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HER SECRET 11
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YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 12
She drew back.‘You really are trying to make this place work, aren’t you? You’re still the most beautiful woman I know,’ he said, his eyes sweeping over her. ‘And you’ve always been strong. You just never knew it because your old man was stronger.’She laughed lightly. ‘I could just imagine what he’d do if he heard himself being referred to as my “old man”.’Matt shrugged. ‘Even if he was the devil himself, you probably miss him.’‘I do. I’ve missed you sometimes too.’ She was lying again. She’d missed him all the time. She shifted her eyes down to the floor.Matt eyed her uneasily, then swung his glance around the room. ‘So is this a doll house or what?’‘It used to be servants’ quarters.’‘It’ll do. I’ll keep the door locked so you can’t break in again.’‘Matt, what changed your mind about staying?’ ‘Will.’Sierra recoiled as though she’d been stabbed in the heart. She’d feared hearing that. Will favored her more than he did his father, but if Matt spent too much time around him, h
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 13
‘Well, yeah.'‘But see, you don’t know it’s because he’s got two broken legs. You really don’t know enough about him to say. You can’t make assumptions about people you don’t even know.’‘That’s different. And that was cheating, not telling he was crippled.’Sierra intervened. ‘Will, go get your clothes together. Luke and his mom will be here for you any minute.’ Sierra’s tone left no room for argument, and Will offered no resistance. But as he was leaving the room, he shot Matt a sharp parting glance.‘You’ll have to forgive him, Matt. I honestly don’t know what’s gotten into him. He’s been exposed to Ben’s elitist philosophies, and Ben’s views usually fell short of compassion.’Matt kept his voice low. ‘I think I know what’s wrong. He was talking about how his father died. Must have been harder on the kid than he’ll admit.’‘Will’s suffered a lot of trauma.’‘Maybe he needs to talk about it more, get it out of his system.’‘When he’s ready. I’m sure he will.’‘Maybe he’s not sophist
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 14
‘I’ll go change,’ she said quickly. ‘There are him sandwiches in that bag. Help yourself, if you’re hungry. I know you must be.’Holding the candle in front of her, she made her way into the bathroom, where she set it down on the sink. Peeling off her wet sweater and bra, she hung them and her jacket on the towel rack. As she put the shirt on and buttoned it, she inhaled the same soapy fragrance she’d detected on Matt a few minutes ago.The cotton shirt was endlessly big on her, but at least it was dry. The stiff fabric smelled faintly of laundry detergent and of Matt, a scent that made her light-headed.She shed her wet shoes and socks, leaving on her damp jeans, then used the candle to make her way to the living room. Matt was sitting on the floor,his back against the sofa, munching a sandwich.‘You were hungry,’ she noted, placing the candle on the coffee table and slipping down beside him.‘A little,’ he admitted. ‘You make a good sandwich.’ Reaching for the candle, he rose. ‘Be
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 15
‘Something happened to me, Matt. I’m not the same as I was.’‘You feel the same, taste just as sweet. Sweeter, I think. Like peppermint.’She took his face in both hands and pinned his head back. He cast her a bewildered look.‘There’s something inside me that doesn’t work right.’Now, he leaned back, folding his arms across his chest.‘I reckon you’d better be more specific.’She shot him a tentative look, then dropped her eyes.He reached for her hand, knit his big fingers through her slender ones. ‘What is it? Did something happen when you had Will?’‘No. I’m not sure when this happened. I can make love with you, Matt, I want to make love to you. But whatever happens I don’t want you to think it’s your fault. There’s nothing physically wrong. It’s in my head, some cold, hardened part of me.’When she looked up, she saw anger in his eyes. ‘What did he do to you?’She knew to whom he was referring. ‘Nothing. It’s me, not anybody else,’‘Why do you assume the failing was yours and not
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 16
‘I’m sure it’s hard for him. He thinks he’s doing the right thing. He wants to take care of Will and me, but in his way. He’s yet to accept I’m a grownwoman capable of standing on my own and making my own decisions.’‘You’re making excuses for him, darlin’. In truth, your background isn’t any more privileged than my own undistinguished upbringing.’‘Sometimes I think we become what we are despite our families rather than because of them.’‘Depends on who you are, I reckon.’She rested her head against his side. With all the ice outside, she felt as though they were encased inside a glass dome, where nothing else could get in or out.‘Let’s not talk about our families,’ she said. ‘Please. Not this morning.’He grinned down on her. ‘Are you hungry? The power’s back on, and I think there’s an egg or two in that itty-bitty refrigerator.’She shook her head. ‘No, I’m not hungry right now.’He shrugged. ‘Well, I can’t turn the horses out in this and I don’t have a television set here, so I
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 17
‘Sierra’s a gracious woman. She’s got no call to be unfriendly to you.’Leeann chewed her bottom lip. ‘I hope she’s not bein’ overly gracious. Matt. You never mentioned you’d be workin’ out there on the weekends too. Be careful, please. I know you’ve been away a long time, but things don’t change as fast in Winter as they do everywhere else. I don’t want to see you get hurt again, not by her.’‘I can take care of myself. You have enough to worry about, Leeann.’‘I’d worry about you less if you’d find some woman who was worth your time and marry her. One of Jerry’s friends has a sister who’s single, and I could invite . . .’‘Forget it. Turtle. I’m not getting married and I’m not staying in Winter. That’s what you want, isn’t it? You’d love for me to tie myself down here.’‘I ain’t denyin’ it, Matt. It’s good havin’ you back. But I’d sooner run you out of town myself than to think that she-devil was toyin’ with you again, like a cat playing with a ball of string.’‘You overestimate Sie
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 18
‘Aw, Mom.’‘And you and Luke were probably up most of the night too, weren’t you?’‘I’m not tired.’Overriding her son’s protests, she refused to let him go.‘That’s all right, William,’ his grandfather assured him. ‘How would you like to come to New York with me next weekend?’Sierra couldn’t help smiling as her son’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. Will’s head whipped towards her.‘Can I?’ he asked.‘We’ll see.’ She turned to her father. ‘We need to discuss this more before I make a decision.’‘Fine,’ he agreed, rising. ‘I’ll call you.’She hugged her father. He received the gesture stiffly. Sierra smiled. Emotional displays had always made him uncomfortable. ‘Don’t be a stranger,’ she told him.She and Will stood watching by the window as William Ross walked to his car.‘What made Grandfather William come back today?’ Will asked. Even at his age, he understood that people didn’t get over being angry unless something happened to change that.She set one hand on her son’s shoulde
YOUR LOVE (ROMANTIC SERIES) HER SECRET 19
‘Thirty or I’m not going to mess with it. And you’ll have seventy five per cent of nothin’.’‘Thirty,’ she conceded. Getting into her pants hadn’t softened his bargaining savvy, she observed.In one quick motion his hand caught hers, hanging between them at her side, wrapping it warmly, squeezing it. Surprised and thrilled at the contact, she looked up into his eyes, smiling. His eyes were intense and compelling, and she glimpsed the tenderness, the lingering intimacy, the silent promise of more. She felt as though he’d reached out and put his hand on her heart.He leaned closer. ‘This is business, Sierra. Onething doesn’t have anything to do with the other. I can’t afford to let it.’His tactics reminded her disturbingly of her father’s, and a thread of trepidation coiled inside her as she wondered what might happened if these two strong men ever confronted one another. Father’s statement that he’d rather see her dead than with Matt Rollins echoed in her head. William Ross wasn’t pr
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