she threw herse

Charley stood still in the doorway. "Won’t what?" she demanded."Be home soon," Dami extended. "He knows I am here," he explained huskily. "He thinks I am taking you out to dinner."‘Dinner?’ Her shoulders wrenched back. "I don’t want to have dinner with you.""It is the only way you will get rid of me, Cara," he said.It was the cool way he relayed that that made her twist back to look at him. The moment she saw the way he was standing there, looking as contained as hell, she knew he had turned back into the cool-headed Dami De Santis who did not play fair in a fight.Tall, though, lean, and sexily handsome. Charley found herself nervously moistening her lips. "Explain that," she instructed."Dinner," he repeated. That is all. I have already reserved a table. All you have to do is sit down with me and eat.Never in a million years was that all he expected her to do."Or I will call in your family debt."Ah, now he was talking, Charley thought. She understood this Dami so well! The un

"What do you want me to say?" He demanded heavily. "I’m a 34-year-old man, and I did not embrace celibacy while getting to this age." "I didn’t think you did," Charley said stiffly. "I just didn’t—" She stopped, taking a bite out of her bottom lip, because she knew what she had been about to say sounded stupid and immature and totally unfair—but she just hadn’t thought about Adelina with him in that way. She didn’t even know why it should matter to her so much, yet it did. "With Adelina, it was just—" "Don’t," she choked, not needing to hear him compare the two of them as if they were— "No," he sighed, hunching his shoulders and turning away from her, his stance weary and bleak. Then—"No," he said again, spinning back to face her again. His chin jutted, and his expression turned fierce. "I am going to say it," he insisted, "because I think it needs to be said." Adelina and I were engaged to be married, so of course we were intimate. This is the twenty-first century, Cara, an age

When he next spoke, she could hear the tightness of his vocal cords. Excuse me, ladies.’ With those polite parting words, he bore her away, taking hold of her arm and clasping it tightly enough to prevent her escaping but not so hard as to hurt her.Eyes followed them as they walked in silence to the far corner of the garden, the part where discreet benches were placed amongst the blooming flowers for lovers to be alone. With every step she took, Dianne forced her mind to concentrate, to remember the words she’d spent the day rehearsing.Being here with him was a thousand times harder than she’d imagined it would be.The last time she’d seen her husband had been exactly six hundred and thirty-three days ago.The last time she’d seen her husband, they’d been screaming at each other, real hate and fury spilling out like a bunch of fireworks detonating in one big bang. She’d left that night and hadn’t seen him since.She’d thought all the hurt and anger from that evening and everything t

As he rejoined the party, the sight of her hurt, shocked face played heavily on his mind.His date, Evelyn, stared at him coolly, taking a long drag of her cigarette. ‘What was that about?’He looked at her. They’d been dating for almost a month, his first foray into the dating world since Dianne had walked out.Evelyn was tall, lithe, and stunning, frequently topping polls of the sexiest women.She was poised, cool and considered, and looked fantastic on his arm.Dianne was inches shorter and considerably curvier. She was warm and impulsive, with a laugh that warmed you to hear it. She smelled of fresh vanilla.He could still smell her now."Well?" Evelyn demanded, crunching her cigarette out of the ashtray.Dianne had always smelled gorgeous, especially first thing in the morning when the vanilla had turned to musk and mingled with the scent of their night’s lovemaking.He hated the smell of smoke. Was it any wonder he’d been loath to even kiss Evelyn?A dart of red crossed the perip