parents. Admittedly you had a guardian who could take over the financial side of your life, but emotionally you had been left in wilderness.’ He gave another shake of his head. ‘I had no idea of any of this when I first met you; how could I? But it rapidly became obvious to me that you were badly in need of someone to love. And for someone to love you.’
‘And that wasn’t part of your immediate plans, was it?’
‘Laura,’ he began patiently, ‘you have no idea how I felt eight years ago. You weren’t mature enough—’
‘Oh, please!’ She stood up impatiently. ‘Don’t try and blame any of what happened then on my so-called immaturity. I didn’t see that stopping you when you made love to me!’
Liam drew in a harsh breath. ‘Nothing could have stopped me the night—that one and only night!—I made love to you,’ he admitted ‘You had been in my life, every part of it, for almost six months. There, with your sensual allure, your undoubted beauty, your complete acceptance of who and what I was. Once I began to touch you that night, kiss you, I could no more have stopped either of those things than I could have stopped breathing!’
‘You said it had been a mistake.’ Laura shakily recalled his words of rejection the following morning. ‘That it must never happen again.’
And it hadn’t. It hadn’t needed to. Bobby had been conceived from that single night of physical love between Liam and herself.
And Liam had left her life before she had even had a chance to share that knowledge with him…
‘Obviously you’d had what you wanted, found it unsatisfactory, and simply moved on,’ she bit out caustically, the words cutting into her like knives.
Liam’s expression was dark with anger. ‘Obviously you don’t know a thing about how I felt after that night!’ he shot back.
She eyed him scathingly. ‘Triumphant, I expect.’
Liam stepped forward, grasping the tops of her arms. ‘You were a virgin until that night, Laura. And I—I had taken that precious gift from you. Triumph didn’t even enter into how I felt the next morning when I woke to find you beside me in my bed!’
Laura closed her eyes against the fury of Liam’s face.
They had been out to celebrate that evening, Liam having signed the contract that day to go to Los Angeles and write the screenplay of his book. They had drunk too much champagne, already high enough on Liam’s success. It had seemed the most natural thing in the world that the two of them should make love with each other when they returned to Liam’s apartment. At least, it had seemed natural to Laura…
‘I should never have drunk as much champagne as I did.’ He scowled.
She opened her eyes to look up at him frowningly. ‘What happened between us had nothing to do with the champagne.’ She shook her head protestingly. ‘It was always going to happen. I’m just surprised it took as long as it did,’ she added, knowing she had fallen in love with Liam, had wanted him physically, from their second time of meeting. Liam had always been the one who held back.
Was this way? Had he really believed her too young and vulnerable to know what she was doing?
Liam’s expression was grim as he thrust her away from him. ‘It wasn’t supposed to happen. I had told myself it wasn’t going to. I was too old for you—’
‘You’re only ten years older than me, Liam, not Methuselah,’ she said, her arms tingling where he had held her so tightly.
‘In terms of experience I was totally out of line continuing my friendship with you at all!’ he told her grimly. ‘And I don’t just mean physical experience,’ he added at her derisive expression. ‘I left Ireland when I was nineteen, came to live in London, found success with my writing. Those years before I met you I lived my life to the full. In every way.’
‘And then stupidly naı¨ve me came into your life,’ Laura realised. ‘Following you everywhere. Worming my way into every part of your life.’
‘It wasn’t like that at all, and you know it.’ His eyes glittered dangerously. ‘I liked having you there, came to look forward to the time we spent together. Too much! Because I was aware that you already had a blinkered adoration for your guardian, the man who had come to your rescue when you were left alone in the world. I also knew that I was rapidly taking on that same untouchable role in your eyes, of someone you thought could do no wrong—’
‘Liam, that is utter nonsense,’ Laura cut in incredulously.
‘I was far from perfect,’ he said.
Laura frowned. ‘How I felt about you bore no relation to how I felt about—my guardian,’ she said awkwardly. ‘Yes, I adored him. How could I not? I had known him all my life; he was a friend of my parents. I told you he had always been an honorary uncle,’ she added exasperatedly as Liam continued to look unconvinced.
‘I know I learnt to be jealous of the man; you talked about him incessantly,’ Liam said. ‘Uncle Rob this and Uncle Rob that.’
‘I loved him!’ she cried exasperately. ‘He was the kindest, most wonderful man I’ve…’ Her voice trailed off as she saw Liam look at her sharply, a dawning recognition appearing in those intelligent blue eyes.
Liam swallowed hard. ‘I seem to have heard that description somewhere before…’ he said slowly.
Laura was flustered now, remembering all too well where he had heard it before! The question was, was Liam remembering it too…?
He was breathing shallowly, his searching gaze never leaving the paleness of her face as he obviously tried to come to grips with a realisation that just seemed too incredible to take in.
‘I’ve been a fool, haven’t I?’ He finally spoke slowly. ‘A complete and utter damned fool.’ His voice hardened angrily.
She hadn’t meant him to find out like this, had wanted to explain the situation to him quietly and calmly. Unfortunately, those two things had never been too near the surface in her dealings with Liam!
‘I can’t believe how stupid I’ve been,’ he continued self-disgustedly. ‘I was just so bowled over when I met you again. I didn’t connect—Guardian Uncle Rob. Husband Robert. They’re one and the same person, aren’t they?’ he breathed incredulously.
Laura stared at him wordlessly, feeling the colour slowly drain from her face.
‘Aren’t they?’ He moved swiftly, grasping her arms again. ‘Answer me!’
His face was only inches away from her own, bombarding her with the full force of his anger.
She shook her head. ‘You don’t understand, Liam—’
‘Robert Shipley was your guardian, wasn’t he?’ he ground out fiercely. ‘The adored Uncle Rob you talked about all the time?’
‘Yes!’ she burst out forcefully, the tears beginning to fall hotly down her cheeks now.
Liam thrust her away from him, staring at her disbelievingly. ‘I thought—believed—I’ve been making an idiot
