Swept Away!: Accidentally Expecting! / Salzano's Captive Bride / Hawaiian Sunset, Dream Proposal. Lucy Gordon

      She lay staring into the darkness, trying to come to terms with what had happened. It was disappointing to sense his withdrawal, yet she felt she understood. He’d meant to tell her—she was convinced—but he’d backed off, perhaps appalled by so nearly abandoning the caution of a lifetime.

      Now she must be patient and it would surely happen, for there had been something in his manner that had never been there before, a new trust and tenderness. His eyes had shone with a different light, and somewhere Ferne had sensed a door opening.

      How long had she loved him—right from the start? The signs had been there when he’d gone into the burning building and she, who’d coolly photographed Sandor’s betrayal, had forgotten everything but Dante’s danger.

      She’d deceived herself, believing she was only doing this for Hope, when the truth was she yearned to be with Dante. How could she ever have imagined that it was possible to be with this man night and day and not love him?

      The sadness had been to love him and hide from him, as he was hiding from her. But now that would soon be over, and she was feeling happy again as she fell asleep.

      Next day they drove miles to a villa that was going to take all their joint skills to sell. But the challenge was exhilarating, and they returned home in a triumphant mood. On the drive back, Dante was in high spirits.

      ‘We’ll stop for a meal,’ he said. ‘But only a quick one. Let’s not be late home.’

      He said nothing about the day before, but there was something in the happy atmosphere that told her everything was different. He’d come to the edge of saying the words that would bind them closer, that it was almost as though they had already been said. Looking up, she saw him watching her with a contented smile that told her she was right.

      When they reached home there was work to do, and they both settled down at computers.

      ‘It’s coming on really well,’ he said, looking over her shoulder. ‘How did I ever sell houses without you?’

      ‘You don’t have to butter me up,’ she said sleepily. ‘You’re stuck with me, whether you want me or not.’

      ‘That’s what I like to hear. Why don’t you go to bed?’

      ‘I think I will.’ She shut down her computer.

      ‘Leave it,’ Dante said. ‘I’ll put it away with mine.’

      She kissed him and drifted away, yawning.

      He watched her go, wondering if she would think it strange that tonight he didn’t come to bed with her. In fact he was hatching a plan—reprehensible, no doubt, but he didn’t think she’d mind too much when she found out.

      She had never done as she’d promised and emailed him the pictures he had taken of her. Now he proposed to conduct a raid and claim them. Waiting until he could see that she’d turned the bedroom light off, he switched her computer back on.

      He located the folder without difficulty, and within moments was looking at the pictures he’d taken. He’d thought he knew them, but now they struck him with new force. So much had happened since then. He hadn’t meant to grow so close to her, but it had happened despite his resolutions. Perhaps it was fate. He, a man who believed in fate, had to believe in this possibility.

      Now he couldn’t understand why he hadn’t seen her clearly before. Entranced by her loveliness, he’d overlooked the strength and honesty in her face. It was this, as much as her passionate body, that had broken down his defences, so that only a day ago he’d been on the verge of telling her things he’d never told another living soul, things he’d sworn never to tell anyone in his life—however long or short that life might be.