This time Mattie laughed out loud. „Somehow I don‟t think that‟ll be necessary. My belongings can fit in the back of a sports car.‟ She reached out and found that she was stroking the side of his face, and before she could retract the mad impulse he took her hand in his, turned it over and kissed her palm, then he leant down and transferred his lips to hers.

Why on earth did he make her feel so…so happy? He looked at her and she shivered, he touched her and her whole body melted.

Was it because she had spent so long in a nonfunctioning relationship with Frankie that she was greedily lapping up this small bit of attention now, as though she had spent a lifetime starved of affection?

„Saturday,‟ Dominic murmured, breaking away from her but still leaning into her so that she could feel his warm breath on her face. „Nine sharp. I‟ll be here to help you move.‟

„Don‟t be ridiculous. I‟m fully—‟

„Yes, I know, fully capable of doing it myself. Why don‟t you just accept a little help for once, when it‟s offered in the best possible spirit?‟

Except, what was the best possible spirit?

Of course, she should have stuck to her guns and calmly refused his offer to help her move. He would end up being an impediment, she was sure of it. But she didn‟t. And he showed up on the Saturday morning at precisely the time he had said he was going to. In a low-slung silver Ferrari that suited him down to a T.

Mattie watched as he got out of the car and snapped her mouth shut because a woman with a mouth hanging open was not exactly an attractive sight. And besides, she was not impressed by cars.

Which she was very tempted to tell him as soon as she pulled open the front door.

„I‟m here,‟ he said, grinning, „and I‟ve dressed down for the occasion.‟

Mattie felt the corners of her mouth twitch as she took in his faded jeans, trainers and dark green sweatshirt. Then she nodded approvingly, thinking that he gave faded jeans a whole new meaning.

„And I‟ve brought the statutory sports car.‟ He leaned against the doorframe and deposited a very chaste kiss on the tip of her nose.

„What on earth gave you the idea that all my stuff could fit into the back of a sports car?‟

Mattie laughed, spun around and waved her arms to encompass the pile of things patiently sitting at the bottom of the staircase.

Dominic strolled in and surveyed the collection with an expression of lazy amusement.

„Just as well I didn‟t listen to a certain woman who tried to say that she‟d be travelling light, then, isn‟t it? My driver‟s parking outside now in a much more sensible Range Rover. We can follow him in the Ferrari.‟

End of subject. Mattie hesitated and then sighed at her own unease. What was there to feel uneasy about? He had been right about her having to learn to accept help instead of always rushing up the steepest hill because of her pride. And it was a huge help having him there to help her move. Frankie had offered, but for some reason she had felt it important not to accept his offer. On some basic level, moving out of his house and into her own apartment, on loan though it might be, was the start of a new life for her. She would, of course, invite Frankie round in due course, but when the dust of their broken relationship had settled and their friendship could perhaps be resumed on a more casual basis.

He hadn‟t pressed the issue. In fact, he had looked a little relieved and had muttered something about having to get his own things together.

Which would have left her trekking across London on her own with all her bags in tow, more than she had expected.

Dominic‟s help was a blessing not to be scorned.

She smiled. „Sure.‟

„You go sit in the car. George and I will transfer the things to the back of the Range Rover. Anything you want to carry with you?‟

„No. Just my backpack.‟ She looked at him, turned away as he sized up everything that needed to be transported to the apartment, and tried to stifle a very unliberated sense of pleasure at having the situation taken out of her hands. Being taken care of made a heady change from having to take care of someone else all the time.

She obediently went to the Ferrari and watched as Dominic and his driver ferried her belongings into the back of the four-wheel drive. Then the slow drive across a traffic-laden central London towards the block of apartments.

The development was going to be the biggest of its kind and proudly advertised the advantages of living south of the river. It encompassed private suites, which were currently in the process of being fitted to the highest possible specifications, offices, a floor entirely devoted to a state-of-the-art gym and various beauty rooms, conference facilities, underground parking, even an in-house cinema for the exclusive use of the residents. All built around an open central area of grass, trees and a sprinkling of benches for whoever wanted to avail themselves of fine weather during the warmer months.

Mattie described it all in detail, only trailing off when she realised that she had been conducting a one-way conversation.

„You didn‟t have to come and do this,‟ she said, feeling her pride slip back into place.

„I know.‟ Two words when he knew exactly what she was thinking. One of the few times when he seemed able to read her mind and gauge her feelings. She had been excitedly telling him about her great opportunity and in return she had got his blank wall of silence.

Sooner or later he would have to tell her, and the prospect of that made him frown grimly. Now was not the time. But soon. When she had settled into her job and would accept what he had to say with equanimity, maybe even amusement.

That made him relax. Although he made sure not to prolong the conversation about her job and the fabulous new development that she would be marketing, along with a team of a dozen others. Instead, he talked about what was going on in London, asked her about the people she had worked with at the nightclub, whether she missed any of them, had kept in contact with them, and eventually found the tension oozing out of his body. The unnecessary tension, he hastened to add to himself.

The development was looming ahead of them, dominating the skyline and gloriously irreverent in its modernity.

They drove through an arch straight into the courtyard, which was bordered by ranks of car-parking spaces.

„Which apartment?‟ he asked, looking at the building with professional satisfaction.

„Right.‟ He turned to her. „You go up. George and I will follow with your things.‟

Mattie knew better than to launch into the familiar riposte. Besides, she was dying to see this apartment. It represented so much more than four walls and a roof over her head. It was the start of her bright new life, the one she had been hankering for ever since she was nineteen and old enough to realise just how naïve she had been in ditching her education in favour of being a member of the cool set.