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Sneaky

But to be honest, she couldn’t really bla half as frustrated by their lack of a physical relationship as she was, she was kind of surprised he hadn’t just pulled her into the bathtub because it was quicker

And itahead about the out her favourite recipe, her favourite wine, buying the food andan effort A real, sustained effort

And wasn’t that exactly what she’d asked for, really?

Didn’t he deserve the same in return?

Ducking back into the shadows, Maria watched Seb for a moment as he fiddled with the tub, until she was certain he hadn’t spotted she was there Then she shi off the back of the sofa and strode out onto the balcony to meet her husband

Seb turned and smiled as she closed the door behind her ‘Ready?’ he asked

‘Definitely,’ Maria said

Then she dropped the robe and watched Seb’s eyes widen

The look on his face had made the risk of hypothermia totally worth it, Maria decided later As she stretched out under the luxury sheets on Sebastian’s bed, watching his chest rise and fall as he slept beside her, she kneithout a doubt she had ht decision Maybe he never would love her the way she loved him, but the newthe words with the quality of his actions Respect and adoration could be every bit as wonderful as that fabled true love nonsense, she’d decided

Especially when he could ht Every inch of her still tingled with the ht, over the last year, that she ether in sync, their bodies as one But if anything, it had been even better than she remembered from their honeymoon

A perfect moment

It ht be her very own Christmas miracle Her husband really saw her at last—and she truly believed that they could be happy together, as a family

Maria was still s as she fell asleep

But when she woke up alone, a handful of hours later, it was a very different story

CHAPTER TWELVE

SEB HAD HAD plans for thisup before his son and persuading his wife to relive their hot tub activities fro it had been He hadn’t, he knew No dream he’d ever experienced had been that vivid or that incredible

Froown, and he’d seen her perfect body again, skin gloith theoff the snow, he’d known that his Christ her in his arether It had been the confir towards had been possible

She was his wife again She trusted hiain, and her happiness She would stay now; he knew it Not because of the a sex but because of what it had meant for her to stand there naked on the balcony before him

Trust Partnership That hat they’d wanted, and that hat they’d found again

Maybe that partnership contract idea hadn’t been so stupid after all And he’d been looking forward to thanking Maria for co up with it—in a rather inti

But instead he found hi towards Geneva to deal with a last-er

The Italian arm of the business never had this sort of probleht mulishly

He hadn’t wanted to go But he simply hadn’t had any other choice