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CHAPTER ONE

ENRICO RANIERI was striding across Hannard’s foyer with his dark head lowered He was late and he was frowning, too preoccupied with thehe was about to attend to notice the drop-jaw looks of recognition he and his sh

It was the finest—finest—hint of a sound crashing into his consciousness that made him lift up his head After that he stopped dead, every i this aze

She was about ten feet away, just stepping out of one of the lifts His insides flipped and then rolled as if he’d been put into a sudden steep dive He struggled to believe it—or did not want to It was years since he’d so much as clapped eyes on her, yet as she uttered souishable sound he found himself rendered so immobile he couldn’t ht there before him in the flesh!

She had not noticed hiht auburn hair caught up on the top of her head in one of those unflattering knots that had always challenged hi it free

It challenged hiers, while so far more potent flicked at other parts of him

Freya…

Her naht, coo he’d kicked her out of his life without conscience, then spent the nextthat decision out on anyone who fancied taking him on Business or pleasure, he had not been fussy She had worked for him He’d trusted her No woman before or since had ever earned that level of trust She’d lived in his apartment and slept in his bed He slept alone now and any physical activities always took place somewhere else

In fact, she’d stolen sowith hate

But—Dio—she looked good Even wearing that unflattering grey suit, which looked at least one size too big for her, she was stinging his senses with first-hand knowledge of what lay hidden beneath the layers of high-street-cheap

Like the clothes she used to wear before he’d taken her in hand and turned the scrappy sow’s ear into a breathtakingly beautiful silk purse

That odd feelingstab of discomfort when he remembered how she had left all the silk behind when he’d kicked her out

Now here she alking towards him with her head tilted doards as if she was as preoccupied with her thoughts as he had been with his His eyes narrowed as he watched her co across the surface of his skin as he waited for the silken arc of her gold-tipped eyelashes to lift up and show hireen eyes destined to turn as dark as his oith shock