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He lowered his head to kiss her Whatever the hell had just happened in the last fifteen ht not to He’d fallen in love last night and he wasn’t going to pretend that hadn’t happened or he hadn’t kissed every inch of her body because her old boyfriend was back in town

Hailey averted her face and his lips fell chastely on her cheek Like the first ti had ever been chaste between them Even that first ti of the future She could sense his disappoint him to understand

Calluoodbye and left So not how he’d pictured that this o So not the way he’d wanted them to part

Having the day with Paul was cathartic for Hailey, to say the least They talked a lot about Eric and that day and the days that had followed And about them and their breakup and Donna He told her about his new job and rebuilding his life He also made no secret of the fact that he wanted her to be part of it That he’d forgiven her, absolved her and was ready to love her

Which hat she’d wanted all along To hear him say those words At the time she’d have stayed without hesitation, been part of his life, and helped hied him to Pleaded with him to allow her to take care of him, despite how he had betrayed her with his ex But he’d sent her away

And she’d understood that He had been a father who had just lost a son He hadn’t been capable of worrying about anyone else’s feelings or needs So she’d co and she’d left, come back to Australia to lick her wounds and hope that he would come for her some day

And so noas here, telling her all the things she had wanted to hear back then So, as the probles weren’t as clear cut as they had been back then A lot of water had flowed under the bridge and she was a er person

Her confidence as a nurse, which had taken aHer days that had had no direction other than survival had purpose and structure, and aher

She could see her reticence confused Paul He’d obviously thought she was just going to say all was forgotten and fall back into his arms And if she was honest with herself, she’d adrieving, but, then, so had she

He had discarded her Tra him in bed with his ex had cut her so deeply that she’d doubted she could ever love again Did he expect her to just wipe that under the carpet?

Callue bank all day He hoped desperately one of the ot ho would be from her One was fro-up He lasted an hour before he dialled her number

‘Hi, this is Hailey’s voicee’

Busy? Busy doing what? Callum’s heart thudded in his chest while he waited for the beep He thought of several things to say and discarded the to hear her voice Her real voice To be with her, lying beside her as he had done last night Why did it seeo now?

He replaced the phone as several scenarios of what she was doing right now popped into his head

Stop it!

The apart Tom was there At least there was never a silent etic six-year-old around At least To for his son took up all his energy There was usually nothing left of hily inviting

He channel-surfed for a while, glancing at the wall clock every couple ofalone with his thoughts stretched interminably ahead He stood He couldn’t do it He couldn’t wait around He had to know Calluh to announce his presence to the entire floor

Hailey hurried to the door—had Paul lost the key? She blinked at Callu presence His shirt was untucked and dark stubble shadowed his jaw He obviously hadn’t shaved after he’d left thatandday of reflection and analysis with Paul how much she’d missed him ‘Hi’

Callu over her face and body, her presencehim dumb It was a few moments before he recovered ‘We need to talk’