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Her eyes filled with tears He didn’t knoas worse, seeing her angry, or seeing her miserable

Proud to the last, she whipped her face away from his

‘You’ve nothing to worry about,’ he said, somehow overcome by a sense of how alone she was It had to be because he was back in the old house, he reasoned as he continued to reassure her ‘I’ll stay on until I’ve made a full inventory of the remedial work that needs to be done here’

‘What?’ She turned a shocked face on his

‘You ht?’

‘Actually, no’ Her stare was levelled on his ‘I’er’

He tried so hard not to sers here, Señorita Clifton’

She stared at hiainst his chest

Lifting his hands, he let her go

It took her a ame within a couple of heartbeats ‘Of course you ht,’ she told him in a pleasant tone ‘This is as much your house as mine’

He inclined his head, wondering how long her warmth would remain imprinted on his hands The ainst his would stay with hi time

He took the torture like a man ‘There are six or seven bedrooms, as I recall,’ he observed in a matter-of-fact tone ‘Which means I can sleep at one end of the house, while you sleep at the other’

‘You won’t trouble me,’ she assured him

He disagreed He iined that even with their doors locked and bolted, and at opposite ends of the house, they would trouble each other all through the night

‘I’ll be right back with so away