Gloriana closed the last page of the play and stared vacantly into the open fire John, the family butler, had lit for her earlier that night. The writer had captured a side of her parents she hadn’t known about.          He had focused on their struggles and their hunger for fame and what had driven it, rather than just the consequence of it. The result was an aspect of their lives Gloriana knew about from her mother’s diaries but which the press rarely focused on. It was an aspect that always caused Gloriana to regret who they had become.          She had expected that reading the play would instill in her a renewed sense of disgust at their wasted lives, and it had, sort of, but what she hadn’t expected was that it would fill her with a sense of yearning for them still to be around. For a chance to get to

          Gloriana stared at Griffin and willed the ground to open up and devour one of them. She’d been having such a nice time and now he’d gone and ruined it.“You… don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whispered, trying to ignore the lump in her throat to subside.          She stared at the fire and realized she was about to cry. She never cried, and she wasn’t about to start in Griffin’s presence.“Gloriana…’          Gloriana quickly scrambled to her feet, holding her hands out in front of her as Griffin made to do the same.“I’m…”          The words wouldn’t come and she turned to flee, but Griffin caught her.“I can’t let you l

          He’d never woken up having held a woman all night before. In fact, he usually tried to find a plausible excuse not to wake up with one at all, and Griffin didn’t mind admitting that having Glow snuggled against him like a warm, sleepy kitten had scared the hell out of him.          If he’d thought the first experience with her had been mind-blowing, then last night had been indescribable. She’d been completely abandoned in his arms and he… Suffice it to say it had been the most complete, the most intimate experience he’d ever had with a woman, even more unsettling than making love to her five nights ago.          Griffin had tried to sneak out of bed, but she’d woken when he was halfway into his jeans. He’d turned when he heard the bedcovers rustling to find her leaning up on one elbow, the linen

          ‘What the hell was she talking about?’ Griffin asked himself frowning. ‘As if I give a damn about Isabelle’s lineage… or her, for that matter.’“Forget Isabelle Pearson. She’s irrelevant right now.”“She’d no doubt be upset to hear you say that.”          Griffin frowned again. This conversation wasn’t going at all as he’d planned. He declined a glass of champagne as a passing waiter stopped, and determinedly turned his back on an Italian count he’d befriended at Harvard.“You know… Since we have this moment alone, I’d like to thank you for your help in solving my case. The detective told me everything you did,” Gloriana said politely.“It was nothing… Don’t mention it,” Griffin replied and wa

         Her feelings for Griffin were too real and too raw for her to even attempt friendship with another man at this point. Clearly, Griffin’s ego was still affected, if the way he was studying her was any indication.“Phillip? Fine, I expect,” Gloriana answered.          Griffin scowled and brought her hand in tightly against his chest. His other hand was spread wide against that sensitive spot in the small of her back. He was holding her so closely now Gloriana could hear the brush of her tulle skirt against his trousers.          Gloriana swallowed and concentrated on holding in the quiver that zipped up her spine, completely forgetting what number she was up to.          ‘Damn it! One, two, three…’“Are you counting?”