Grabbing her bag, she slipped out of the car and slammed the door with so much force the Lotus shook.Taylor stared at her rapidly retreating figure, his heart thumping, something sharp tearing at his throat.What the hell had just happened?It took a few heartbeats before the shock of her reaction dislodged him and his body unfroze.He unbuckled his seat belt, jumped out and, ignoring the dozens of angry drivers honking and waving their fists at him, slammed his own door shut.For a moment, he couldn’t see her, and there were seconds when his heart seemed to stop with the panic of it all. Then he spotted her, already far in the distance in the middle of a crowded pavement.Dianne slipped through the crowds and into a narrow side street where cars were banned, not knowing and not caring where she was going. All that mattered was escape.A hand grabbed her arm. Her throat opened to scream, but then she saw it was Taylor who had hold of her.She yanked out of his grasp. “Taylor, please,

She sat up straight, suddenly as certain of something as she’d ever been in all her life.Taylor loved her with all her imperfections.She jumped to her feet, bouncing, then slumped back down as another thought occurred to her.He might love her, but she’d hurt him badly. His pride was enormous, and she’d wounded it not once, but twice.He might not want to listen to her. Even if he did listen, he could still walk away.Oh, get some backbone, she snapped at herself. If he walks away, it’ll be nothing less than you deserve. You’ll still live.It is better to try than to spend the rest of her life wondering what if.But before she could do anything, she realized there was something that needed to be taken care of first.She’d spent the years of their marriage searching for her self-respect. Somewhere in their short time together, she’d found it. She didn’t know where or when, but it had nestled inside her. And now she needs to claim it. Until she claimed it and embraced it, she would ne

‘Allowed what to happen? For your father to correct you, as was his right as your father?’At least she wasn’t pretending not to understand.‘My own father was far harder on me than Frederick ever was with you.’ She lifted the sleeve of her arm and showed him the old silvery scar that ran along her biceps. ‘My father did this to me in a drunken rage when I was seven. For all his faults as a father, Frederick never once lifted his finger to you.’He felt as if he’d been punched. She’d always shrugged it off as a childhood accident. ‘I never knew.’‘It was a long time ago when such things weren’t spoken of, especially amongst people like my family. Personal problems were kept behind closed doors. We both suffered at the hands of our parents and we tried not to repeat that with you and Audrey.’He laughed without any trace of humour.‘You think your father was hard on you?’ his mother said, a sharpness in her voice. ‘William would beat him when he failed at anything or disappointed him i

‘It’s beautiful,’ she whispered.‘I bought it to show you that my love for you is for ever,’ he said, taking it out of the box and sliding it onto her empty ring finger.It fitted perfectly.‘See—now you are mine again.’She beamed, happiness radiating through her.‘Dianne, we will build our own bubble to live in,’ he said, placing a reverential kiss to her hand, ‘and we will love and celebrate all our imperfections in it.’‘You, me and our babies?’The laughter died, a serious expression forming in his eyes. ‘We will have children when you’re ready and not a day sooner. I don’t care for the perfect family any more—perfect is boring,’ he added with a crooked grin. ‘Our children will be an expression of our love and commitment, nothing else.’‘How does seven months from now sound to you?’The shock ringing from him was so palpable that Dianne was the one to burst into laughter. ‘Yes, you wonderful man, you’re going to be a father.’His eyes were so wide she feared they would pop out. ‘

Predictably, Lucas did not even wince, but she flushed uncomfortably at the look he shot her.But then, very few things bothered Lucas Jack, and regular sex was as important to him as ordered meals and exercise, and ranked no higher than either. He was a very logical male, and he saw no need to explain himself when he and Beverly had yet to share a bed.The very fact that they had both chosen to retain the freedom of taking other lovers during their long engagement had convinced them that it would be much more straightforward just to save the sex for when they were married. His father had only said that an hour or so before, but Lucas had not expected to be confronted with definitive proof of that statement so soon.His high opinion of Beverly had been damaged because it was obvious that she saw nothing inherently wrong with sleeping with another woman’s husband.Had his own views become so archaic, so unreasonable? Was he guilty of allowing childhood experiences to influence his adu