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Back First Comes Love
Chapters (92)
  1. First
  2. Love Connection
  3. Zero
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. One Month Later
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Six Months Later
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-one
  27. Twenty-two
  28. Twenty-three
  29. Twenty-four
  30. Six Months Later
  31. Twenty-five
  32. Twenty-six
  33. Twenty-seven
  34. Twenty-eight
  35. Twenty-nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-one
  38. Thirty-two
  39. Thirty-three
  40. I Have Never
  41. One
  42. Two
  43. Three
  44. Four
  45. Five
  46. Six
  47. Seven
  48. Eight
  49. Nine
  50. Ten
  51. Eleven
  52. Twelve
  53. Thirteen
  54. Fourteen
  55. Fifteen
  56. Sixteen
  57. Seventeen
  58. Eighteen
  59. Nineteen
  60. Twenty
  61. Twenty-one
  62. Twenty-two
  63. A Christmas Date
  64. One
  65. Two
  66. Three
  67. Four
  68. Five
  69. Six
  70. Seven
  71. Eight
  72. Nine
  73. Ten
  74. Eleven
  75. Twelve
  76. Thirteen
  77. Fourteen
  78. Fifteen
  79. Sixteen
  80. Seventeen
  81. Eighteen
  82. Nineteen
  83. Twenty
  84. Twenty-one
  85. Twenty-two
  86. Note from the Author
  87. Sneak Peek – To the Stars and Back
  88. Two
  89. Three
  90. Four
  91. Also by Camilla Isley
  92. About the Author

Christian laughs wholeheartedly, then lets out a low whistle. “And I thought my life was interesting. What did you do to get arrested?”

The music slows to an end again. How many songs have we danced together? I’ve lost count. I’m about to answer Christian’s question and launch into another dance when a towering presence appears next to us.

Richard has a weird expression on his face. Hard to say what’s going on inside his head, but he seems annoyed.

“If you dance another song together,” the boss says, looking at me, “you’ll end up on all the gossip magazine covers as Christian Slade’s mysterious new flame.”

“Richard, mate.” Christian lets me go and takes a step back. “I’ve been selfish; I completely stole your date.”

“Blair isn’t my date, she’s here to report.”

Since Richard asked me to join him on this Californian weekend, a tiny hope has been burning inside me. Hope that these few days together away from the office mean more than a business trip. Hope that something will happen between us, that if something in New York is impossible… you know, what happens in Hollywood stays in Hollywood.

Richard’s words extinguish that hope completely. They chill my heart and fill my mouth with the taste of ashes.

Christian smiles, shaking his head. “Mate, you’re such a slave worker.” He pats Richard on the shoulder and then looks at me. “Group projects back in school were the same. Richard kept us all in line.”

I try to smile, and I hope the tight-lipped grimace I’m producing doesn’t look as ashen as my heart feels.

“I’ve got to mingle with the other guests anyway,” Christian adds. “Blair, it’s been a pleasure.” He takes my hand and kisses it. “You’ll tell me all about your adventures next time.”

I manage to nod. Christian pats Richard on the shoulder one more time and is gone.

Refusing to meet Richard’s eye, I say, “I was tired of dancing, anyway.” I make to shuffle away from the dance floor.

“Not so quickly.”

Richard grabs me by the waist and pulls our bodies together while imprisoning my left hand in his. Without another word, he leads me back to the center of the square to dance.

The boss’s style is more basic, a steady one, two, three… one, two, three… But honestly, I couldn’t care less about Richard’s dancing skills, not when he’s looking at me as he is now.

I’m confused. He just spelled out for everyone that this isn’t a date. I mean, if this is the way Richard stares at his non-dates, how much neuro-damage can he inflict on his date-dates?