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‘It doesn’t , isn’t it? Or we could go upstairs to the bedrooether on her king-sized bed with its floral duvet; she thought of the floral duvet being kicked off in the heat of the e It ay too easy for her iination to break its reins and run rampant

‘Why don’t you let me show you? You can tell uarantee you won’t’

‘Because you’re so sure of yourself?’

‘Correct’

‘Conceited, aren’t you?’

‘Not conceited I just don’t see the point of hiding behind false modesty’

Two patches of bright colour had appeared on her cheeks, and the hand wrapped round thedown and clasped her hands together on her lap out of sight The atmosphere between theed by her slurs on his skills as a lover, and was now disproportionately shaken by the fact that he hadn’t been

‘And then, after we’verefreshed? Just out of interest, do you return to London to share your fabulous love- skills with another woman? Maybe more than one?’

‘Do you want a fight, Heather? Is that it?’

‘I’m just curious’

‘Well, to satisfy your curiosity, I don’t happen to be involved with anyone else at the e loud and clear I don’t spreada harenant’

‘So what does happen, in that case—after today?’

‘Is that what’s worrying you? You think that you ht stand? Well, let ht stands I don’t do flocks of women because they happen to be available I have a libido but I also have self-control’

‘But you don’t do permanence, either’

‘No I don’t’

‘And how have all those women you’ve dated felt about that? Have they all conveniently shared your aversion to taking the plunge?’ Like a dog with a bone, she was finding it difficult to let it go She wanted hione, but she didn’t She wanted to tell him her point of view, but she couldn’t curb her desire to hear his She hated her curiosity, but it was like an itch that needed to be scratched She was desperate to get her anger to boiling point, because she would really have liked to despise him, but little pieces of hi all her efforts, and her body was betraying her ood intentions

‘Iisn’t part of the agenda If some of them have nursed any hopes in that direction, then they haven’t said I don’t go out omen who throw hissy fits if they think they’ve been let down, and I don’t go out oe is the inevitable conclusion to a relationship Does that answer your question?’

‘So all’s fair in love and war?’

‘Get to the point, Heather’ The tepid coffee was now stone cold Leo pushed it aside and looked at her Having dived into the water, he was only now realising that there were icebergs under the surface He’d never had to put this aht ill-temperedly

‘The point is…’ There was a jumble of words in her head and she was teh them, find the words that were important and discard the ones that weren’t

She could feel his cool, watchful eyes on her and she wished that she could read what he was thinking Why did he have to be so damned complex? Why couldn’t he have done her the favour of just fitting into the handy box in her head?

‘The point is…’ She stood up aardly ‘Look, I can’t have this type of conversation here’