Ben got back to his luxurious hotel room later than he’d expected. No use phoning her now. She’d be asleep. And the remaining days in New York were likely to be just busy as today had been.

How had he ever kept up such a frenetic schedule for all these years? He remembered the quiet peace of simply sitting with Megan in the car or strolling along a street, and marvelled at it. The time spent with her had been a golden interlude.

He ought to call Fran. He usually took her out when he was in New York. She was good company. But she wasn’t special. She had just helped fill the loneliness. She was lonely too and never stopped talking while they were together. And her hair was dyed red, not natural. Nor did it curl wildly and…

He frowned. What had got into him? He couldn’t get Megan Ross out of his mind. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had affected him like this.

He frowned at the phone. Should he call her and wake her up?

No, better not. He got into bed, but it was a long time before he managed to sleep because he’d suddenly realised what he wanted to do. It was rash, it was risky, but he’d never wanted anything quite as much in his whole life.

He smiled in the darkness and began to relax. He’d taken a few risks in the past few years, but the one he was contemplating now out-shadowed all the rest. Would Megan agree to it, though?

She had to. He’d do whatever was necessary to convince her.

Then he frowned again. Well, anything except lying to her. He wasn’t going to start a relationship built on anything but the truth. Not with her.

On Tuesday Megan checked her mobile phone carefully when she got home, to make sure everything was working. But the battery was charged up and there were definitely no messages on her voice mail.

So he hadn’t rung.

On Wednesday evening, the little red phone did ring and she picked it up with a pounding heart. But it wasn’t him, just Sarah, trying to find out if something was going on. Megan didn’t tell her cousin anything and refused an invitation to go and share a take-away meal with them on Saturday evening. Then she had to face a further grilling about what she was doing that night before she could get off the phone.

On Thursday, her personal phone didn’t ring at all. She didn’t know why she even bothered to have a mobile. She hardly ever used it, the stupid thing! She ought to get rid of it.