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haven’t you?’

      ‘Yes,’ she confessed reluctantly. Twice. First with Brad, and then with Mario. Finding out Brad was a selfish, greedy, amoral rat had been devastating enough. But it had been the super-charming Mario who had nearly destroyed her. Because she should have known better by then. Should have seen through his lies.

      But she hadn’t.

      ‘Act with me the way you acted with him, then,’ Ryan suggested.

      ‘I could never act that way again,’ she said coldly. ‘It was pathetic.’

      ‘That bad, huh? Okay, just don’t freeze up if I put my arm around you or give you a little kiss occasionally. Strictly no tongues.’

      ‘I should hope not!’

      He laughed. ‘I can see that tomorrow might be a stretch, but what the hell? We’re doing this for your gran, right?’

      Laura blinked. She’d almost forgotten about her. Ever since that horrid phone call from her aunt she’d been thinking more about herself and her pride.

      ‘Yes,’ she said, feeling ashamed of herself. ‘Yes, of course.’ There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for her gran. ‘Ryan …?’

      ‘Mmm?’

      ‘You can call me sweetheart if you want to.’

      He laughed. ‘That’s more like it. Now you just need to find a dress. Red would look good on you.’

      ‘But I don’t own a red dress.’

      ‘Then go buy one! You have all tomorrow morning. And some sexy shoes as well. Have to go now, Laura, someone’s trying to ring me. I’ll see you at your place tomorrow at one o’clock sharp.’

      Laura opened her mouth to protest, but he’d already hung up.

       Dear God, what have I done?

      But he was right, she supposed. Any girlfriend of Ryan’s would dress sexily.

      Laura hadn’t dressed sexily since she’d split with Mario, which was quite a few years ago now. Frankly, she wouldn’t even know where to start to find a sexy red dress.

      But Alison would. Alison was right into fashion.

      Laura pulled a face. If she asked Alison for help that would mean telling her what she was doing this weekend—and with whom. This would also mean confessing what she’d said to her gran when she’d been in the coma.

      Alison would be hurt that she hadn’t confided in her earlier. The two girls pretty well told each other everything, had done ever since their boarding-school days together. Confessing that she’d kept a secret from her would be hard but it had to be done.

      Hopefully, she wouldn’t judge her too harshly. Biting her bottom lip, she punched in Alison’s number and walked slowly into her bedroom. There she sank down on the side of the bed and waited for her best friend to answer.

      Please don’t let her have gone out tonight, she prayed as the phone rang and rang.

      A split second before it would have gone to her message bank, Alison’s harried voice came down the line. ‘This had better be important, Laura. You know how dreadful the children can be at this time of night.’

      In truth, Laura could hear the sounds of arguing in the background. Alison had a boy of eight and a girl of six who didn’t always get along, especially when they were tired. Clearly it wasn’t the time for true confessions right at this moment.

      ‘Sorry,’ Laura said. ‘But I am desperate. Could you get Peter to mind the children tomorrow morning whilst you come shopping with me?’

      ‘Shopping for what?’

      ‘A dress. A sexy red dress.’

      ‘Bloody hell, Laura, I almost dropped the phone just then. Did I hear you correctly? Did you say you wanted to buy a sexy red dress?’

      ‘Yes,’ Laura admitted, knowing that she’d just opened the floodgates to Alison’s curiosity, which was second to none. ‘Could I possibly explain tomorrow?’

      ‘You can explain later tonight, madam, when I have time to call you back and listen to what I’m sure will be a fascinating story.’

      ‘All right,’ Laura said with a resigned sigh. ‘Just be gentle with me. I’m feeling a bit fragile.’

      ‘Rubbish! You don’t do fragile. You kids, if you don’t stop fighting I’m going to get off this phone and strangle you. Laura, I have to go kill the kids. I’ll ring you back later.’

      ‘Fine,’ Laura said wearily and hung up.

       CHAPTER SEVEN

      ‘MY MIND’S still boggled by all this,’ Alison said as she put down her coffee cup.

      They were sitting in a café in Centre Point Tower, having spent a good two hours since the shops opened finding the right sexy red dress, not to mention a pair of equally sexy shoes.

      ‘I mean, why Ryan Armstrong of all people?’ she went on disbelievingly.

      ‘You know why, Alison,’ Laura replied patiently. ‘He’s exactly the type of man Gran would think was a good catch.’

      ‘But you can’t stand him.’

      ‘I don’t dislike him as much as I thought I did,’ Laura admitted. How could she when he was doing this for her?

      ‘Ah-ha!’ Alison pounced. ‘I get it. You’ve been secretly attracted to him all along. And he to you.’

      ‘Please don’t start that romantic rubbish, Alison.’

      ‘But why else would he agree to this … This …?’

      ‘Charade,’ Laura finished for her. ‘I told you—he’s doing it because he has a soft spot for grandmothers.’

      Alison rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, phooey! He’s probably just doing it to get into your pants. Now that I’ve had time to think about it, I can see it’s not romance he wants but sex. I keep forgetting not all men are sincere like my Peter. We both know what kind of guy Ryan Armstrong is, Laura. He’s a player, with an obsession about winning. If what you’ve told me is true, you’ve been giving him the cold shoulder ever since you got him as a client. Am I right?’

      ‘Yes.’

      ‘Men like that don’t expect women to give them the cold shoulder. They’re used to being flattered and flirted with. You’ve become a challenge, Laura. You yourself said you were surprised at his asking you out for a drink.’

      And to go sailing with him, Laura suddenly recalled.

      ‘That was move number one,’ Alison said wryly.

      ‘But he has a girlfriend!’ Laura protested.

      ‘Who’s away in Melbourne for the weekend. My my, how convenient.’

      ‘It isn’t like you to be so cynical, Alison. That’s usually my bag.’

      ‘Yes, well, I can see that you’re in danger of being taken in by this creep. I mean, the guy asks you to buy a sexy red dress and you actually go and buy one. The Laura I know would never have done that.’

      Laura sighed. ‘I’m not being taken in by him. I just don’t want to look like an old maid this weekend.’

      ‘Well, you sure as hell won’t look like an old maid in that red dress. And those beck-and-call-girl shoes you bought.’

      ‘You told me to buy them.’

      ‘That was before I worked out what the guy was really up to.’

      ‘I

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