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Stupid The words did more than hurt They twisted into her heart She put down her brandy snifter; it tilted and amber liquid spread over the table To hell with this, she thought, and shot to her feet

“I’ht”

“Emily”

He was on his feet, too

She shook her head, started inside…

“Da her toward him “I have no wish for you to be my mistress” His expression softened; what she saw in his eyes made her breathless “I want you to be my lover, as I am yours”

Tears rose in her eyes

He saw them, drew her close, kissed them away

“So between us,” he said softly “If you want the truth, it scares the hell out ofto walk away from it, Emilia mia, and I plead with you not to walk away from it either”

She began to weep

Good tears, the kind that came from a heart full of joy

Marco wrapped his arhtly around her

“I am yours, Emily Madison And you are mine”

She was But she wasn’t She had to tell him that Surely, it wouldn’t matter Not now that he knew her The real her Because everything that made her Emily Madison also made her Emily Wilde

She hadn’t set out to deceive him…