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Vaughan could see the tension burning in her eyes, the bat of her lids as she blinked in disbelief at her own recall

‘I thought at the time it was because he wanted to talk, wanted to open up soive soined he actually wanted to get to know me’

‘How long did you see him for?’

‘A few‘Which, in the sche at all But when I fall, I fall…’

‘And you fell?’ Vaughan checked gently

‘Hook, line and sinker But…’ She took a deep breath, the sha as she retold her story ‘But so did he He was always askingmore often than not I was too busy One day I decided to surprise hi in Brisbane and I decided what the hell? So I jumped on a plane and headed over His PA tried to stopinto his hotel room…but I went in anyway I don’t think I have to spell out what I saw…’

‘I’m sorry’

‘So was Taylor’ Maybe she should have had so this was too painful for a Tuesday afternoon ‘Devastated, actually And I think it was genuine He’s just too used to having tooand too weak to say no He swore he’d never cheat on ain, and maybe he believed it— the truth But by then it didn’t matter’

‘No second chance?’

Amelia shook her head ‘Not for that I think I s, still sends flowers, still tries to convince ed’

‘What if he has?’

‘Too late’ Amelia shook her head firmly, but she saw the flicker of doubt in his eyes and it annoyed her ‘It’s over, Vaughan How could I ever trust hiive him? It has to be over’

‘But you still have feelings?’

Oh, she had feelings Feelings so raw they hurt But not for Taylor She’d ripped hi down a poster Infidelity was the one sin she could never forgive The hurt, pain and e to live with thes for Taylor that terrified her now It was her feelings for Vaughan—the one ain if she let him The one man who could snake into her heart, into her bed And quite simply she couldn’t bear to let hi on from the devastation he would surely wreak, couldn’t bear to build her world froain

‘I’m not a popstar, Amelia’

His voice was as gentle as she’d ever heard it She could still feel the weight of his knees against hers, feel his dry, hot hand coiling around her fingers, teht she’d strayed

‘I’uy in a suit…’

‘You know that you’re not’ Tears glittered in her eyes She felt as if she’d been swi life raft in the ocean only to find out it was a shark ‘We’re frohan You just hat you can’t have, and I’, but from a relationship I want more’

‘Such as?’

‘Safety’ Taking a deep breath, she laid it on the line The fact that she’d only known hi down the barrel of a gun ai too then I y I’ve tried the fast lane and I didn’t like it Next tie, kids, a partner to stand shoulder to shoulder with A man I can trust, not so, not so’

‘And is anything on that list negotiable?’

She could see ain his cheek, feel the tension in his body, his knees pressing into hers ently as he awaited her answer

‘I want the lot, Vaughan,’ A her head

It was as if a pin had been pushed into a balloon The tension in the air dispersed, and the pressure on her knees was rehan flashed her a very false smile

‘And you deserve it’ For the longest tied away His guard was back up, the shutters firmly down, and whatever she had said to make him keep his distance had worked a charer on the other side of the table now Every shred of intione ‘You deserve every bit of it, A less’

‘I won’t…’ Tears were pricking now, horrible hot tears she would never let him see

Making her excuses, Amelia fled for the safety of the washrooe,to hope