It was Janine, sounding worried. ‘Please come,’ she said. ‘He’s gasping again.’ Freya pulled on her dressing gown and hurried out into the corridor. To her surprise she saw Jackson there, turning the key in his own door. ‘What is it?’ he asked. &nbs...
The two women liked each other. Julia was no actress. The cheeky kid she’d played as a starlet was simply her real self, and after thirty years she still existed. For much of the meal they swapped witticisms, but they both wanted to talk about Travis, and at last Julia said, ‘He was always a love...
Trees protected the house from the eyes of passersby, and Daniel was well along the driveway before he caught his first sight of the building. It was clearly the dwelling of a wealthy, successful man, one who cared a lot about appearances. Daniel felt his hackles rising fast. There was something ...
There’s been a terrible disaster!’Olivia looked up from the school books she was marking to where Helma, the young teaching assistant, stood in the doorway. She was only mildly alarmed by the girl’s agitated words. Helma had a wild sense of drama and ‘a terrible disaster’ might mean no more than ...
More than anything she wanted to be alone now. The events of the day had shaken her. She’d come to Montegiano prepared to fight off any renewal of the old passionate feelings. What she hadn’t anticipated was finding him wounded, so that her heart yearned towards him in sympathy. That would be har...
Once behind the wheel, she laid into him with a will. But he gave as good as he got and when they joined up again afterwards they agreed that honours were even. But in one thing he beat her hollow—on the rifle range his aim was perfect. He scored bullseyes with ease and was offered his pick of th...
CHAPTER TWO SUDDENLY he opened his eyes again, revealing that the tension had gone. The dark moment might never have been. His next words were spoken lightly.‘You’re getting very philosophical.’‘Sorry,’ she said.‘Were you talking about yourself when you said we each live by refusing to admit the ...
I’m going to make sure of that if it takes me the rest of my days!’ Salvatore Veretti took one last look of loathing at the photograph in his hand before pushing back his chair and going to stand by the window overlooking the Venetian lagoon, where the morning sun was clear, brightening the deep ...
He didn’t regard himself as a man vulnerable to beauty. Efficiency, ruthlessness, financial acumen, these things could be counted on.He’d been driven to hire a helicopter on the English mainland and fly five miles across the sea to the little island of Herringdean. Since it was now his property, ...
‘This is me; it’s who and what I am.’ ‘You don’t let anyone in, do you?’ Petra said. He shook his head with an air of finality. Suddenly then he said, ‘But I will tell you one thing. It may only be a coincidence, but it’s strange. After I’d taken you back to your room I returned to the tables and...
‘Oh, no,’ she groaned. ‘I’m not going!’ But she knew she was. The professional Miss Jenson didn’t tamely back off. She got out of bed, showered in cold water for maximum alertness and ate a hearty breakfast, calculated to enhance energy and efficiency. The fact that she was inwardly fuming was of...
After a while, she knew she was lost. The back streets of Venice were all so similar that it was like wandering in a maze. Wherever she turned, she found the same flagstones, the same narrow, dimly lit alleys and shuttered windows. She tried to retrace her steps but the route she’d just traveled ...
‘I blame myself for not being ready for that. Luckily you saved us by your quick thinking.’ ‘But you’re going to have to dream up the story,’ she said. ‘I know nothing about Moscow.’ ‘Then weren’t you taking a risk setting it there?’ ‘What else could I do? If I’d said we met in England, or any ot...
They all looked up, eager for news. ‘Have you got something to tell us?’ Damiano asked. ‘Sally seemed to think you might have.’ ‘You mean after she tried to talk to me yesterday and we dashed upstairs?’ Mario said. ‘Sorry, Sally. It was urgent.’ ‘Well, I gathered that,’ sh...