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‘It didn’t work out,’ she told him ‘Simple as that And before you telldeal about the i seriously’

‘Relationship building? What’s that?’

Soto mind, but she bit it back because that would be perfect proof of just how much she had been influenced by her mother’s behaviour

In truth, looking back on her relationship with her ex-boyfriend, she could see that it had been built on hope—hope that heand because he ticked all the boxes Like her, he had been studying accountancy He had been reliable, feet firround, a solid, dependable sort He had been just the type of guy who made sense

‘It’s when two people take the tiether’

‘It sounds riveting How do they do that?’

Kate lowered her eyes and remained silent

‘Please don’t tellto slip back into I couldn’t possibly say because I’m just your employee mode’

‘I am just your employee’

‘I’ you permission to speak your h breakfast to feed a s country was placed in front of them ‘I do have conversations with some of my employees that don’t revolve exclusively around work’

‘I doubt you’d understand the sort of building blocks I’ about,’ Kate told hi her and wondered where to begin She speared so waffles at the side ‘Considering you’re not into building relationships’

‘Fill ’

Kate looked at him with exasperation The h the s that it would knock any woman for six She hurriedly focused on her food as her heart picked up speed and started relaying all those taboo es from her brain to her body

‘I know you don’t‘But if you’re really interested then I’ll tell you Relationship building is taking tiet to know someone else—to find out all you can about them, to open up so that they can find out all about you, and to plan a future together based on love and friendship and respect’

‘You’re not selling it’

‘I’ it or not,’ Kate snapped ‘And I wouldn’t expect to sell it to you, anyway!’

‘So, having spent ti exercise, at what point did you discover that the fun ele?’

‘He was lots of fun’

He hadn’t been He had been nice and he had been steady, and he had been all those things she had thought she wanted, but when it had come to the crunch he had also been ultra-traditional So traditional that he had wanted her to be the little lady whose career was secondary to his, who did as he asked, who dropped everything because he came first

She felt a wave of self-pity as she realized that she would probably never find anyone She would end up with a terrific career but next to no friends—and certainly no significant other doing the barbecue thing in the back garden

And she would never knohat it was like to have fun because she had always been ada fun wasn’t i in life was being in control and never letting herself get swept away by emotion as her mother had

But right now, in the depths of Cornwall, and despite her chequered past with men and jobs, Shirley ‘Lilac’ Watson was pretty contented

Kate abruptly closed her knife and fork and fought against the sudden confusion rolling over her like fog

‘It just didn’t work,’ she said flatly ‘The tiht But that doesn’t mean I didn’t put my heart and soul into it And that’s all I have to say on the subject—I don’t want to discuss it again It’s not relevant And it’s not always just about fun’

This to try and stifle sohts that soht not have been the right ones, even if they had been ht intentions

‘You’re probably right’

But she barely heard hireement floated around her and dissipated

‘I know forfor soed not to pin hi about ‘fun is all about sex, but as far as I’reat deal more to relationships than sex’