Tall, Dark... Collection. Carole Mortimer

after eating the sandwich and drinking half a cup of coffee. ‘You were saying?’ She eyed Liam challengingly.

      He gave an inclination of his head. ‘I was about to ask you why you bother with a man who can reduce you to this state?’ His eyes swept over her tear-stained dishevelled appearance.

      She looked back at him unflinchingly, refreshed, her self-confidence back in place. ‘That’s easy to explain, Liam.’ She smiled as she thought of her beloved son. ‘I love him.’

      A nerve pulsed in the hard column of his throat, the blue gaze suddenly icy. ‘You thought you loved me once,’ he reminded her harshly.

      Her smile widened. ‘As I’ve already told you—’

      ‘That was before you learnt to tell the gold from the dross,’ Liam finished grimly.

      Her brows rose mockingly. ‘My, my, you do have a good memory,’ she drawled, picking up another sandwich and biting into it hungrily.

      ‘Where you’re concerned, yes!’ he barked.

      Laura shook her head ruefully. ‘I somehow find that difficult to believe, Liam. In fact, until our encounter in the hotel a couple of days ago, I doubt you had even given me a thought for the last eight years!’

      His mouth tightened at her deliberate taunt. ‘You—’

      ‘How did you conclude your meeting with Perry this morning?’ she interrupted in a brisk businesslike tone; she didn’t want to know whether or not Liam had ever thought of her in those eight intervening years!

      His lips twisted. ‘You mean, is he my editor or not?’ Liam paused. ‘Not,’ he replied tightly at her confirming nod.

      Laura gave a heavy sigh. ‘I’m sorry about that,’ she said with genuine regret; Josie’s World was a wonderful book. ‘But I’m sure you will have no problem finding yourself another publisher.’

      ‘Not so fast, Laura,’ Liam cut in. ‘I don’t want another publisher.’

      ‘You aren’t still determined to have me as your editor?’ she demanded, no longer relaxed in her chair as she sat forward tensely.

      “‘Determined” isn’t quite the word I would use,’ he replied. ‘It’s more a case of who I feel I can work with. The relationship between an author and an editor is a very delicate one. It requires—’

      ‘I know what it requires, Liam,’ she put in. ‘And we simply do not have that sort of relationship.’

      ‘We could have.’

      ‘No,’ she bit out decisively, ‘We could not. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, Liam?’ She gave a hurried glance at her wristwatch. ‘I have to go out again.’ She had told Bobby she would only be an hour or so, and it was approaching that time already.

      Liam’s eyes narrowed to icy slits. ‘To see the same man?’

      Bobby, she knew, would absolutely love that description!

      ‘To see the same man,’ she confirmed, standing up. She probably just had enough time left to freshen up and change, collect their nightclothes, before driving herself back to the hospital.

      Liam’s hand reaching out to grasp her arm took her totally by surprise. ‘Didn’t you learn your lesson with me?’ he rasped.

      The more Laura tried to twist her arm out of his grasp, the tighter his hold became. She was breathing hard with agitation when she finally looked up at him. ‘Which lesson would that be, Liam?’ she challenged, head thrown back as she looked at him contemptuously. ‘How to tell the bastards from the good guys?’

      Blue eyes seemed to catch fire as he glared down at her, the fierceness of that gaze finally settling on her slightly parted lips. ‘You’ll never know how hard I tried to be a good guy with you, Laura,’ he muttered.

      Her mouth turned down scornfully. ‘You didn’t try hard enough! Now, let me go!’ Once again she tired to wrench her arm out of his grasp.

      ‘I let you go once before, and lived to regret it,’ he murmured grimly, shaking his head. ‘If you think I’m going to do it now, when there’s nothing and no one standing between us, then you’re out of your mind!’

      Laura stopped struggling to stare up at him, hardly breathing, very aware of the close proximity of their two bodies, suddenly feeling incredibly hot.

      He was so close now she could see every pore of his skin, the dark shadow of stubble on his chin that indicated he was in need of his second shave of the day, the grim lines beside his mouth and eyes, those eyes so deeply blue it was impossible to see where the iris ended and the pupil began.

      She felt the wanton weakness of her body as Liam slowly, determinedly, began to draw her up against him, those firmly sculptured lips almost touching hers now, their breath intermingled.

      ‘No!’ She pulled back so sharply she took Liam completely by surprise, releasing herself from his grasp but knowing she would have bruises on her wrist later because of her abrupt action.

      Bruises? They were nothing compared to the other damage Liam could wreak in her life if he got too close!

      Because Liam was wrong when he said no one stood between them. Bobby stood between them. And he always would.

      But she acknowledged it wasn’t only Bobby that had prevented her from giving in to that momentary weakness she had felt towards Liam. Her own pride wouldn’t allow him to see that he could still affect her in this way!

      Her eyes sparkled with anger as she glared across at him. ‘I would like you to leave, Liam,’ she bit out tautly. ‘Now!’ she added viciously, as he would have spoken. ‘You weren’t invited here, have no right to be here.’ She shook her head. ‘And now I would like you to leave!’

      A nerve pulsed in his tightly clenched jaw as he continued to look at her for long, breathless seconds. Finally, he gave a harshly controlled sigh. ‘All right, Laura, I’ll go,’ he told her. ‘But I’m not leaving London.’

      She drew in a sharp breath, reaction starting to set in as she began to tremble. ‘That is completely—’

      ‘Or you,’ Liam added huskily.

      Her head went back proudly, her smile scornful. ‘That presupposes I want you to stay, Liam—and I’m sure I’ve made it more than obvious that’s the last thing I want!’

      His mouth twisted into a rueful smile. ‘What you want and what you get are often two completely different things.’

      ‘You already taught me that particular lesson eight years ago,’ she flew back at him.

      His expression softened. ‘I never meant to hurt you, Laura—’

      ‘Who knows—or cares—what you meant to do, Liam?’ she cut in hotly. ‘The result was the same! Now, will you please go?’

      ‘I will.’ He nodded. ‘But you haven’t seen the last of me,’ he promised, his Irish brogue very much in evidence.

      And he let himself out of the sitting-room and then out of the house…!

      Laura sat down—before her legs gave way beneath her. She was shaking so badly by this time that it was a distinct possibility that was what would happen!

      What was she going to do?

      She knew from what he had said that Liam had no intention of disappearing from her life in the near future, obviously finding this more mature and self-confident Laura much more interesting than he had found the totally besotted Laura eight years ago.

      Well, she had no intention of letting him anywhere near the life she had now. She would instruct Amy never to let him in the house again, would leave the same instructions with the reception at Shipley Publishing. The way her life was now, with very little other than Bobby and the office to occupy her time, that should at least make things a little