.

      ‘But…’ he was still smiling, although his expression was cool and closed ‘…that’s not what this is all about, is it? This is about the riding stables, which is why you are going to sit back down, like a good little girl. This is about your future, and believe me when I tell you that you have no choice but to endure my company.’

      Laura felt all the energy drain out of her. He had the upper hand. Whatever card she pulled out of the pack, he carried the trump. The fact that he loathed the sight of her was something she would have to grit her teeth and put up with because he was right, she had no choice.

      ‘That’s better,’ he drawled, when she had returned to her seat. ‘Now, I propose that we discuss this over lunch in the manner of two civilised adults.’

      ‘I am more than happy to do so, Gabriel. You’re the one who’s intent on dragging the past up at every opportunity.’ She was still trembling as she sat back and allowed the large oval plate of filleted sole to be placed in front of her. It smelled delicious, but her appetite seemed to have utterly deserted her. ‘Perhaps we could agree to call a truce on discussing the past,’ Laura intoned tightly.

      ‘You are not in a position to offer agreements on anything.’ He had ordered the halibut and he dug his fork into the white flesh, savouring the delicate flavour. He should have been delighted to have won this round, to have pulled the plug on her outburst and forced her to obey him, but, aggravatingly, there was no such sense of satisfaction. He stabbed another mouthful of food into his mouth. ‘But let us get to the matter in hand. What is the position with the riding stables?’

      ‘You know what the position is. It’s a mess. Phillip must have explained all of that to your accountant or whoever the man was who made the phone call.’

      ‘How much of a mess?’

      ‘A lot of a mess,’ Laura confessed grudgingly and half-heartedly continued eating. Her stomach felt inclined to rebel at the food being shovelled into it, but she would not let him get to her again. ‘The racehorses have all gone. Sold. Four years ago. Most of the other horses were removed over time. I still have a few, but I doubt I shall be able to hang onto them for much longer. And the house…well…it’s still standing, but just.’

      ‘What happened?’

      ‘Are you really interested?’ Her eyes flashed at him. She couldn’t help it. ‘Or do you want all the grisly details for your scrapbook on how much the Jackson family fell? So that you can chuckle over it in the years to come?’

      ‘Now who is guilty of dragging the past up?’ Gabriel taunted silkily. ‘I am not asking questions any interested buyer would not ask.’

      ‘And are you really interested in buying, Gabriel?’

      Good question. He had toyed with the idea. Andy had been appalled at the thought of investing money in a decrepit stables that would probably never show any return for the money ploughed in, arguing that such enterprises failed or succeeded by word of mouth and that, because Gabriel was not a part of the racing scene, it was doomed to failure. And Gabriel had been able to see his logic. He had also been unable to resist the opportunity to avenge himself for a rejection which he had carried inside him like a sickness for too long. But had he really been serious about buying the place?

      Now, he realised that he was deadly serious. A couple of hours in this woman’s company was not enough to sate his appetite. He looked at her, at the strong, vulnerable lines of her face and the supple strength of her body, and suddenly wondered what other men had touched her. He would touch that body again, he would feel it move under his hands, but this time unaccompanied by the emotions of a boy. He would touch her as the man he now was. He would take her and she would come to him on his terms and when he was finished with her, then he would be the one to reject her. If it took the purchase of the riding stables, then so be it. It was hardly as though he could not easily afford it.

      ‘I am interested in buying,’ he agreed smoothly. ‘So explain what happened.’

      ‘Mum died. That’s what happened.’ Laura closed her knife and fork and wiped her mouth. ‘Her heart. We both knew that it was…that she was weak, but I think Dad just never accepted the reality of it. He always thought that something would come along, some magical potion and everything would be all right. But nothing came along, and when she died he just couldn’t cope. He lost interest in the place. He said it all reminded him of Mum and he began going out of the house a lot. I thought it was to see horses, visit old friends. Since he died, I discovered it was to bet.’ She sighed and pressed her fingers against her eyes, then propped her face in her hands and stared past Gabriel with a resigned, thoughtful expression. ‘He gambled away everything. Amazing to think how quickly a thriving concern can go down the pan, but, of course, the world of horses doesn’t operate along the same lines as a normal company. The racehorses were sold.’

      ‘He gambled away all of the profits from those thoroughbreds?’

      ‘Not all.’ Laura’s eyes slid towards him and she shivered. Despite the stamp of ruthlessness on his face, he still possessed bucket-loads of that sexual magnetism that had held her in his power. He was her enemy now and making no bones about it and she would rather have died than have let him see that he could still have an effect on her. ‘He made two investments that were disastrous and plunged him even further into debt. I guess, that was when the spiral of gambling to win really began.’

      ‘And you were not aware that all of this was going on?’

      ‘I never imagined there was any reason to be suspicious!’ Laura returned defiantly. ‘I wasn’t at home doing the books. How was I supposed to know that the money was disappearing?’

      ‘Because you have eyes and a brain?’

      That stung because it was the refrain that played over and over in her own head. But did he have to say it? But then, why shouldn’t he? His past and present had now merged to give him the freedom to say whatever damn thing he wanted to and she could do nothing but accept it because she needed him. Her hand curled into a ball on her lap.

      ‘Obviously not enough of either,’ Laura said icily.

      ‘What happened to your plans for becoming a vet?’ Gabriel asked, abruptly changing the subject.

      ‘I had to…to cut short university because of Mum and then…well…’ She shrugged and lowered her eyes, not wanting to think about what might have been. ‘Dad needed me.’

      ‘You have been at home all these years? Helping out?’ He sounded amazed and Laura flushed, remembering all her grand plans.

      ‘Of course I haven’t just been at home!’ she snapped. ‘I…I have a job in town.’

      ‘Doing what?’

      ‘Is this part of the normal line of questioning by any prospective buyer?’

      ‘Call it curiosity.’

      ‘I’m not here to satisfy your curiosity, Gabriel. I’m here to talk about the riding stables. There’s still a bit of land and of course the house, but that’s about it. It’s all heavily mortgaged. Now, do you still want to proceed or not?’

      ‘You’re here to satisfy whatever I want you to satisfy and make no mistake about that. I know everything there is to know about the financial state of your riding stables and, without my money, life will be very bleak indeed for you. So if I ask you a question, you answer it. Now what job do you do?’

      ‘I work in an estate agency, if you must know. I’m a secretary there. Since Dad died I’ve had to cut short my working hours so that I could spend more time at the stables, but I still work three days a week.’

      And what a sight for sore eyes she must make in the place, Gabriel mused suddenly. Stalking around like one of those thoroughbreds she had spent her life looking after. Driving those poor, hapless men crazy.

      ‘A secretary,’ he said sardonically. ‘What a disappointing end to all your ambitions.’ His voice was laced with irony