The familiar rumble of his voice hits my chest, bang in the center. His accent is richer now, thicker. As if in the two months that he has been here, he has regained the polish of the accent that had slightly faded in the last five years. I shut my eyes. I’ve missed him. How have I survived all these days without him? And now he’s right behind me. I just have to turn and I’ll be face to face with him. My throat dries up and feels scratchy as I swallow. Gabe gives me a worried look. He smoothens his expression and looks at Damien.

“Hey mate!” Gabe says, recovering faster than me. “I’m just meeting an old friend.” He nods to me. My heart constricts in my chest as I slowly turn around, and finally come face to face with my husband.

Damien gives me a fleeting look before his eyes meet Gabe’s and then his grey green eyes zero in on me once again, taking me in. His gaze is no longer warm; instead it’s hard, glacial, like a frozen iceberg. My hand clutches the strap of my purse so tight, the leather cuts into my skin even as my brain scrambles to understand his reaction. Does he remember me? Is he going to get a seizure on seeing me again? What is he thinking?

A cold, mocking smile curves across his lips as he boldly assesses me from top to toe before extending his hand towards me. “Damien Talbot,” he says.

I freeze, my blood chilling as I stare at his extended hand. In that split second two things occur to me-one, he didn’t scream on seeing me, which was my biggest fear, and two, which is worse, he doesn’t remember me at all!

Damien

THE WOMAN WITH GABE has a face and a body that would make any red-blooded man stop in his tracks. She is...exotic, Indian I presume from her ebony black flowing hair, slightly warm skin tone and her dark, Kohl rimmed, doe-shaped eyes. My eyes rake her from head to toe and, for the first time in months, a spark of interest kindles inside me. Her blue denims hug her slim legs like second skin. They’re tucked into calf-length black boots. The grey leather jacket worn over a simple white tee shirt doesn’t hide her bounteous breasts. She has a shawl knotted around her neck. It’s a striking red silk, Louis Vuitton, the LV delicately embossed around it, simple and yet so classy. Who is she and what is her connection to Gabe?