From him

Instead of steadying, her breathing grew more ragged and her heart started to pound, he looked so tall, so good-looking, but with that entirely unapproachable aura again.

‘You shouldn’t have run away from Paul, Irene.’

She stared up at him, her eyes huge. ‘You…you heard?’

He shook his head. ‘Only the last bit when he offered you his friendship. But you’d have to be blind not to know there’s a whole lot more he’d like to offer you. He’s also thoroughly nice—what have you got against him?’

Irene felt a spike of sheer annoyance surge through her veins that was as unexpected as it was irrational. But, at that moment, she felt Murad Fullbuster was the last person she needed advice from on her—non-existent but all the same— love life. Anyway, whose fault was it Paul O’Hara didn’t affect her at all?

She opened her mouth, tried to caution herself against doing anything silly, but days of turmoil and trying to hide the truth from him and herself saw her suddenly snap…

She said huskily, ‘What h