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He was not a e in casual affairs or shallow hook-ups He had needs and he saw to them in a responsible and respectful anised and compartmentalised because that was the way to avoid nasty surprises He had seen too ues—not toto a reckless ill-timed roll in the sack Careers, reputations, fae of an illicit affair and he would not make the same mistake

His father’s double life had cohout his childhood, whenever he was ho school, hisand Jaht to question it Maybe he hadn’t wanted to face it On some level he’d known his parents weren’t blissfully honeyht they were utterly miserable They were his parents and he liked that they were together and seely stable But then, when he’d been in his final year, so Ja out of a hotel with a woman in the city and James’s concept of a stable home life had been shattered His ether for the next few years after his father promised to remain faithful, but of course Clifford had strayed tiain, albeit a little more discreetly

Ever since, Ja and cheating his way through life He would not be swayed by tee his success and reputation by a lack of self-control

But there were two things he couldn’t control in his life right now—Aiesha Adams and the weather He pulled back the curtains and looked at the flakes of snow falling past his

Fabulous

Freaking fabulous

Aiesha waited until James had left the house before she ca on his mobile as he headed to the river ith Bonnie He had his head down and his shoulders hunched forwards against the wind He stopped a couple of tily at the house but Aiesha kept out of sight behind the edge of the curtain Even from this distance she could see the colourful bruise beneath his eye Was he still wondering why she had gone at him like that?

She gave a long sigh when he disappeared into the fringe of trees along the river Why should she care what he thought of her? What was the point of trying to ash her reputation now? He would never see her as anything other than a good-tiirl

She had to shake off this restless moodand there was only one way to do it

The ballroom was her favourite roo rooardens at the front of the house Watere swathes at the s, the bottohly polished parquet floor like the trains of elegant ball gowns A central chandelier dripping with sparkling crystals hung frohts added to the sense of grandeur The piano was a concert grand and had been recently tuned Louise had always insisted the piano was regularly serviced but Aiesha had a sneaking suspicion Louise had quickly organised it once she had known Aiesha was co to stay

Louise was an accoiven up her musical aspirations tothe only star on the Challender farace his table with her congenial presence, to turn a blind eye to any extracurricular activities he indulged in fro to the rules of the upper class

It re-in-with-men mentality It had started with Aiesha’s father, who had donant Hershe was told to and yet was still punished for whatever he took offence to It could be the way the houseas done or the way the meal was cooked, or the way she looked or didn’t look An opinion expressed that didn’t tie in with the rules and regulations he set down It had been i Her self-estee than her body

And yet, after Aiesha’s father had been locked away for ared, her mother had drifted into another relationship with the sa within a matter of weeks It happened repeatedly Her e to leave and within weeks she would find someone else as a carbon copy of the s that did it They were the lure each and every time The rown into an uncontrollable habit Heroin, cocaine, alcohol—anything that offered a temporary respite froain by ave her nothing but heartache, and finally death