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On the threshold, Merry paused to ad area took up one corner of the vast rooe and beautifully fitted dressing roo their cases A table sat beside patio doors that led out onto a terrace overlooking a fabulous infinity swihts In the centre of the rooiant bed fit for Cleopatra and draped in spicy Mediterranean colours sat on elaborate gilded feet Her expressive face war beneath her calm surface because she ached for hier e else could because she was el

‘Let’s eat,’ Angel suggested lazily

A slender figure clad in loose linen trousers and an ereen top with ties, Merry took a seat She had dressed coner jeans and a black shirt, Angel could still look far more sleek and sophisticated than she did No matter what he wore, he had that knack, if there was such a thing, of always looking classy and exclusive

Wine was poured, the first course delivered It was all food calculated to te heavy or over spiced and, because she hadn’t eatenthefroh-pitched giggling She began aardly to twist her head around to look outside

‘Diavole!’ Angel sith a sudden frown, flying upright to thrust open the doors onto the terrace

Merry rose to her feet more slowly and followed hih rudely yanked up by invisible steel wires She was very much taken aback to discover that the source of the noise was her mother-in-law and her boyfriend, both of who naked in the pool She blinked in disbelief while Angel addressed the pair in angry Greek Pri hi a towel off a lounger to wind it round his waist Angelina hissed back at her son in furious Greek before leaving the pool by the steps, stark naked and evidently quite unconcerned by that reality Her companion strode forward to toss her a robe, his discoel’sup, her te a wealth of outraged objections

Merry sed hard on her growing eround, his dark deep voice sardonic and clipped with derision as he switched to English ‘You will not use this pool while I, hter are in residence’

‘This is ht to make a demand like that!’

‘This house belongs to el sliced back harshly ‘If you cannot respect those rules, find somewhere else to stay on the island’

And with that final ringing threat, Angel swung back and pressed a hand to Merry’s shoulder to guide her firmly back indoors His nored the fact, ra to their interrupted meal

Unnerved by what she had witnessed, Merry dropped heavily back into her chair, her face hot with unease ‘I think your mother’s had too much to drink’

Angel shot her a grilance ‘Don’t make excuses for her I should have told her that she was no longer welcome here before we married Her conduct is inappropriate and I refuse to have you or Elyssa subjected to her behaviour in what is now your home’

Merry sipped at her wine, stunned by the display she had witnessed and wondering helplessly what it had been like for hielina seemed to have no boundaries, no concept of as acceptable It row up in the care of so self-indulgent a woel was so close to his father: he only had one parent, he had only ever had one parent Parenting had been soelina Valtinos had probably never done and she understood why Angel had been placed in a boarding school at a very young age