Tall, Dark... Collection. Carole Mortimer

colour draining from her cheeks as she looked up at him with widely hurt eyes.

      She had told Amy that Liam had never asked her to marry him, but would she have married Liam eight years ago if he had?

      Like a shot came the instant answer. She had lived for him eight years ago, would have done anything for him. Had done anything for him. If he had asked her to marry him she would have become his slave for life!

      She breathed deeply and evenly, desperately trying to regain control over her shattered composure. He had no right! No right at all to say things like this to her!

      ‘I was very naı¨ve and inexperienced, Liam,’ she finally answered.

      ‘That’s no answer, Laura,’ he responded. ‘Besides, you assured me—only yesterday, wasn’t it…?—that where I was concerned you were never a child.’

      ‘It’s possible to be naı¨ve and inexperienced at any age, Liam,’ she came back. ‘But to answer your question…’ She drew in a sharp breath. ‘I suppose it would have to be yes,’ she bit out with distaste. ‘And what a pretty mess that would have made of both our lives!’

      Liam looked down at her searchingly. ‘Do you really believe that?’ he finally asked.

      She gave him a pitying look. ‘Don’t you?’ she derided. ‘Liam, I meant so much to you then that you were married to someone else within weeks of leaving England—’

      ‘A mistake I definitely wouldn’t have made if I had already been married to you!’ He reached out to grasp the tops of her arms. ‘You might just have been what I needed to keep my feet on the ground!’

      Laura shook her head ruefully. ‘And I might just have got myself trampled to death in your stampede to get out of any marriage between the two of us!’

      Liam gave a perplexed frown, shaking his head. ‘You don’t regret a thing, do you…?’ he realised slowly, his hands dropping away from her arms.

      In a word—no. If she had never been involved with Liam then she could never have given Robert, a man she had already owed so much, the family he had so desired. Her marriage to Robert was something she would never regret. If she regretted anything at all, then it was meeting Liam again—

      Was it?

      Did she really wish that had never happened?

      She looked up at him searchingly, at the changes in him, the obvious signs of physical maturity. But hadn’t he changed in other ways too? Hadn’t he shown concern for her yesterday morning over that newspaper article? An article he was completely responsible for, though, she acknowledged hardly. But he could have had no idea of how far Janey Wilson would play up the possibility of a personal relationship between the two of them.

      More to the point, much as she might like to try to deny it, even to herself, hadn’t she responded to Liam yesterday morning? Hadn’t she forgotten everything but the two of them, totally lost in the aching need, the long forgotten emotions Liam had roused in her? What would have been the conclusion of that meeting if Bobby hadn’t interrupted them?

      She swallowed hard, her eyes meeting Liam’s unwaveringly. ‘There’s no point in regrets, Liam,’ she told him flatly. ‘The past is gone, never to return. The future is unknown, for all of us. Which only leaves the present. I’m quite happy with my present exactly the way that it is.’ She looked across at Bobby, her eyes shining with pride.

      ‘Then you must be one of the lucky ones,’ Liam rasped. ‘Because I don’t like any of my life!’

      Laura turned back to him slowly. ‘Then do something about it.’

      His face darkened angrily. ‘I’m trying to! I—’

      ‘Uncle Liam, the string’s got caught in the tree!’ Bobby’s distressed wail interrupted them.

      “‘Uncle” Liam…?’ Laura repeated with soft fury, her hand tightly on his arm, holding him back as he would have gone to her son’s aid.

      Liam turned back to her impatiently. ‘He didn’t know what else to call me.’

      ‘Uncle Liam…?’ she bit out furiously, annoyed beyond reason by the intimacy of the title.

      ‘Come on, Laura.’ Liam shook off her hold on his arm. ‘He’s a polite child. He didn’t feel comfortable calling an adult by their first name. I couldn’t see any harm in the title of uncle.’

      ‘I’m sure you couldn’t,’ she replied. ‘I happen to feel differently—’

      ‘Why?’ Liam turned fully back to face her. ‘I seem to remember you have an honorary uncle of your own…?’

      Laura became very still, the anger draining out of her as quickly as it had risen. She didn’t want to talk about her own ‘uncle’—!

      ‘Where is he, by the way?’ Liam continued scornfully. ‘I’ve been here several times now, and he hasn’t been in evidence once. Which is surprising, considering eight years ago you never stopped talking about the man! Don’t tell me Mrs Shipley has become too high and mighty to bother with her beloved uncle any more?’

      Laura was very pale now, her throat moving convulsively. ‘Stop this, Liam,’ she choked. ‘Stop it now!’

      ‘Why?’ he challenged. ‘What is it, Laura? Don’t you like being reminded of your more humble beginnings?’

      She swallowed hard. ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’

      ‘I know that you hurt me just now by your obvious aversion to having your son call me uncle—’

      ‘And that gives you the right to hurt me in return?’ She looked up at him with tear-wet eyes. ‘You have no rights here, Liam, no rights at all, and—’

      ‘Uncle Liam!’ Bobby was becoming increasingly distressed at the sight of his kite entangled in the branches of the tree.

      Laura glanced across at her son. ‘You had better go and help him,’ she said flatly. ‘And then I would like you to leave.’

      ‘And what you want you always get?’ Liam countered.

      ‘Almost never.’ She shook her head sadly. ‘Go and help Bobby,’ she said dully, turning on her heel to walk back into the house.

      Too close. Liam was getting far, far too close.

      To everything…

      But especially to the truth!

      CHAPTER ELEVEN

      ‘SO NICE of you to join us.’ The sarcasm in Liam’s tone was unmistakable as he looked across the restaurant table at Laura.

      The meeting this morning between Liam and Perry had gone very well, and the two men had decided to go out to lunch to celebrate the settling of the deal and the signing of the contract. For reasons of her own, Laura had decided to join them.

      The true fact of the matter was that after yesterday morning she didn’t dare leave Liam alone socially with anyone who knew her! He was arrogant enough to question Perry about her personal life. Not too openly, of course, but she knew Liam well enough to realise he would find out what he wanted to know without Perry even realising he had given him the information.

      Liam had done as she’d asked yesterday morning, and left as soon as he had finished flying the kite with Bobby. But, as Laura now knew only too well, his acquiescence counted for nothing; Liam would do exactly as he wanted when he wanted!

      She shrugged dismissively. ‘It’s always nice to personally welcome a new author into the company.’

      Liam smiled without humour. ‘Even this one?’

      ‘We’re all really excited at welcoming you on board.’ Perry was the one to answer him enthusiastically. ‘You have a sure-fire number one bestseller in Josie’s