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Chapter Six

  AT HIS insistence, Blake made the necessary calls and organised to have the houseboat re􀀡oated and towed away. Lissa was grateful to Blake for

his cool, calm and sensitive handling of the whole situation. A man to lean on in a crisis. It gave her time to regroup. Most of her artwork was

gone. Photos, jewellery, books.

She sat on her bed and looked about her. She also needed time to absorb the fact that until she was making an income, this was her

bedroom. She needed to pull herself together and decide that she could still be that independent woman she wanted to be but there was

nothing wrong with accepting help now and then.

But did it have to be Blake’s help?

She stared at herself in the full-length mirror on the bedroom wall. The boat disaster had brie􀀡y obliterated the excitement of the new

business agreement she’d made … and that kiss. Oh, that kiss … and more. Her whole body burned and churned with the memory and she saw

its instant effect in her reflection.

She shook it away and concentrated on applying make-up to mask her distress. She needed to forget that momentary indulgence. And to

accept Blake’s insistence that she remain in his home.

‘Here?’ She’d glared at Blake through narrowed eyes, fighting it all the way. Nuh-uh. Not going to happen. Not after that kiss and a half.

‘You have somewhere else in mind?’ He’d waited for a response but she hadn’t had a ready one. Not one of any sort.

Returning to Surfers and facing Jared with her failures was not an option after the regrettably immature way she’d walked out eighteen

months ago. And in an hour she’d be signing papers and making Blake her business partner. She had to remain in Mooloolaba. Rental

accommodation was high in Mooloolaba.

Sharing with a guy was something she’d sworn she’d never do again. Living with Todd had been the most harrowing time of her life. Not

only the physical abuse but the lies and degradation. Made worse because she’d kept it a secret from those who would have helped her. She’d

been so naïve, so ashamed, and, for a while, so broken.

‘What are you afraid of, Lissa?’

She’d stared up at Blake and into those beautiful blue eyes. Blake wasn’t Todd—was nothing like Todd—but she no longer trusted herself

when it came to choosing the right kind of man.

‘Nothing. Why would I be afraid? I’m certainly not afraid of you,’ she’d told him when he’d scrutinised her face more closely. As if he knew

her secret. He couldn’t know. ‘Thank you. I accept.’

She’d arranged to meet Blake in the living room before leaving for their rescheduled appointment with the solicitor. In her jeans and faded Tshirt.

She groaned inwardly. The T-shirt with the two faintly creased circles on her chest. Now there’d have to be an additional clause with the

expenses incurred to replace her belongings.

She descended the stairs at the arranged time. Blake had changed into smart casual clothes and her thoughts scattered like confetti. The

white button-through shirt, open at the neck, enhanced his tanned skin and accentuated his broad shoulders and muscular frame, the trousers