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Perhaps if she stayed completely still and pretended to be— ‘I didn’t tell you to come in,’ she informed the man now framed in her open doorway ‘I could have been naked’

Probably not the best thing to have said What rong with her?

‘You knew I’d coantly

Carly strove to remain calm ‘And ould I know that?’

‘Because oneand happy and the next you look like you’d seen a ghost’

‘You’re exaggerating’

‘I don’t think so What’s wrong?’ he asked, closing the door andfurther into the room

No as Carly going to tell him that she’d just been overwhelmed by his presence That she’d needed soht up so et

That he s she’d rather not want Like a relationship A connection A place to call home

‘Nothing,’ she said, trying to ignore the thudding of her heart ‘As you can see, I’m perfectly fine’

His eyes drifted over her in response to her unintentional invitation Carly held herself coaze, conscious that all she earing was a cotton singlet andboxer shorts adorned with tiny red hearts

‘Perfectly’

Carly so’

She watched warily as, instead of doing as she requested, he stopped at the foot of her bed, his hands on his hips

‘Do you always ignore a wohtly

‘Was that what it was? It sounded more like an order’

Unsure of his ht to deal with him rationally ‘What do you want, Dare?’

His eyes ran over her again ‘Now there’s a question’

Knowing that he was being deliberately provocative, Carly took a deep breath and counted to ten She had been a resident for three years at one of Liverpool’s busiest hospitals having to face down otten all about that,’ she challenged

‘Ah, so I did The only proble It doesn’t want to stay forgotten’