Shadows Read Free Page B

and struggled to a sitting position in bed.  Discussing boyfriends like this made her feel as if she were fourteen again.
    “No one special, so don’t worry.”
    The words sounded good in her ears.  But could she believe Jonny?  Would Rory confide in Jonny?  “Do you know her?”
    “She’s like all the others.  Well dressed, beautiful and a credit to a man in any situation.”
    She groaned.  “No one special then.”  Melissa buried her face in her free hand.  He wouldn’t ditch such a wonderful girlfriend for her.  Her eyes prickled with tears.  Part of her had been hoping he would.
    Jonny yawned down the phone.  “Sorry.  In all the years I’ve known Rory, he’s never been head over heels about a girl.  Never.”
    Surely Jonny would know.  She bit her lip, stared at the ceiling and sent up a small, prayer.  Let him fall for me, please.
    Jonny's voice floated softly down the telephone wire.  “It’s possible you’ll be the one.  I saw the way he reacted to you, and you to him.  Breathtaking.  I could feel the sparks flying.”
    A silly grin covered her face and for a second she reveled in the comforting glow his words produced.  “Really?  A pity you didn’t get singed,” she muttered.  “Don’t be silly, Jonny.  I have to be sensible about this.  We’re hardly a good match.  He sounds rich, for a start.”
    “I’ve always thought that when he does fall,” Jonny said dreamily, “he’ll fall hard.”
    She pleaded the headache again, promised to phone him later and, one hand to her brow, flopped back on her pillow.  Now she really did have a headache.
    If he never called her, she would soon forget him.
    Melissa scoffed at the ceiling.  That was a lie, and a biggie.  She would remember Rory Hepburn on her deathbed.
    The day passed slowly, and she spent it seesawing from hope to hopelessness and avoiding her colleagues’ quizzical glances across the research desks.  Old hurts resurfaced.  Even if by some remote chance Rory called, was she ready for another romance?
    Adrian's desertion had given her months of misery and she had no wish to go through such pain ever again.  Two years together, plans for marriage and then he decided that they were not suited and he and the new girlfriend were planning emigration.  Australia had been mentioned.
    If Rory was to be believed, he was about to do to some unknown female exactly what Adrian had done to Melissa.
    People did not fall in love in a couple of hours.  In lust, perhaps, but not love.  If Rory never called, which he probably wouldn't, she could go back to her nice quiet life devoid of romantic upsets.  The idea appalled her.  Tiny flickers of hope surprised her and burst through her defenses when she least expected them.  Her stomach churned queasily long before the working day was over.
    Ten minutes after her shift ended, she walked down the steps and into the London streets.  A heavy body crashed around the corner and cannoned into her.  “Melissa.”
    She righted herself, looked up into Rory’s happy face and her stomach turned over.  Oh God, he was gorgeous.
    “I thought I’d missed you.  Shall we go for a pizza?  I’m starving.”  He managed a breathless, happy grin and bundled her into a cheerful pizzeria across the road.  Choosing a table by the window, he ordered two large glasses of red wine and then sat and stared at her.
    She must stay calm, not get upset.  Observe and listen, as her mother drummed into her all through childhood.
    “What is it?  What’s happened?”  She couldn't hold back the questions any longer.
    Rory linked his fingers together on the checked tablecloth.  “I was trying to find the right tone.  I couldn’t wait until tonight.  I talked to Tara over lunch and now I’m a free man.”  He grinned, reached across and took hold of Melissa’s hand.  “I’m all yours.”  He ducked his head, glanced up from beneath his brows.  “If you’ll have me, that