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The artificial stioing to bed,' she told him shakily

'Ashley' As he spoke, she reluctantly turned her head back froed by the darkness and the shadows of the too recent past 'Does it ever occur to you that ere both guilty ofremarkably hasty and stupid decisions?'

'You had more choices than I had'

'I asked you to marry me because that was the only choice I had,' he countered levelly 'I could not stay in London and I could not take you back to Italy as anything other than my wife'

She shot him a scornful look 'You didn't ask et married'

'I told it as it was'

'Your whole attitude…it was an ultimatum, a list of what you wanted and what I was expected to accept'

He eh, devoid of humour 'Was that how you saw it? I knew that you didn't want e but it was all I had to offer Hearts and floould have made the proposal even more ludicrous in your eyes Nor was I in the mood-our entire relationship had followed lines outside my experience I had just learnt that my father had only months to live-'

'You said he was ill… you didn't tell !' she condemned

'You didn't seem very interested either way' Guiltily, she flushed, recalling her hurt, defensive state of mind the day after his mother's visit Where his family was concerned, she had not been in a charitable mood

'I was already angry and bitter,' Vito confessed tautly 'My father had asked me to marry Carina – in spite of the fact that I had already told him about you! It was veryree he could have asked of me that I could not do-'

'I didn't know' She was shocked, realising that in wishing to marry her Vito had withstood far more than mere family opposition His elderly father had round and refused, but the distressing background to that refusalfamily Conservative as he was, he had probably until that moment been a most loyal and dutiful son, who had never caused theest motive behind Elena di Cavalieri's interference Her husband had been dying She had fully believed that Ashley could not make her son happy Those two hard facts had driven her into an attempt to break them up

'What difference would it have made to you? You say that you loved me,' Vito draith derision, 'but you must have kno i-distance relationship-'

'Maybe I would have liked the option!' Ashley snapped back

Vito elevated a satiric dark brow 'Maybe I iven you that option had you not ly obvious that you did not see our affair in a per to me…if I were to meet someone else…if you were to meet someone else!'

Ashley lifted her chin, te to make any promises I didn't want to feel tied down-'

'So you ht stand instead!' he slated savagely

'I thought that was my line!'

'You were scared a better prospectround the next coly, there wasn't'

'A man came lon on my list of priorities, and when I listen to you now I know exactly why!' she scorned furiously 'I offered you an open, adult relationship and you couldn't handle it!'

'And hoould you have handled it if I'd walked in the door one night and casually dropped that I'd met someone else?'

Her expressive face dropped aabout being an adult,' Vito slanted back at her with cutting emphasis 'You wanted me, but you didn't want the coave uments and hassle!'

'Th-thank you verytears behind her lids 'I knohere to come for a reference, don't I?'

'And the only reason I' more this time around is that-'

'-you're a lousy dos!' she spat, and hared out of the roo the stairs two at a time

Vito strolled out into the hall and angled his dark head back 'By the way, there won't be any locks on the bathroo to do?' he ht actually find yourself in the frightful position of having to share those feelings with me?'

A sla herself on the bed The fire of her elanced up, ready to unleash another barrage, when a soft knock preceded the opening of the door When Priya appeared, she scolded herself for iht knock on his own bedroom door

'I hope I will not offend,' Priya began anxiously, the door still ajar behind her 'But you ht have fallen on the stairs and hurt the baby-'