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.The days were long and sleeping was no problem.It came as a shock when she awakened on the Tuesday morning to the realisation that the holiday was virtually at an end.One full day left and they would be leaving the following night.She would have to start packing her stuff in the evening.She couldn’t believe that all the warnings in her head about caution and wariness had been for nought.Aside from the occasional reminder to herself that he could hurt her, she’d allowed herself to succumb to the magic of the place, just as Chloe had, without a thought for common sense.Aside from that one fleeting instance when he had touched her, with the safeguard of Chloe to let him get away with it, he had been the model of good behaviour.If anything, it had not reassured her of his worthwhile intentions but added to the growing list of reasons why she had fallen in love with him in the first place.Hostility was always a safer defence against surrender, but she’d failed to consider that it takes two to wage a war and, in the absence of a willingly antagonistic partner, she’d found herself suspending her despair and giving in to the moment.He made it easy for her to laugh.He didn’t give her the time or opportunity to dwell on her own personal problems and she’d discovered that it was remarkably easy to put off dealing with the complications of her life, of which he was a major one, until a later date.Some mysterious later date, when she would be forced to wake up and confront issues and handle the grief that she was busily creating for herself simply by enjoying him without the boundaries she knew were essential.But she still imagined that she could somehow put off reality for the next two days, until he said to her, as they prepared to go their separate ways for the afternoon, ‘We need to talk.’Vicky took in the implacable expression on his face, browner now that it had been less than a fortnight ago, and felt a slither of foreboding crawl up her spine.‘How can we?’ She shrugged helplessly, reluctant to let reality intrude on the last day but one.‘Chloe—’‘—has been fixed up with a babysitter for this evening.She’s coming at seven-thirty.I arranged it through the hotel and, before you start throwing up your hands in anxiety, their babysitting service is very professional.They’re all trained in childcare; I asked lots of questions before booking one.So we can have a meal and a…chat.It’s time to sort out what we’re going to do about the situation.’Why did that have such an ominous ring about it?Vicky wanted to ask Already? but she knew the dangers of even thinking along those lines, never mind voicing them.She also knew that he was right.If what he had set out to do with this trip was prove himself as a sound figure in Chloe’s life, and a reliable, easy-to-digest one in hers, then he’d succeeded—if anything, rather well.He’d left her with no arguments to voice.Chloe was asleep by the time the fresh-faced babysitter arrived, complete with a bag of ‘things to do’, which would not be used, and Vicky was more or less ready to go.Mentally bracing herself, and feeling a little strange in her first dressy outfit of the holiday—a small pale-coloured flowered dress in silky material, falling softly to mid-thigh, and a pair of wedge-heeled cream sandals that lent a couple of inches to her height.For the first time she felt nervous at the prospect of seeing him without the convenient distractions of Chloe and rides and people around them.He was waiting for her at the bar, and it was a shock to see him, as well, more formally dressed.He was still wearing short sleeves, but his trousers were dark, and his bronzed skin gave him the appearance of someone of Italian descent.As she walked towards the table his eyes travelled once over her, then fell to his drink.He sat back in the chair, waiting until she had sat down, then called the waiter over to order a drink for her.In the silence that followed, Vicky nervously tucked her hair behind her ears, willing herself to feel the ease she’d felt with him over the past few days, but failing to find it.‘So—’ he swallowed a long mouthful of his whisky and soda, then reclined back in the chair and watched her through brooding eyes ‘—glad you came after all?’‘It’s been fun,’ Vicky said, feeling like a candidate at an interview.She nervously accepted a glass of wine from the waiter and sipped from it.‘Tiring.Chloe’s been ready for bed every night by seven.In England, I have to persuade her to climb under the duvet before quarter to eight.’ She smiled at the thought of her daughter being cajoled into the dreaded bed.‘She’s…a wonderful child.All credit to you.’ He tilted his glass to her in a mock salute.‘From the sounds of it, you accomplished the near-impossible against all odds.’‘It wasn’t as difficult as you make it sound,’ Vicky informed him, gulping back rather more of her wine than she had set out to do and nearly choking in the process.‘I’m no saint, just one of millions of women who find themselves in a situation where they have no choice.’‘But you had my brother to contend with as well.My brother with his threats and verbal abuse.And no money to cushion the future.’‘I never thought that my future needed cushioning,’ Vicky lied valiantly.‘And I know where this is going.A long summary of my unfortunate past, followed by a swift recap of all the reasons why you should get what you want.’ She’d known for a while that she had to recapture some of that lost hostility if she were to avoid complete emotional demolition.Now, she clawed and scrambled her way towards it, pretending not to see the hardening of his features.‘Well, it won’t work.’ She swigged back the remainder of her wine and it flared through her head like a bolt of white heat, then she banged the glass onto the table, extracting a few curious glances from the people sitting closest to them.‘You can see Chloe, of course you can, but within limits.Perhaps every other weekend.I don’t want her life disrupted!’‘Don’t you mean that you don’t want your life disrupted? Don’t you think that she deserves to know as much about her father’s family as possible? Why deny her the heritage that’s hers?’‘She’s only a child! She doesn’t know a thing about her heritage and doesn’t care less!’‘But she won’t be a child in ten years’ time, will she?’ he said venomously, leaning into her, his body rigid with anger.‘I wish to God,’ he bit out furiously, ‘that you’d fill me in on what your problem is! I’m offering you safety, financial security, an arrangement that’s virtually foolproof and the best possible solution for the three of us!’ He slammed his fist on the table and the couple closest to them got up and moved, giving them some very suspicious backward glances, ‘What more do you need to be convinced?’‘I don’t want an arrangement! I want…thunder and lightning…and fireworks…and magic!’‘Like you had with my brother?’ he jeered [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]