fool that she’d been to fall in love with him. Where she listlessly performed necessary chores, and agonised over a solitary future without him.
He stood there as if he were a returning hero carrying his gift like the spoils of war. And the anguish and heartache she’d suffered surged into a torrent of anger at his injustice.
‘No.’
HIS BODY JERKED, his brow furrowed, and his mouth fell open.
‘You bring flowers and expect what you did to be wiped away and forgotten? You judged me guilty without proof, willingly believed I lied to you.’ She retreated as she spoke, torn between aching for him and never wanting to suffer like this again.
‘You never trusted me from the day we met. You were willing and eager to take me to bed but never prepared to give anything of yourself. Except your body for your own pleasure.’
‘No. No, Lauren. I was...’
‘Protecting yourself.’
His features contorted. He raised his hands, blinked as the orchids came into his view, and strode across the room to place them on her bookshelf. He turned to face her, his hands reaching out to her, and his dark beseeching eyes pleaded for understanding.
Her heart clamoured for her to run into his arms, surrender and forgive. But he’d disowned her over the phone, without giving her a chance to explain.
She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. When his hands fell then one rose to rake through his hair, her fingers itched to join it.
Flowers and kisses came easily to him. If he thought he could win her over by...
‘How did you get into the building?’
He broke eye contact, and stared at her cream velour sofa with its colourful cushions. Typical Matt, plotting his reply instead of saying what he felt.
‘Can we sit and talk? Please, Lauren. I know I’ve been a drongo and selfish as hell. And the dumbest prize idiot for not admitting even to myself that I love you.’
Her world slammed to a shuddering halt. The air rushed from her lungs, her legs trembled, threatening to buckle, and she leant on the breakfast bar for support.
‘No, you don’t.’ Breathless. Distrustful.
The adoration in his eyes stirred the cold embers in her core, and she scrunched her fingers, wouldn’t fold. He’d coerced her so many times. She’d need more than words to risk her heart again.
She moved to the sofa, determined to conceal the effect of the hot tendrils of desire weaving their way to every extremity as he joined her. Leaving space between them, he spread his arm along the back and hooked one ankle over the other knee—a simple, familiar habit that chipped at her resistance.
‘Pete let me in.’
This wasn’t going the way Matt had planned. He’d been wrong in so many ways, including persuading her to face her demons while fooling himself about his own.
He’d banked on her being thrilled with the flowers, and melting into his arms. Seeing her on her knees with tears streaming down her face had shattered him.
Her response to his kiss had been all he could have wished for. She cared. They’d talk and she’d forgive him. They’d make love and work out how they could be together.
Lauren had stunned him with her hostile stance and accusation, her flashing hazel eyes demanding he fight for her, and prove he was worthy of her love. Living without her had been hell. Together they could build their own heaven.
‘You named Pete as your contact on the company’s personnel form I’d filed without reading. I had completely forgotten about it until yesterday. He was tough to convince, but finally agreed to meet me with no guarantees of help. He also threatened to take me apart if I ever hurt you again.’
Her lips curved and he found himself grinning at the image too. He had height and weight advantages but he had no doubt Pete’s threat was sincere.
‘I have...had trust issues. I never saw my parents kiss or be affectionate, and rarely heard them argue. Came home one evening and it was full on. He’d been having affairs for most of their married life. She put up with it because she wanted the lifestyle he provided. I was gutted at their hypocrisy.’
‘That’s why you left Australia.’ She leant towards him. The tightness in his gut eased, and he ground out the rest.
‘He used his business premises for rendezvous.’
‘The bedroom?’
‘I’ve never been in there. It’s a tangible reminder of his adultery, and I swore I’d never be like him. That’s what always stopped me from kissing you in the office.’
She shuffled a bit closer, and covered his outstretched hand with hers. As always with her touch, his heart beat faster, and his temperature rose. He needed to get the truth out, have no more secrets. Then he could hold her again.
‘Apart from the woman in London, I knew others, male and female, who believed fidelity was outmoded. Faithful couples seemed to be a minority, or maybe my pride saw it that way as proof my father wasn’t so contemptible. If I didn’t believe in love their relationship wasn’t abnormal.’
He took a chance and moved towards her. She stopped him with a hand on his chest, eyes wary and sceptical.
‘You didn’t want any of the photos.’
He caught her hand, raised it to his lips and kissed her palm. Rejoiced in her quivering reaction, and his own. Regaining her trust was paramount so he fought the craving to enfold her in arms and kiss her the way he had in the hall.
‘They were for you. I ordered another set, which should have told me how special the evening with you was, and how much you already meant to me. It came the day after you left.’
His thumb began an automatic caress of her knuckles. When she didn’t pull free, he closed his eyes and took a long breath.
‘I refused to believe in love even though I knew couples who proved me wrong. My experiences, including suspicion of my father’s computer deception, gave me little reason to trust in any sphere of life.
‘Then you walked into my office and all my resolutions collapsed. I fell in love, probably had ten years ago and hadn’t been mature enough to recognise it. I stubbornly ignored the reality when we met again.’
Her smile grew as he spoke, her beautiful hazel eyes glowed, and his resolve crashed. He gathered her into his arms where she belonged, setting his world right. A different aroma, as alluring as the other, filled his nostrils. He brushed his lips across her forehead, and if his heart beat any faster, he’d short circuit.
‘Matt?’ She raised her head, a tiny furrow creasing her brow. ‘That reporter...’
‘She overheard my mother talking at a luncheon and started digging. I should have come home
