Just pleasure on both sides. But that clearly wasn't the case at all. Not even for him, he thought with savage self-mockery. No other woman had got to him since Jasmine. He'd tried to put her out of his mind, dating women who'd be considered prizes by most men, but they'd all left him cold in the end. He knew exactly what Jasmine meant. Nothing else measured up to their experience. And the bottom line was, he didn't want to give it up.So what to do now? Apologise? Explain his position? What if she came back to the table and ended it right here? Walked away from him without so much as a backward glance? How would he feel?Collins didn't have time to analyse the impact such an action would have on him. Jasmine was on her way back, a set determination on her face and not the slightest bit of warmth or pleasure in her eyes. She didn't move to sit on her chair, She remained standing by the table, a bleak decision in the eyes that met his with unwavering resolution.Collins found himself r

His course was clear, provided there was no miscarriage.If the baby was lost...His mind instinctively shied from even considering that outcome.Tomorrow, after the scan...he would think about it then...if he had to.---------'There is no heartbeat.' No heartbeat... Jasmine felt her own heart stop. She closed her eyes. The doctor's words kept on ringing in her mind—a death knell for her baby, 'Are you sure?' Collins demanded harshly. 'Can you check again?’'I have been trying to find it for some time. Mr. Freeman. There's nothing. I'm sorry, but there's no point in holding out any hope. Given the amount of bleeding, it was highly unlikely that...' 'All right!' Collins snapped.Silence. Jasmine floated in a sea of nothingness. No hope. No baby to love. Her heart had started beating again, sluggishly reluctant to bother with this life. She wanted to die, too.'Miss Trent,..' The sympathetic tone in the doctor's voice forced her to open her eyelids and acknowledge him. Not his faul

She took a deep breath and released it in a shuddering sigh. 'You know what I mean. You can have my things sent here from the hotel. I'll get to the airport by myself. There's no need.,.' 'You want me to say goodbye now?' he asked. Her gaze wavered from his. 'You probably should be meeting with other people...' 'Don't make my decisions for me, Jasmine. I know what I want to do, and I understand if you want to get rid of me now. I don't blame you if that's what you want. If you'd prefer not to see me anymore, say so. Otherwise I'll be back to visit you tonight. And tomorrow. If you must go home, I intend to make sure you're fit enough to fly out before you do and I'll accompany you to the airport and see you into the care of the flight attendants.' She stared at him, not understanding his motivation. Which was fair enough, because he didn't understand it himself. All he knew—and knew with absolute certainly—was he needed time to sort this inner turmoil through before any final l

She didn't care that he could well afford to look after his wife and family. Not all the money in the world could buy her into that situation. So she told herself in a rage of pain and pride as she made herself march towards the designated departure gate. Yet every step of the way, her body was begging for Collins to follow her, stop her, convince her she was wrong, heal the hurts and make everything better so she could believe a marriage between them could and would work. But he didn't come after her. Didn't stop her. She joined the line of passengers boarding the aeroplane. She was so tense and tremulous she dropped her ticket when it was her turn to put it through the processing machine. Every second was an agony of waiting for a shout or a hand to clamp on her shoulder. But nothing stopped her from entering the boarding tunnel. No call came for her to disembark before the flight took off. Once the big jet started rolling down the tarmac. Jasmine sagged into a huge black h

All he could do at this point was to pray that she would give him a chance. By 2pm. He knew something was up and he had to call her. He called twice before she finally picked up and he swallowed hard at the sound of her voice. 'Hello' she said. Her voice was soft and low, and Collins felt his heart tighten. Was she alright? 'Yeah, hello' he said, 'Jasmine... It's me. Collins' 'I know that' came her reply. 'I have your number' He almost smiled at her reply. For some reason, he thought she didn't have it anymore. And with the way he had behaved, she had every reason to want to cut him off. 'Did you get my message, Jasmine' he asked, forcing out the question. There was a pause. 'Hello' he said. 'Can you hear me, Jasmine?' 'Yes I can hear you... And I did get your message' Jasmine replied. There was another pause before she added. 'But I won't be coming' Collins shut his eyes and held his phone tighter, as if the gesture would somehow make her understand just how much