Frozen Heart, Melting Kiss. Ellie Darkins

it would. But if he thought that was a decent apology, he was mistaken. She crossed her arms a little harder across her chest and tilted her head, waiting for him to continue.

      ‘I didn’t sleep,’ he said at last, ‘after what we talked about last night. But I shouldn’t have taken that out on you. This is very important to me.’

      There was no faking that sort of sincerity, she thought, noting the way his voice was carefully controlled—presumably to stop it breaking. She might be angry. She was definitely angry. But that didn’t make her insensible to his feelings. Will was hurting.

      ‘I’d need you to make a real effort,’ she told him. ‘You need to decide right now whether you’re going to take this seriously. If not, I’ll pack your bags for you.’

      Will eyed her warily but she stopped herself from taking her words back, from apologising. Instead she waited. Waited to see what effect her words would have when she didn’t care what the listener thought of her. When she had nothing to lose.

      ‘I didn’t expect things to get so...personal, but from now on no half-measures,’ he said. ‘I will do this. Properly.’

      Apparently brutal honesty got her what she wanted.

      She watched him force a smile onto his face. She would have preferred to see a genuine one, but she liked that he was trying. And she thought that maybe there was still a chance that she could help him, as he’d asked.

      ‘Okay. We’ll try again. But you might want to lose the suit—change into something that doesn’t need dry cleaning,’ she added. If he was willing to try she would give him another chance. If nothing else it would be an interesting challenge to try and teach someone so different from her usual clients. At least that was what she could tell herself. It was nothing to do with the spark she felt between them; nothing to do with exploring this new-found bravado and honesty. Nothing to do with the way her body craved being close to his.