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‘I didn’t grow up here’

She was instantly alert at his tone, which was tinged with old hurt

‘I went away to school,’ he revealed

‘And then you lived with your aunt?’

‘In the holidays, yes,’ he confirmed in the same stilted tone

‘You didn’t see a lot of your parents’

She’d struck a nerve, Rosie thought as a muscle flexed in Xavier’s jaw

‘I bought this house with my first fortune,’ he said

‘Your first fortune?’ she teased, wanting to reach out to hi how

‘I won’t deny I’ve been successful’

‘And why should you? You should be proud of what you’ve achieved’ Especially after surviving the legacy of bitterness created by his parents’ self-indulgent lifestyle, she wanted to add

‘And so should you,’ he said, surprising her ‘In some ways, we’re not so different, you and I’

She laughed ‘Just a billion or so apart, and then, of course, there’s your title—’

‘Which doesn’t ,’ he said ‘Coo ahead of hio inside so I can make the announcement’

Her heart banged in her chest at the thought, and she had to remind herself that this was her idea She knew the moment had to come, but just to hear it said in public would make it real She had dreairl, but had never thought it would be like this Her drea a handsoly into the face of the man she would spend the rest of her life with Instead, she’d got an arrangee of convenience, as Xavie