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‘The clock’s ticking,’ he warned, gritting out each word

He rested against the wall, thinking back to when he’d been a youth and an easy target for two cheats with their eyes on thehimself on Serena Fane, Lizzie’s ues Even Eduardo had been hard-pressed to defend hih the older hout, and had explained, once they were safely back in Brazil, that Lizzie’s grandmother had discovered the truth about the life her son and his ere leading, and that when they used Chico to try and get money out of Eduardo, it was the last straw for the old lady, who had disinherited her son, and banished both hidean House Unfortunately, by this time, Lord and Lady Fane had stolen all her money

For a man to steal money from his mother was incomprehensible to Chico, but he had soon realised that men like Lizzie’s father had no conscience And now thattowards a diploma, which he would award? You couldn’t make it up

‘What are you waiting for?’ he snarled as the past blinded hi on the overhead light, he bathed the the latch, he walked in

The , powerful, different The Deceiver The Liar The youth who had told her that he understood how it dean House with parents who ignored her, and had promised to take her away He had failed to deliver on that pro nature was out of the door Her body responded eagerly to the hard hts were filled with anger and disappointment in the man she had once believed was her friend

She would have toto complete the course, Lizzie told herself firhtened up and turned around

Light shi up his darkness She couldn’t breathe for amenace had never seeht a glied This wasn’t the ridiculously good-looking youth with the easy smile and relaxed manner, but a hard, driven le-minded determination that had taken Chico Fernandez to the top That didn’t stop her body burning with lust Her reaction to hiainst it Her mind was scrambled, and yet she was acutely aware of hiood

All the et back to the job, Lizzie reasoned There were always things to do in the stable, and she was here to accodean, not to rehash the ht never be exactly sure what had happened all those years ago, but she knehat she had to do to secure the future of Rottingdean now, and ht for everyone orked on the estate, and that didn’t include falling like soer for afor her

Lizzie was bending over with her back to hi case His glance swept over her Lizzie Fane was all grown up Long liht red wavy hair, longer than he re topknot with strands and curls escaping everywhere He closed his round his jaw as the seconds ticked by The least she could do was acknowledge her boss

‘Sorry,’ she said, sounding not the least bit repentant, and looking even less so ‘I had to finish what I was doing’

He huh him, and it was a surprise to find the connection between the as ever, even after all this tiether by rounds, both outsiders in their oith only horses in common, but noas a hot-bloodedeach other up like prize-fighters fro

‘It’s good to see you again,’ Lizzie announced in a businesslike way

He replied to this with a steady look The connection ht, and the steel in Lizzie’s eyes intrigued hi in her expression now that suggested she was still hurting because he’d let her down by leaving Rottingdean House all those years ago without saying goodbye Had he meant so much to her?

When he was least expecting it, she relaxed and smiled ‘I’m really pleased to be here’

Noas confused What was he to believe? Lizzie with a grudge? Or Lizzie, the student deter her feelings She’d had to be There was only one certainty here The power of her stunning eut

What rong with hio? To feel her hand in his grip, so sht out: what happened to you? To us? Worse, he had to fight the crazy i her close and kiss her hard

‘It’s been a long time, Lizzie,’ he said finally with commendable restraint

‘It has,’ she agreed coolly ‘I’, but I had to be sure I’d picked everything up, and that Flaht’

He inspected the work she’d done on the horse She’d done a good job, but not good enough tostandards He’d pulled Lizzie’s report froe She’d passed out top of her class, which hy she had been awarded the scholarship to train under hi hi to lose herself in He had understood immediately that Lizzie found the affection denied her by her parents from the horses she cared for, because he’d found that sa her now?

‘Well, if that’s all?’ she said pleasantly

She waited patiently for him to move out of the way She had inherited none of the supercilious qualities of her parents, he noted, but her eyes ounded The past had daed them both, but why had she chosen to believe her parents’ lies over him? The answer came to him as they stared at each other However a child wasthe love of their parent, even if that parent was incapable of giving love

‘You have a wonderful facility here, Senhor Fernandez I’iven the opportunity to train here’