She thought about the massage, how nice that would be, how much she needed her muscles untangling, all the stress smoothed away. She glanced at him and he gave her a hopeful smile. ‘Nobody’s expecting you home until tomorrow. Your family will have made their own plans, and to be honest, it’s good to let them try and manage without you. Then they’ll understand what you do for them and they might treat you a bit better.’

She bit her lip as she wavered.

He carried on. ‘I know I can trust you, Sara. I know you’re an honourable woman. I know taking the money was a moment of madness, a mistake. And I know you’ll pay me back one day. But…’ he shrugged, ‘humour me, however strange it may seem. I like making people happy; it has value to me. So our deal stands, but just until the money is in my account, okay?’

She let his words sink in, still torn, part of her wanting to run home, another part yearning for time to herself so she could work out what had happened to her life and who she could really trust. She studied his face, his eyes imploring her to stay. He looked like a dog waiting for its owner to decide if it was time to go for a walk, scrutinising her every move. She thought about the time they’d spent together. Although he’d been attentive, he’d never made a move to seduce her, even when she’d been a bit drunk the night before. He’d only ever been kind to her.

‘This has to be the last time. The last favour,’ she said.

He smiled and finished his coffee. ‘Is wanting to look after a friend such a bad thing?’

She had to admit that it wasn’t. And so she stayed.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The rest of the day passed in a pleasant blur of treatments, and by the evening, the stress had been kneaded from her muscles, her skin was silken, her nails perfect and her face glowed. Never had she felt so pampered. But it was tiring work, this relaxation, and by the end of their evening meal, her limbs were so heavy it was a job to lift a spoon to eat her dessert.