True Colours (The You Don't Know Me Trilogy Book 2) by Mandy Lee Read Free Book Online Page B

sides.
    ‘Well?’ I probe.
    ‘Well what?’  With a mug of his own, he positions himself on the coffee table, right in front of me.
    ‘Item number one.  Talking things through.’
    ‘You’re going to listen?’
    ‘What choice do I have?’
    Resigned to the fact that I’ve just got to grit my teeth and get on with it, the sensible half of my brain finally seems to have calmed down.  And if the idiot half wasn’t currently wavering, swamping itself with visions of sweaty bodies thrashing about on a bed, I’d definitely have the upper hand.
    He chews at his bottom lip and stares at the floor.  The show’s clearly over for now.  He’s locked me in, whacked me with a good dose of the arrogant, womanising arse and kissed my face off.  And fair play to him.  He’s done pretty well with the shock and awe, but now that we’re down to the nitty gritty, he doesn’t seem quite so sure of himself.  And I’m beginning to melt.
    ‘Would you like to get started?’ I ask, breaking the silence.
    He shakes his head.  ‘I don’t know where to start.’
    ‘How about with the deception thing?’
    ‘I told you.  I didn’t mean to.’
    ‘Not good enough.’
    ‘Maya, when I realised who you were, I lost all reason ...’
    ‘That’s not making me feel any better.’
    ‘I know you hate me at the moment.’
    ‘I don’t hate you.’  His head flicks up, his features softened by a look of hope.  ‘I pity you.’
    His forehead creases.  ‘I don’t want pity.’
    ‘Not for the way you grew up.  I pity you because you wanted revenge.  That’s pathetic.’
    He stares at me, his eyes suddenly cold.  ‘Can you honestly tell me you’ve never wanted it?’
    I think of Sara.  Oh God, I’ve wanted it so many times.  In fact, if memory serves me right, only last week I paraded Dan in front of her while she was at her lowest ebb.
    ‘I should never have told you,’ he mutters.
    ‘But you did.’
    He stares at me some more.
    ‘I’m no angel.  I have faults.’  He places his mug on the table.  ‘It was a few moments of madness.’
    Now, that’s not quite right.
    ‘A few moments?  When did you first find out about me?’
    ‘Friday,’ he answers quietly.  ‘I saw your file on Friday.’
    ‘And you had me moved to Norman’s office?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘And then you called me on Monday, and then you ordered me up to that meeting.  I’d say that’s more than just a few moments of madness.’  My voice is rising now.  ‘That’s four fucking days’ worth of it.’
    ‘Okay,’ he snaps, sending a jolt right through my body and coffee spilling all over the plush cream sofa.  ‘Maybe it was more than that.’  Glaring into my eyes, he struggles to calm himself.  ‘Happy now?’
    ‘You used me.’
    ‘Oh, get real.’  He grimaces.  ‘That’s not true.’
    ‘You used me to get back at Sara.’
    ‘Think about it, Maya.  I did not use you.’
    Pushing himself up from the table, he prowls to the window.  With his back to me, he folds his arms and stares out at the Thames.
    ‘Whatever happened, I wouldn’t have gone through with it.  I’m not that sort of man … not deep down.  I’ve never done anything like that in my life.’  His head dips.  ‘I would have come to my senses sooner or later.  I don’t even know what made me think like that in the first place.’
    He drifts off into silence and I wish I could see his face.  Both of us know what made him think like that: my sister’s relentless bullying, a miserable childhood, the past we share.  I’m about to tell him as much when he begins to speak again, more quickly this time, as if he’s trying to force out the words before he loses the strength to do it.
    ‘I found out who you were on Friday afternoon.  I organised the swap because I wanted you near me.  And then I spent the weekend …’
    He pauses and I wonder what on Earth he’s going to say next.  Plotting how to use you?  Planning how to destroy you?  When