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‘Spinach, kale, almond and banana sa 3 oils Does wonders for your skin’

And actually tasted surprisingly delicious Over the riain This ti properly, and it made her realise she hadn’t actually seen hi of his lips—since she’d first stumbled into his penthouse

‘I’ll leave you to it,’ he said softly, and disappeared in the direction of his study while Laurel let herself be ushered back into her bedroom

The next few hours were a whirl of treatments as beauticians slathered every inch of her body with soers and toes, filing, buffing and polishing A woe while some kind of seaweed mask dried on her face and Laurel decided that this was a rabbit hole she would happily disappear down for a while She’d never felt so pampered or relaxed, and she forced herself not to think about all the ‘what if?’s that still loo to look like

She’d called the hospital, and with they’d been relaxed about her taking the tiiven all the vacation time she had saved up So maybe, just maybe, she could enjoy some of this enforced holiday

After her hair, face and body had all been dealt with she athed in an enorown after gown Not that she was actually given a say One of the assistants whisked a goay before she’d even had a chance to touch the satiny material

‘Wrong colour,’ the wo the dress back in the wardrobe

Laurel ended up trying on several evening gowns, all haute couture, incredibly well made and even more expensive

‘This one for tonight,’ one of the wooith a diamanté halter top The stylist was tall and thin, dressed all in black, her dark hair pulled back into a bun so tight her eyes were nearly watering

‘Tonight…?’ Laurel stared at her blankly even as those what ifs started creeping into her consciousness, dread curdling her stomach

‘Yes, tonight’ The wonor Ferrero was very specific about what he wanted’

‘Was he?’ The enjoy pampered, the relaxation that had seeped like honey into her very bones, drained away ‘What did he want?’

The assistant didn’t hear, or pretended not to hear ‘Now your make-up and hair,’ she said, and led Laurel to a chair, where a band of wo

An hour later Laurel was ready—although, for what, she didn’t even know Her hair had been straightened and then pulled back into an elegant chignon Dialed from each ear, and as for her face…

When she finally got to examine her reflection, Laurel was amazed and er A very elegant, glaer Discreet eye shadow andmade her cheekbones stand out like blades Crimson lipstick made her mouth look plump, full and blood-red She didn’t knohether to be pleased or horrified by what she saw In any case, she just felt numb

‘Signor Ferrero is waiting,’ the woging into Laurel’s elbow, she led her out of the bedroo area of the penthouse

Twilight was stealing over the city, lights beginning to twinkle far below, the sky the pale violet of a bruise Laurel minced her way across the slick marble floor; the silver-heeled stilettos she ere even higher than the ones she’d had on last night, and the dress puddled around her ankles, ant strait jacket

‘Signor Ferrero is on the terrace,’ the woman murmured, then headed back to the bedroo to pack up all their equipment She took a deep breath and carefully made her way across the floor to the open doors on the far side of the living room She hadn’t even realised the penthouse had a terrace, but now she could see Cristiano standing on a wide balcony fra out at the city