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But the small talk didn’t last for very long.
‘Second thing,’ Matteo said and he watched as her cheeks went pink and her eyes, which were still red from crying all night, blinked a few times. ‘Don’t ever again compare me to him.’
‘I’m really sorry for what I said.’
‘And so you should be,’ Matteo responded, ‘because I would never treat any woman that way.’
‘I get that, Matteo. I was cross, I was upset...’
‘No excuse!’ he said and he pointed his finger at her. ‘Because I love a good row but if you ever hurl that at me again I’ll be straight out of the door.’
He served her a very serious warning but even as he did there was this little thing called hope flickering in her heart because...did that mean that they might, just might, have a future?
Oh, not a big one, he’d made that very clear, but he’d lived in her heart for three months yet and she didn’t want it all to end on a row.
‘And you’re never to compare me to your father either.’
‘I won’t,’ Abby said.
‘He knows what happened?’ Matteo checked. He still couldn’t believe it but Abby nodded.
‘He just carries on as if it didn’t. I hate how he has that photo still on his wall.’
‘It isn’t any more. I smashed it.’
‘Thank you.’
‘And I tore it up into a million pieces and it still wasn’t enough and so I went and found him and I don’t regret it.’ Matteo stood. ‘I’m going to go.’
He wanted a bath and to tidy up; this wasn’t how today was supposed to be.
‘Don’t go yet.’
‘I’m a mess. I want to sleep.’
‘I’ll run you a bath,’ Abby said. ‘And you can sleep here.’
She just could not stand another twelve or twenty-four hours’, or even, knowing Matteo, several weeks’ delay in p
roceedings.
Abby ran him a bath and he stripped off as easily as he always did and got in and then she sat on the edge in her gown.
‘Why are you still wearing it?’ Matteo asked.
‘I fell asleep with it on.’
‘That’s very un-Abby.’
‘Yes, lately I am.’
He had the loveliest body and she got a very nice view of the best of it as he lay back and ducked his head under the water for a moment and then came up again.
‘I know you don’t want to hear it,’ Matteo said, ‘but I am going to explain my version of things.’
‘I do want to hear it.’
‘Then get my jacket.’
