“Not quite,” Penelope said. “I still don’t know who Robert Smith is.”
Helen looked suddenly amused. “You didn’t recognize his voice?”
“It sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place it. Why? Do I know him?”
“You could say that. Robert Smith is Grayson.”
Penelope gasped. Then shook her head. “How do you live this way, Helen? The lies. The deception. I couldn’t do it.”
“Are you sure?”
Penelope frowned. “What do you mean?”
“If you can’t live this way, then where does that leave you and Simon?” Helen asked softly.
Penelope glanced down at her hands. “I don’t know.”
“You still love him, don’t you?”
“Yes, but…” She hesitated. “He only pretended to love me. He lied to me, used me. It’s one thing to understand why he did it. Why you let him do it,” she said bitterly. “But I don’t think I could ever fully trust him again.”
Helen took her hand. “You know what you have to ask yourself, don’t you? Whether you’d be happier with him or without him. It’s as simple as that.”
BUT IT WASN’T simple at all because the decision was taken out of Penelope’s hands. A week had passed since the night of the auction, which had reached a successful conclusion without any of the guests being the wiser, and Simon hadn’t tried to contact her. She hadn’t had so much as a phone call, and as the days had gone, she tried to tell herself that it was for the best. Just let him go, that little voice advised her. And get on with your life.
But it didn’t seem like much of a life anymore. As much as she loved her family and her job, neither was enough to satisfy her. Nothing could stave off all those long, lonely nights that she spent tossing and turning.
Moving away from the window in her office, Penelope sat down at her desk and tried to concentrate on work. After a bit, she became aware of someone staring at her. She looked up to find Simon standing in her doorway.
The pen she’d been holding fell from her limp fingers. “What are you doing here?”
“I wondered if you’d had lunch yet.”
She lifted her chin. “You can’t just waltz in here and pretend nothing has happened. We were all nearly killed—” She broke off in alarm as he started toward her. “What are you doing?”
He came around the desk and knelt in front of her. “Say the word and I’ll leave. I’ll never bother you again.”
“Simon…”
“Is that what you want?” he demanded.
She sighed. “I don’t know what I want. You’re not the man I fell in love with. I don’t see how it could ever work out for us. This world you live in…I don’t think I could live like that, Simon.”
“How do you know until you try?”
“But you don’t love me,” she insisted.
“Who says I don’t?”
That stopped her for a moment. “Do you?”
“Yes,” he said simply. “More than anything. I can’t imagine my life without you.”
“Simon—”
He took her hand in his. “But I am who I am, Penelope. And what I do…it’s important. For us to be together, you’d have to understand that. You’d have to accept it. Can you?”
“I honestly don’t know,” she admitted.
He stood. “I guess that’s my answer.”
“Simon, wait!” She put a trembling hand on his arm. “I don’t want you to go. I can’t imagine my life without you, either.”
His gaze burned into hers. “Then what are we going to do about it?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. All I know is that every time you leave me, I’ll be worried that you won’t come back to me. You could get killed doing what you do.”
“I could get killed crossing a street,” he said. “There are no guarantees, Penelope. You know that. But I can promise you one thing. Our life together will never be boring.”
He reached down and tugged her out of her chair. “I do love you, Penny. You have no idea.”
“I think I do,” she whispered.
She drew him down for a kiss, and then, their lips still joined, he lifted her up to the desk.
Penelope’s heart went crazy at the way he looked at her, the way he touched her…
She had to admit, the old Simon had never made her feel so out of control. So head over heels in love.
“Will you marry me?”
The proposal took her breath away. She couldn’t speak for the longest moment, and then she nodded. “Yes, I’ll marry you. And this time…don’t be late, okay?”
* * * * *
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IMPRINT: Diamond Collection
ISBN: 9781743643303
TITLE: UNAUTHORISED PASSION/INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE
First Australian Publication 2013
Copyright © 2013 AMANDA STEVENS
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