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.A chill breeze ruffled her hair.High in a nearby pine, an owl quavered its mournful cry.Cold weather would soon be on its way.One of Kira’s great pleasures had been to feed the creatures driven close to her old home in winter.When she left, she would lose that.It would be a terrible wrench.She might hate this new house, but she still loved the Bella Terra valley.On impulse, she decided to recreate some of the best things about her life at La Ritirata.She shook out some biscuit crumbs onto an upturned oil drum.Within seconds a robin returned to investigate.Gathering up small branches from beneath the trees, she began rebuilding the wood pile.It would be ready for burning by next winter.The memories of the sound and fragrance of crackling wood might make this soulless new house feel a little bit more homely.The new owners would enjoy that.She was kneeling on the ground, picking up pine cones, when a sound made her whirl around in alarm.What she saw almost stopped her heart.‘Stefano!’Without waiting for her to say any more, he walked across what had once been her garden.She froze.As imposing as ever, his long shadow fell across her.Sitting back on her heels, Kira tried to push her tumble of coppery gold hair behind her ears.‘Yes,’ he said mildly.Reaching down, he brushed a fragment of dried grass from the crown of her head.She held her breath.He leaned back, carefully under control, and she breathed again,‘You’ve lost weight,’ she said faintly.He laughed.‘I’ve been too busy to eat.I’ve found a new purpose in life.’‘That American property tempted you after all?’ She smiled, dying inside.He shook his head, but that gave her no cause to hope.Instead, she became defensive.‘I’ve gone beyond the point of playing games, Stefano.Did you get my email?’‘Yes.That’s why I’m here.’ He was equally forthright.She watched him speculatively.‘Why hasn’t your office answered any of my messages?’He flipped his keys into his pocket.‘They had nothing to tell you.They couldn’t contact me.I was on my way here.’‘Why? Of all the places in your empire, why visit here?’ Kira asked, hearing her voice trembling slightly.He paused for a long time before he answered.The only sound was the idle clink of coins in his pocket.It cranked up the tension to a point where Kira jumped when the lonely owl called again.‘I’m not visiting, Kira,’ he said at last.‘I’m back in the valley for good.’She stared at him, wondering what to ask and where to start.‘Until five minutes ago I knew exactly what I was going to do.I had everything planned.Now you’ve parachuted back into my life, and I don’t know what to think.’‘So don’t think anything.’ He came towards her again with a huge, beautiful smile and she stood, legs wobbly, to meet him.‘Just feel.All you need to know is that your problems are over, tesoro.’ He reached out for her and Kira took a hasty step back.Her body was already reacting to his presence, and she knew that if she let him take her in his arms all would be lost.Anger bubbled up inside her.How dare he just return so casually? ‘I don’t think so, Stefano.I have a feeling they may only just be beginning.Do you think you can flit in and out of my life on a whim? You abandoned me once, remember? How do you expect me to trust that you won’t suddenly change your mind again?’Stefano’s smile faded.‘I want to explain.’‘What is there to say? You deceived me!’A lightning bolt of anger galvanised his body.‘That’s not true, Kira, and you know it! We both said we wanted to resist mixing business and pleasure.When it happened and I made a move, you could have said no.I would have respected that.We are so alike, both wary of entanglement.We knew the dangers.That meant you were never under any pressure to respond, and neither was I.’ He had started angrily, but the bitterness in his voice melted away as he added, ‘But we did, and there can never be any doubt that you are a woman who knows exactly what she wants.I wanted the same thing,’ he finished quietly.‘And I still want it.’Kira bit her lip as her eyes threatened to fill with tears.His words had some truth to them.He had been cruel to her, but she had been naive.‘I always said I would never let myself be so vulnerable again,’ she said eventually.‘I know, and that was why I had to leave!’His words escaped in such an explosion, Kira’s head jerked up
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