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didn’t. And you were leavingtoo so don’t pretend you were looking for some long-term relationship. You even put it in writing, babe. Never do that. It’s always a mistake.’
    A cocked brow. ‘Advice from an expert?’
    He started to say something, then stopped himself. ‘I don’t know. But I do know my fucked-up life isn’t yours. You’re not one of those people who deliberately damage someone just for the hell of it. And your reasons for leaving’ – he ran a hand over his hair, sighed – ‘I’d probably do the same. But I don’t want you mad at me. I’m doing my pathetic best to apologize. So stop glaring at me, talk to me. Let’s work this out. I’m not a complete prick.’
    A tiny smile formed on Kate’s lips, half rueful, half real. The tightness in her shoulders eased. That was major conciliation. ‘You look tired,’ she said.
    ‘No shit. I’ve barely slept in weeks.’
    A small silence. A slow exhalation, her first impulse was to say,
Come, I’ll hold you; sleep.
But she’d suffered too much heartache in the past weeks, cried too many tears. ‘I suppose now that you’ve gotten rid of Johnny I might as well have dinner with you,’ she said, not entirely sure she was doing the right thing. Not entirely sure about anything with Dominic close enough to touch.
    His smile was instant, the dazzling one that always made her feel like the luckiest woman in the world.
    ‘Would you like dinner at the trading station? Or anywhere. Literally. My plane is ready to go.’
    ‘Jesus, Dominic, you could turn a girl’s head.’
    ‘If it’s yours, I’m good. Otherwise, I don’t give a damn. And I mean it about going anywhere you want.’ He took a small breath, started to say something, and stopped again because he felt as though he was navigating across an ice floe blindfolded. He said instead, ‘It’s really nice to be with you.’ He shifted slightly in his chair, glanced upwards quickly, the blue of his eyes shot with happiness. ‘Really, really nice.’
    She could barely breathe. Everything she wanted was hers for the asking. Weeks of wretchedness erased if she only said yes to the blissful fantasy he offered. She’d live happily ever after if she said yes. Or more likely the dream would bleed away and the world would turn cold when he left again. Because he surely would.
    He leaned forward, his butane-blue eyes suddenly dead serious. ‘Could we go somewhere else? Anywhere else.’
    She tried to rearrange the chaos in her brain but her overtaxed mind had slowed to a crawl. She said, ‘Where?’ when she didn’t mean it. When a subconscious thought had surfaced and she’d impulsively spoken.
    He reached for her hand; she jerked it back.
    ‘Sorr—’ He stopped himself, remembering how she’d accused him of meaningless apologies the night of the party in Hong Kong. ‘We could go’ – a flick of his finger – ‘you name it. I don’t care where it is. We’ll just talk. No strings, no agenda, you can tell me to go to hell and I’ll listen.’
    ‘How about we stay here?’
    She hadn’t told him to go to hell. Things were looking up. ‘Fine. Dinner here then.’
    ‘I’ve missed a few of my birth control pills lately so I’m really not available for anything but dinner,’ she said, giving him an expressionless green stare, needing to ink in the boundaries for her own peace of mind.
    His bland gaze hid the bombshell exploding in his head. ‘Not a problem. Dinner’s fine. I had no expectations.’
    ‘Of course you did.’
    Of course he did. And he’d heard of condoms even if she hadn’t. ‘Let’s not argue. Would you like to have dinner in the bar or in the dining room?’
    She suddenly smiled. ‘I like it when you’re being nice.’
    ‘Then I’ll see that I’m on my best behaviour for you.’
    A sudden, treacherous rush of affection warmed her senses. She almost said,
I don’t want dinner, I want you.
‘Super,’ she said. ‘And the dining room will be