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Harvey’s tail dropped as he stepped through the doors of his foster hoarden because he took up too much space indoors Marooned there, Harvey pressed his nose to the glass of the French s in the living roo Ava’s every move

‘Here … pass this around to a paper catalogue on Ava ‘A few orders would be very welcoot to say that the work my lovely ladies have put in so far is exceptional’

Ava glanced through the booklet of hand-knit and embroidered cushions, bookmarks, hat and scarf sets; spectacle cases, toys and even lavender bags,breeds In an effort to raise money to fund the stray and abandoned ani in her kennels, as well as in local foster hoe industry of anihbours and supporters who knit and sewed It was an impressive display of merchandise, nicely tiht ruefully, the ladies could have broadened their designs a little to appeal er market

‘I know you walked here for Harvey’s benefit but have you got your bus fare hoe pressed anxiously, her friendly face troubled by the tiredness etched in Ava’s delicate features

‘Of course I have,’ Ava lied, not wanting Marge to put her hand into her own far from deep purse

‘And have you got a decent outfit to wear to office’

‘I picked up a trouser suit in a charity shop’ Ava would not have dreaht and the jacket unable to button over her rather too generous bust Wearing theh and nobody was likely to notice that her flat black shoes were too big She would have liked shoes with a heel but beggars couldn’t be choosers and it would take a lot of paydays to build up a working wardrobe Once she had adored fashion, but she had given up that pursuit along with so er appropriate Now she concentrated on the farby, which ca herself as best she could The adventurous, defiant girl who had sported the Goth look—black lace, leather and dyed black hair cut short as a boy’s—had died along with Olly in that car crash, she conceded painfully, barely recognising the very cautious and sensible young woman she had become

Prison had taught her to seek anonyerous She had learned to keep her head down, follow the rules, help out when she could, keep her mouth shut when she couldn’t Prison had shaement of the court had shamed her Much had been made of her fall in the local newspaper because of her coround and private school education At the tiht it very unfair that she should be pilloried for what she could not help Then in prison she had met women who could barely read, write or count and she had worked with the involved in criminal activities had only been a means of survival, and Ava knew that she had never had that excuse

So what if your father never liked you? So what if your ed you and both parents always favoured your sisters over you? So what if they labelled you a troubleot bullied? So what if your nored for years?

There would never be an excuse for what she had done to Olly, whoht wretchedly as she walked wearily ho always seeht But somehow she had to learn to live with her et her best friend but she kneould have been the first to tell her to stop tor herself Olly had always been wonderfully practical and great at cutting through all the superficial stuff to the heart of a problem Had he lived, he would have become a wonderful doctor

‘It’s not your fault that your e is falling apart or that your sisters are spoiled stuck-up little brats! Why do you always take on the bla in your family?’ Olly used to demand impatiently

Full of anticipation, Ava laid out her clothes for the nextbeen assured by New Start that her history would re other than the new office junior She had learned to love being busy and useful because that gave her a feeling of achieve that had haunted her for months after the crash when she had had far too many idle hours in which to dwell on her mistakes

‘You canThere will be twenty ,’ Karen Harper pronounced with a steely smile ‘You can make coffee?’

Ava nodded vigorously, willing to do anything to please and already sensing that pleasing Miss Harper, as she had introduced herself, e Shown into the sot busy

At ten forty-five, Ava wheeled the trolley into the conference roo to the staff surrounding the long table There was colossal tension in the rooe being inevitable but … it would not be happening overnight and redundancies looked unlikely His voice had a nisable and familiar to her ears: Italian As his audience shifted in their seats with collective relief at the forecast, Ava poured the boss’s coffee with a shaking hand Black, two sugars, according to the list It could not be Vito, her dazedher, it could not possibly be Vito Fate could not have served her up a job in a company run by the man whom she had most injured And yet she knew Vito’s voice, the deep drawl laced with a lilt over certain vowel sounds that used to make her tummy flip as if she were on a roller coaster She did not dare look, would not allow herself to look, as she walked down the side of the rooht out of her too large shoes so that by the time she reached the top of the table she was barefoot!

Vito had glanced at the girl bent over the coffee trolley, noting the fiery hair glinting with gold and copper highlights wound into a knot on the top of her head, the delicacy of her profile, the elegance of her slender white hands and the tight fit of her trousers over the ss There was so that captured his attention, soly fahtened and he saw an elfin face dos and he stopped breathing, unable to believe that it could be her The last time he had seen her she had had black hair cropped short and the blank look of trau happening around her Ferocious tension etched harsh lines into the al handsome face

Oh dear heaven, it was Vito Barbieri! Feeling sick fro in her tre hand

‘Thank you,’ Vito breathed with no expression at all, his dark golden eyes skie as he accepted the coffee from her

‘Mr Barbieri, this is Ava Fitzgerald who joined the staff today,’ Karen Harper advanced helpfully

‘We’ve already met,’ Vito pronounced with icy bite ‘Co is over, Ava I’d like to speak to you’