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 Amelia, why your parents of course& they knew if ever I was passing this
way I d want to look you up. Aren t you going to ask me in?
No way& there was absolutely no way her parents would have given her
address to this man. They knew it was over between them and leaving as suddenly as
she had from her vacation had been because of Don.  I d love too but& 
Amelia was unable to hold back the door she was about to close in his face as
he stepped forward and virtually forced his way inside.
What can I do now? Okay, okay he was an old friend and probably wanted to
know why she d left so suddenly. Well that was easy, work related and she wouldn t
be telling any untruth. Walking down the small hallway toward her kitchen, Don
glanced around and made noises Amelia decided were approving. Not that it mattered
to her what he thought about where she lived.
 You have a great place here, Amelia. It looks like you ve settled down well
since leaving the church. His voice, where once she had thought attractive, sounded
hollow and sarcastic to her now.
 Thanks. I ve had a lot of help. Don, why are you here at this time of night?
The desperation in Amelia s voice must have communicated itself to Don
Clayton as his lips curled into a cruel smile.  It isn t late, Amelia, why it s only seven.
Time enough to have a long chat with a long lost friend, wouldn t you say. If I didn t
know you better, Amelia, I d think you wanted to get rid of me. His laughter
mimicked his mocking expression.
Hesitating for a moment, Amelia wanted to shout at him. As far as she was
concerned, she never wanted to see him again in her lifetime.  Really, Don, you know
it s lovely to see you but I have another invitation tonight.
 Why don t I tag along and you can show me off. He stared at her and she
was unable to prevent the displeasure she felt at the thought appearing in her eyes.
 I ve had a hard week, Don, and my friend is expecting me in half an hour.
Why don t we catch up tomorrow morning for coffee?
Amelia s fatal mistake had been in believing this man was still the boy she had
grown up with so many years earlier. He turned to her unexpectedly and grasped her
arm in a vice-like grip, almost stopping the flow of blood. His eyes never faltered and
Amelia wished fervently that she had looked away as his they hardened with what she
would have said was a predatory evil expression.
 Oh no, Amelia, from now on you and I are never going to be out of each
other sights. I can t have you running away as you did last week. I told you that you
were always on my mind, Em, and you are, and always will be the only woman for
me. Now that you ve left the church, we can be together and I never attend to allow a
second go by without you by my side. Don t you see Amelia, it s our second chance,
and I know that you love me. His feverish words frightened Amelia as she wondered
how she had ever allowed herself to forget all she d learned from her profession and
the months since meeting the detective. Here was a classic case of obsession and she
hadn t seen it coming& or maybe she had but hadn t considered how dangerous it
could be. For years, her order coddled her and once inside the convent walls she had
been secure in the knowledge that it was rare anything dreadful happened behind the
religious walls.
Attempting to break away from Don s grip, she felt it tighten as his face
moved closer to hers. She knew his next action would be to kiss her and there was no
way was she was going to let that happen.  Don, look, I ll cancel my visit to my
friends tonight, but I ll have to call her first. Then we can go out to dinner and talk,
how does that sound?
Amelia s fleeting hope dashed as Don shook his head.  No calls to friends, not
tonight. Dinner sounds good but later. Right now, I think I ve waited long enough to
consummate our relationship, Amelia. Tonight is going to be the beginning of the rest
of our lives together and you ll feel better once we ve made love& trust me.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized she was woefully inadequate to be
out in this world. As he dragged her toward the nearest closed door looking for what
he thought would be her bedroom she silently cried, this shouldn t be happening to
me, I m stronger than this. She had faith in God but knew that now she needed faith
in herself. As he opened the door leading to her bedroom, he cruelly pushed her inside
and slammed the door shut on them.
.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Teal stood in her kitchen listening to the laughter of her friends enjoying the
simplicity of just being together socially. One friend she would have dearly loved to
have here wasn t Amelia. They had known each other for over ten years and had
shared the highs and lows of college life and business events. When most people
would have been politely friendly toward her, Amelia had been genuinely so.
Although they had completely different goals and backgrounds it was clear their
friendship was the real deal.
 Hey, babe, you look pensive. Anything I can do? Gentle arms encased the
small body and warm soft lips kissed the top of her head in tenderness.
Teal smiled slowly as her meditative state dropped away immediately as Phil s
voice invaded her senses. Her lover s words, no matter what they were did that to her.
 I was thinking about my boss.
With a warm chuckle, Phil gently turned the diminutive body around in her
arms so that they faced each other.  Really, should I be jealous? Tall, athletic and
dangerously sexy is a hard bench mark to follow, but I ll try. In response, she stole a
gentle kiss from Teal.
 Oh no worries there Phil. Olivia is one of those women you dream about like
a fictional heroine always out of reach. Actually, I was thinking about Amelia. She s
so messed up right now and all I want is for her to be as happy as I am. I even invited
her tonight& can you believe that? She d have picked up her habit and run screaming
back to the convent after a few hours with our crowd.
Phil gazed seriously at the woman in her arms. She d spent so much time
working like a demented fool that relationships had hardly entered into her mind. Teal
had broken her down subtly as she worked on the renovations at the agency. And she
couldn t have wished her life had taken any other turn, they were made for each other,
or so she thought.  Does she know about us? Does she know about you?
That was a loaded question but shouldn t have been. Somehow, she and
Amelia had never really discussed romantic attachments. It hadn t been appropriate
after all, Amelia had been a nun, and was still a nun to all intents and purposes.  I
don t think she knows I m a lesbian. We never discussed that part of our lives.
Besides, she s been so preoccupied in the last few months it s highly unlikely she s
noticed much going on around the place. Olivia wants me to tell her and get it out in
the open. I don t want to lose her friendship, Phil. She needs my support at this time
not another problem.
 You think who we are, and what we share with each other is classified as a
problem, Teal? Give the woman some credit. She might be a nun, or was, but she isn t
totally innocent of what happens around her. She s a psychiatrist, right? Phil was
astonished at Teal s lack of trust in her friend s judgment.
 No, no, Phil. I guess I think she s going through too much trauma in her own
life that my choices are basically irrelevant in the big picture. Teal lifted her small
arms and pulled Phil s head closer to hers as they shared a deep satisfying kiss.
 Tomorrow, you and I are going over to see Amelia and tell her that we re in
love. In fact, we ll go one better. Teal, will you marry me?
The squeal that followed from Teal almost deafened Phil as she laughingly
lifted Teal off her feet into an embrace that told each other exactly how they felt about
each other.
. .
*
 Are you sure she won t mind, Olivia? Its late and maybe she s gone to bed
early. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]