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His chest expanded on a deep, alry breath that was heavily released Gard looked away frolance back

“I won’t ask why you thought it was possible I’m liable to lose my temper and break that pretty neck of yours,” he htly clenched “Is it fair to say that you understand why I haven’t called you before now?”

“Yes” Rachel nodded

“Good” Unfolding his arhtened from the desk “Now, let’s see if we can’t clear up this matter about Brenda”

“I’d rather just forget it,” she insisted, her breath running deep and agitated “It’s none of my business”

“To a point, you’re absolutely right And if you hadn’t insulted Brenda by the iainstto you,” he inforhly “She buried her husband last week She puts up a good front, but she’s hurting and lonely Da! There are times when it helps her to have people around her ere close to Bud He was my friend as well as my law partner”

“I’hts she’d had when she’d seen Gard with that attractive wos she’d said, out of hurt, when he had explained who the wo conclusion”

“You couldn’t have jumped to that conclusion if you hadn’t already decided that I didn’t care about seeing you again,” he countered

“I hadn’t decided that,” she denied

“I’d forgotten,” Gard eyed her lazily “You were prepared to give me the benefit of reasonable doubt That’s why you came to see me, isn’t it?”

“So the feeling of being on the witness stand “You could have lost my number and I had to know!”

“Yet you were also willing to believe that I had just been stringing you along during the cruise, and that I didn’t have any feelings toward you”

“It was possible,” she insisted “How could I be sure what kind of ”

“How long do you have to know so over to stand in front of her “Teeks? Two months? Two years? I recall distinctly that you said you loved me Didn’t you mean it?”

“Yes” Reluctantly she pushed the angry word out