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He finished the phone call at roughly the saian house set in a crescent of identical houses—gleaht iron railings and, lining the pavement outside, sleek, fast cars

‘Where are we?’

‘My place You want to talk? We’ll talk in total privacy’ And those cool, dark eyes on her,up all kinds of things she could do without, because of the sickening realisation that whatever he had once felt for her had been stripped back to the barest bones, leaving only a searing passion that would never destroy hiht destroy her

CHAPTER SEVEN

HIS house was larger inside than it appeared on the outside Three floors, each of them compactly and efficiently laid out The front door opened into a hall with sepia-colouredto a s room She followed him away from that towards the kitchen which dipped down three stairs and which was a functional blend of chrome and wood

Heso presence at the door

‘Sit down,’ he said, without bothering to turn around and look at her ‘You know you will eventually, anyway’

‘Why didn’t you tell ina when you came around to my house?’

Angelo turned round slowly and looked at her, ar that I was still engaged I wanted you to be so blinded by desire that your well-structured sense of morality would not have been able to overco’

‘You…you…’ Francesca looked at hiht words to convey the depth of her disgust

‘Arrogant bastard?’ he interjected helpfully

‘How could you?’

‘Oh, don’t think that it was passionless curiosity on my part It wasn’t I wanted you every bit as much as you wanted me’

‘But you had a bruised ego to take into account and what better way to apply so to yourself that you still had sufficient power over ainst the odds?’

‘Soed and returned to the business ofcoffee She looked as though she could do with it and, frankly, he couldn’t blaao, as she had put it, should have been feeling considerably less bruised, bearing in ame, but it wasn’t Not that he was about to share this with her No, he had learnt that emotional revelations were the first steps to vulnerability and vulnerable was not a place he intended to occupy again

He handed her the cup of coffee, noting how her hand shook as she took it

‘I never thought…’ Francesca ed to make it unsteadily to one of the kitchen chairs and sank into it ‘I never thought that you could…use elo’ Of course she did! Theof it, she had known in her heart that he had used her It was her own fault that she felt sickened by the fact Was she now going to give hi her break down in front of hi to be read? She realised how h to make her spill the coffee if she wasn’t careful She sat on the at hi at her, coolly and dispassionately

‘I’elo commented neutrally ‘Nor are you the same woman I used to know’

‘Why did you break off your engagement?’ This time she did look at hiaze steadily In fact, he was the first to break eye contact, pushing hi to straddle one of the chairs facing her

‘It wasn’t fair on her,’ he said ‘On either of us A business arrange by the rules’