SYNOPSIS 'Are you sure it’s all right?’ he asked.At first, she wondered why this powerful man who so easily brought her to melting point would balk at entering her room. Then she realized that though she’d once loved him in every possible way, she’d never admitted him into her world.Until now ... hiding something as pure as the love they’d shared had been her biggest mistake she realizes. She’d been proud to be with him and she should have walked at his side openly.Turning to him and smiling, Sierra began systematically shedding her clothes. ‘Please Matt,’ she told him, ‘come into my room ...’CHAPTER 1Matt Rollins looked up just in time to see an aged white Volvo creeping up the country road, its bright exterior a stark contrast against the darkening Texas sky. As the vehicle crested the horizon, his troubled blue eyes intensified to match the color of his denim shirt.What now? he thought irritably. Hadn’t he coped with enough headaches for one day? He knew this car. He’d seen

Sierra’s eyes burned but remained dry. His reference to the abandonment she’d known in his arms pricked her nerves. She didn’t need to hear his reminder of it. Now, she knew what she’d feared all these years was true. He’d left town believing her a whore.But she refused to show how deeply that troubled her. She’d shed all her tears for Matt and for herself years ago. She’d done what she had to.‘It wasn’t like that. I wasn’t sleeping with him.’‘I guess you might as well have been. You’d already made up your mind to marry him. Was it some kind of game I didn’t know the rules to? You and Ben moved with a fast crowd. Was it a dare, the thrill of venturing into forbidden territory?’‘I was never that flighty, and you know it.’‘Well, whatever I did, I took it serious. If you were just looking for entertainment, you shouldhave been straight with me. Hell, I would have accommodated you.’‘Seriously enough to make it clear you were passing time until you saved enough money to leave town?

‘I’ll look after them,’ he assured her.Later, after his niece and nephew were tucked in their beds and the house was quiet, he swallowed his fierce pride as Sierra had sacrificed hers this afternoon and dialed the number she’d left him. She had a son to look after; he had Leeann’s family.He thought he’d steeled himself, but the sound of her voice rippled through his detached facade. She gave him directions to her place, and he said he’d be there around ten after he ran an errand in town for Leeann. His only personal request was that she keep the boy out of his and harm’s way. He didn’t tell her he had more than the boy’s safety on his mind. For all his claims that he was immune to her, he couldn’t tolerate the thought of constantly facing concrete evidence of Sierra’s happy union with Ben - the son they’d made together.Nothing, he vowed, was going to let her slink under his skin again. As his Daddy had always professed, the rich stuck together and seldom strayed beyond their own ci

‘Sierra, I felt it.’‘Felt what? You have to say it.’‘The magic. This would never have happened if I didn’t love you.’‘I know. But I’m glad you said it.’‘Sierra?’‘Hmm?’‘Thank you.’She nestled against his chest, and he held her to him, sinking one hand in her tresses. His heart swelled in a way it never had before. She had indeed given him something no one could ever take away. And for the first time in his life hewanted to believe that if something was good enough and pure enough, it would indeed last forever . . .With a start. Matt awoke, blinking in the darkness and confused to find himself sprawled across a narrow bed in a room with plastic trucks and teddy bears lining the shelves. Blue curtains billowed over the partially opened window like a pair of icy ghosts.Clasping a hand to his forehead, he remembered that he was in his nephew’s room. Tossing the quilt back, he swung his long legs over the side of the bed, setting bare feet on the wooden floor. In nothing but a pai

‘St Matthew, I guess.’‘What did he do?’‘I’m not sure.’Matt paused and extended a hand to the boy. ‘Pleasure to meet you, Will,’ he said.Round-eyed, the boy tentatively accepted his handshake, enjoying the gesture normally reserved for adults. His chest swelled and he stood taller, but the grasp of his small hand reminded Matt oddly of little Tanner reaching out to him last night.‘What are you doing out here, Will?’ Sierra’s voice broke through the encroaching darkness. ‘I told you not to disturb Mr Rollins while he’s working.’‘He’s not bothering me,’ Matt insisted calmly. ‘We were just discussing going riding tomorrow.’Matt saw her hand ball into a fist.‘Can I, Mom?’ Will pleaded. ‘I wasn’t begging. It was Matt’s idea.’Matt nodded to confirm this.‘We’ll see,’ she said. ‘Why don’t you go inside and get washed for dinner?’ Reluctantly, he marched off. It had been a long time since she’d seen his eyes shine about anything.‘He’s a nice kid. Sierra,’ Matt noted. ‘I’d like to tak