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managed steadily, and heard a faint intake of breath down the line.

      ‘I suppose you think you’re clever,’ Savannah opined viciously.

      It was a game that had to be played out to its conclusion, Elise decided, saddened that it should have even begun. ‘Perhaps you’d care to elaborate.’

      ‘You poisonous little bitch. You had to tell him, didn’t you?’

      Elise closed her eyes, then slowly opened them again. ‘If you’re referring to my hand…blame the physiotherapist,’ she managed carefully, ‘and Alejandro, for insisting on a first-hand report every time I visit any member of the medical profession.’

      There was a long pause. ‘Watch your back, darling.’

      ‘I always do.’ Without hesitation she replaced the receiver, only to lift it again and dial a memorised number.

      A sleepy voice repeated the digits, and Elise felt a surge of relief. ‘Siobhan? How about lunch?’

      ‘I didn’t get to bed until three, you impossible person. Must it be today?’

      ‘We could make it a late lunch,’ Elise persisted, and heard Siobhan’s laughing approval.

      ‘Name the time and place, and I’ll meet you there.’

      ‘One-thirty. Doyle’s at Watson’s Bay,’ she returned without hesitation.

      They met within minutes of the appointed time, and managed by good fortune to be shown to a table overlooking the beach. After the serious business of ordering was completed, they settled down to exchanging news, something which lasted through the starter, and well into the main course.

      ‘You’re positively blooming,’ Siobhan complimented quietly. ‘Your hair, your skin. Everything about you. I couldn’t be more pleased everything is working out.’

      Elise managed a bright smile that didn’t fool her friend in the slightest.

      ‘Not quite, huh? What’s the problem?’

      ‘I didn’t ask you to meet me to discuss any problems.’

      ‘Hell, no. You love my wit, my charm.’ She leaned forward, her expression pensive. ‘I refuse to believe it has anything to do with Alejandro. Savannah?’ she hazarded.

      ‘Why not Alejandro?’

      Siobhan shot her an old-fashioned look. ‘My God, you really can’t see it, can you?’ she queried, shaking her head in silent disbelief. ‘Did you never wonder why I didn’t visit you in hospital?’ Her expression sobered. ‘Alejandro requested—requested,’ she insisted, ‘I stay away until you regained your memory.’ Her eyes took on an earnest fervour. ‘He rang me every day to let me know how you were.’

      Elise could only look at her in shocked silence. Why would he do something like that if he didn’t want to make the most of an opportunity to repair her perception of him? It was crazy. Yet only last night…

      ‘Go figure, Elise,’ Siobhan advised gently. ‘And, if you’re still in any doubt, ask yourself why he insisted on marriage, when it would have been infinitely more simple to install you as his mistress.’

      It was almost four when they left the restaurant, and a short while later Elise garaged the car, then moved lightly indoors.

      Ana was busy peeling vegetables as she entered the kitchen, and she uttered an appreciative sound as the delicious aroma of roast chicken assailed her nostrils.

      ‘Anything I can do to help?’

      Ana’s smile, like the woman herself, was warm and friendly. ‘Alejandro rang. He will be home early. If you must do something, you could set the table.’

      Afterwards she took a long, leisurely shower, then dressed in a white silk blouse and tailored straight skirt. She was putting the finishing touches to her make-up when Alejandro entered the bedroom.

      Elise offered him a tentative smile, then concentrated on colouring the lower curve of her mouth. Her eyes widened as she saw his reflected image in the mirror, and she stood perfectly still as he turned her round to face him.

      ‘I had a call from the physiotherapist. It appears you forgot your appointment this afternoon.’

      Surprise flitted across her features. Damn, it had completely slipped her mind. ‘I’ll ring tomorrow and offer my apologies. I met Siobhan for lunch.’

      His eyes pierced hers. ‘Ana said Siobhan phoned. Strange,’ he continued thoughtfully, ‘when the only number she has is linked to your personal mobile.’

      Elise lifted her hands, then let them fall to her sides in a helpless gesture. ‘Savannah rang, and tricked Ana that she was Siobhan, then attempted to have me believe Ana had made a mistake over the name.’

      ‘Do you want to tell me about it?’

      ‘Not particularly.’

      ‘Elise——’

      ‘Don’t, Alejandro. Please.’ She felt so incredibly vulnerable that if he touched her she would shatter and fall in an ignominious heap at his feet.

      Even now, the pain was still there, yet she managed to hold his gaze with dignity. Dared she risk all and reveal how she felt? Expunge the anguish, and pray that Siobhan was right?

      Drawing a deep breath, she took courage in both hands and began.

      ‘I need to tell you that I viewed my father’s death as a ticket to escape a marriage I considered to have been arranged in hell. The night he lay so ill in hospital, I forgot to take the Pill. Ironic, wouldn’t you say, that he should die within hours of my discovering I might be pregnant?’ She bit the edge of her lip to prevent it from trembling, and the breath caught in her throat as he lifted both hands to frame her face.

      ‘So you ran.’ His thumb traced the edge of her lower lip. She swallowed involuntarily, and his eyes narrowed faintly as he witnessed her nervous reaction.

      ‘I considered I had no choice.’

      ‘Gracias, Elise.’ There was a bitterness apparent that tore her apart.

      There was no doubt he desired her, but desire alone had little to do with need, love. ‘After the accident,’ she began shakily, ‘you were always there, the image of a devoted husband.’ Her eyes searched his, seeing the darkness apparent, the faint tenseness as he waited for her to continue. ‘When my memory returned, I felt betrayed. I had trusted you,’ she cried in an anguished whisper.

      He was quiet for a long time. ‘There was no reason for you to distrust me.’

      ‘You perceived it as a game,’ Elise went on with incredible sadness. ‘With me as the pawn.’

      ‘From the beginning,’ he corrected quietly, ‘you were the prize.’

      ‘Prey,’ she countered. ‘Ruthlessly hunted, and relentlessly lured into a trap.’

      His gaze was unwavering, intense, and impossible to read.

      ‘You acted a part,’ she accused, and saw his eyes darken.

      ‘Never,’ he assured her after a long silence, and her features paled.

      ‘I don’t believe you.’

      ‘No? You perceived our lovemaking as a calculated coupling without any depth of emotional involvement?’

      It had never been that, not even in the beginning. ‘Love isn’t a prerequisite for satisfactory sex.’ She felt as if she were breaking up inside, her body slowly shattering with each successive word he uttered.

      He was silent for what seemed an age, and his voice when he spoke sounded like silk being sliced by the finest tempered steel. ‘You can describe what we share as merely clinical satisfaction?’

      She looked at him carefully, seeing

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