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‘Right back to when you thu that conker at me!’

‘Yeah, and then he thuave a rueful laugh ‘Well, I alas foolhardy Weighing in to fight the big, bad guys’ He glanced at his watch ‘I’d better go The tube will be shutting down soon’

‘You can stay the night if you want’

He shook his head ‘No, I’llBe in Devon by ’

She saw him to the door Her smile was strained by then, but she kept it pinned to her face

Only when he had gone did it crumple into little pieces

Theo eased his dinner jacket over his shoulders He was due at the opera within the hour, and he still had soer to get to the opera, either Or, indeed, to escort Christina Poussos there But it was a gala of some kind, and she wanted to show off—and show him off, too, at her side

His face tightened as he checked his dress tie and slid his wallet into his tuxedo He’d take her back to her own apart her back here, either, to the Theakis mansion, or to his office penthouse

Above all, not there

He hadn’t used it much recently It was a damn nuisance that it was part of the Theakis HQ or he’d have sold it straight away He ht not be as convenient as the one at his HQ, but it would have fewer… associations

It was irritating that he could not dispose of this mansion, either But it had been the Theakis fa for hi less and less time there

He’d already sold another property he possessed One with a sea view

And far, far too many memories…

He picked up his mobile and headed downstairs Christina wanted him to arrive early, to collect her from her apartment, but he did not intend to do so She would want sex, and he was not intending to oblige her He was not in the mood for sex

These days he was seldom in the mood for sex