Chapter 11

My grandmother died three years ago,’ Elena informed him matter-of-factly, stepping past him to walk along the concrete path to her front door, and her nerves coiled into a knot at the pit of her stomach at the knowledge that he was following her.

‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ he was saying. ‘I remember her as a strong, robust woman who was seldom ill, and I find it difficult to believe that she isn’t still alive.

Elena’s thoughts were chaotic to speak, and she needed those few moments to control her features as well as her erratic heart-beats while she unlocked the door, but Stephan was observing her with a faintly sardonic expression in his blue eyes when she turned to face him.

May I come in, Elena?

She hesitated nervously. She did not welcome the thought of being alone with him, but common sense warned that he might suspect she was afraid of him, so she pushed open the door, entering the small cottage ahead of him with a cool, ‘ You may come in, if you wish.’

Elena led the way into he