I’m about to tell him he’s asking for the moon when the door opens and the nurse appears.
‘The police are here.’ He casts an anxious glance in Dan’s direction. ‘They want to see you now.’
‘I’ll stall them for a couple of minutes,’ Clive announces. Moving to the doorway, he ushers the nurse away. ‘And then we need to get Maya out of here.’
***
I rise to my feet, lean over and kiss him, taking in the softness of his lips. I have no idea when I’ll feel it again.
‘I love you,’ I murmur, nuzzling my cheek against his.
‘I know.’ A hand comes to the side of my head. ‘Be strong. Keep painting. Make sure Lucy stays on the straight and narrow. And put on a good show.’ Fighting back a sob, I raise my head and find him looking up at me, deadly serious now. ‘You’ll need to see other men.’
‘What?’
‘A few dates. Make it look like you’re moving on.’ Even though this must be killing him, he gives me a smile. ‘But no kissing … and definitely no shenanigans. I fucking own you, woman.’
‘And I fucking own you right back,’ I smile through a host of tears. ‘So what will you do?’
‘I’ve got enough on my plate for now.’ Arching an eyebrow, he nods at the splints, his mess of a leg. ‘But when I get out of here, whatever you see, whatever you hear about me, don’t believe it.’ His blue eyes glimmer. ‘And never forget – not for one second – that I love you.’
‘How can I ever forget?’
His smile deepens. Eyes locked, we gaze at each other for an age. It’s only when I hear voices outside the door that he speaks again.
‘We’ll sort this out, sweet pea. We’ll find Boyd and we’ll deal with him. And then you and me … we’ll have a life together.’
I kiss him again, suddenly aware that there’s something else I need to do. The nickname’s kicked my brain into action. With shaking hands, I unclasp the necklace.
‘What are you doing?’
‘I can’t wear it. If Boyd finds out …’
He reaches up, closing his fingers around mine, around the pendant.
‘Keep it safe,’ he breathes. ‘Look at it and think of me … because one day soon, you’ll be wearing it again.’
Author’s note
Thank you for reading my book! I would love to hear from you. You can contact me on my Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/pages/Mandy-Lee/424286884398779?ref=hl
Or on my website:
http://www.mandy-lee.com
I certainly hope you had as much fun reading my book as I had writing it. If you liked it please tell a friend - or better yet, tell the world by writing a review on Amazon. Even a few short sentences are helpful. As an independently published author, I don’t have a marketing department behind me. I have you, the reader. So please spread the word!
Thanks again.
All the best,
Mandy Lee
Contents
Copyright
True Colours
Acknowledgements
Chapter One
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Author’s note