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‘You’re notsoul Just like me’

Angelo picked up the thread of panic in her voice and dis he had never offered any other wo! She was afraid that he would tire of her if they saw too much of one another, if they removed the breathless excitement of the clandestine It was, he told himself, understandable

‘Are you not tired of wandering?’ He frowned ‘Of inter that ti one of us will have to leave to hop on a plane to somewhere? I want to be able to take you places with me, meet the people I ith, ork for me I work in a very visible field Expensive hotels and exclusive resorts I want you on my arm, by my side…my perfect, well-bred, eminently presentable woman’

Francesca felt sick She couldn’t reet up andback the duvet and stuck her legs over the side of the bed, then walked over to the chest of drawers an yanked out some underwear and a tee shirt from the small collection of clothes she kept at the apartht Clothes that were a testimony to a life on the move Some here, most in her flat in Paris, soot a call and had no time to pack

‘What are you doing?’

Before she knew it he was out of the bed and cos felt cold but it was better standing up, made her stomach feel a little less queasy

‘It’s not a good idea, Angelo’

Panic, he could have dealt with But the sudden flatness in her voice was like a punch in the gut He gripped the sides of her arainst the wall

‘What are you saying?’

‘Please, Angelo Let’s just leave things as they are It works for us Why fix it if it ain’t broke?’ She tried a laugh but it died as quickly as it had co the sour aroma of tension in its wake

‘You needn’t be scared that spending more time with one another will jeopardise our relationship We have been together for over a year It is tiain but there was a beating in his head that was getting louder Yes, he had been scared of ju off the precipice into the unknown, but he had prettyto be soft He certainly hadn’t expected to find hi in thin air with the distinct suspicion that his landing was to be a bed of rocks

‘There is no step forward, Angelo’ She ht in the face, and God, it was theshe had ever had to do in her entire life Itin her life seem pale in comparison And of course she knehy Because she had fallen in love with hily and stupidly in love

She watched the tenderness on his face replaced with disbelief and then his whole expression closed down and she didn’t knohat he was thinking any more

‘I don’t want to play happy fas the way they were It suited rave

‘I see’

No, you don’t! You don’t see anything at all!

‘I don’t want to return to England Maybe one day, but not yet, and I don’t want to hly visible life of yours If that’s what you want then you’re better off finding someone else to fill the role’ His eyes were hard and expressionless and Lord, it hurt

‘In that case there is nothing further to say’ He turned away fro when his hand was on the knob Then he turned and gave her one final look

‘I aet out, I want to find you gone Take all your possessions with you and, Francesca…’ He allowed a few seconds of silence between theain’