Page 31 of Forbidden Until Midnight

She wanted to rail against the accusation, but the problem was, she had earned it. He had seen her passed out drunk. He had experienced her misguided attempts to lose herself inhim. He had every right to believe that she would do something stupid.

And, just like that, any anger or indignation at his tone evaporated.

‘I won’t,’ she replied sincerely. If she had learned anything about Edward it was that the man was fiercely intelligent. And she would have to be more so.

‘But I really don’t want any bad blood between us,’ she admitted, seeking for a sense of the control and calm that she had heavily relied on throughout this year. ‘I sincerely apologise for any offence I caused last year. I wasn’t...’ I wasn’tokay, she wanted to confess. The last time she’d seen him, she’d been so very bleak. ‘I wasn’t quite myself,’ was all she could admit to.

She swallowed, looking once again at the floor, unable—no,unwilling—to meet his gaze.

There was a pause.

‘And you are now?’ came the enquiry.

She bit the inside of her cheek. In truth, probably not completely, but he didn’t need to know that. She nodded instead, not wanting to lie to him.

Santo peered at her through the gentle downlighting of the balcony. He wasn’t sure he believed her. In fact, when he’d first taken a look at her—a proper look—he’d been surprised, and not in a good way.

She had lost weight since last year. Quite a bit, and she hadn’t had all that much to lose in the first place. There was a dark smudge beneath each eye that was still visible through her make-up. And he recalled earlier having heard some mean gossip about her wearing a dress she’d been seen in before.

The grey dress served only to make her look even more pale than usual, he thought. He cursed himself for being mean. She was clearly suffering in one way or another.

Some protector he was, he thought, viciously chastising himself.

‘If there’s something I can do,’ he offered lamely, knowing with absolute conviction that she would never turn to him for help. No. Her pride—which he respected—wouldn’t allow that.

She dismissed his offer with a wave of her hand, just as he’d expected, surprised to find that it stung as sharply as a slap.

‘Not at all. Things are actually going really well,’ she said gamely, her eyes bright.Toobright.

Cristo.He had let his ego override the promise he’d made to Pietro, but also what was staring him right in the face. Yes, she might have behaved selfishly, but what should he have expected? She’d grown up pampered, indulged and spoilt. It was a miracle she’d lasted a week at Rassmuss Technologies, let alone eleven months.

He didn’t think for a moment that any of her contemporaries would have had even half the fortitude she must have had to still be standing, once Edward had turned against her. How had he not seen that? How had he not recognised that?

Because you let your attraction towards her mess with your mind, his inner voice said.

‘If you need anything...’ he tried again, but once again she shook him off.

‘I’d rather not, actually,’ she said, her smile a little more brittle this time. ‘I...want to do this on my own.’ She nodded, as if to herself. ‘It feels good,’ she admitted. ‘The things I’ve earned. I’ve enjoyed it.’

Truth rang loudly in her words and he instinctively knew that this time it wasn’t false bravado. She meant what she said.

‘I’m pleased,’ he replied honestly.

‘Actually,’ she said, frowning, half hesitant, ‘there is one thing you could do for me.’ Her hands were twisting in front of her.

Anything, he nearly replied and, not trusting himself to speak, he simply nodded for her to continue.

She bit her lip. ‘Could I ask you for a promise?’

The confusion must have shown on his face, because she smiled.

‘Don’t worry, it shouldn’t cost you anything.’

‘Money would probably be easier,’ he replied without thinking and where once she might have laughed, now she only smiled awkwardly.

Oh, yes, it was safe to say that Eleanor Carson had very much learned the value of money in the last year.

‘Could I ask you to promise never to lie to me?’

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