Free How Do I Love Thee? by Valerie Parv (ed)

marrying a Middle Eastern princess?’
    ‘Yeah, he did. But Shara’s so down-to-earth you forget her background, except when Tom gets out of line and she goes all royal on him.’
    Laura’s voice dropped. ‘What about you? Personally, I mean. I know what you do for a living but not what your life’s been like since I saw you last?’
    He should have known her casual questioning was leading somewhere. Laura had been able to read him like a book even at uni. They’d seen each other at class reunions and had friends in common who’d matched them up at dinner parties, but Cade had been out of the country too much to follow up. Although, seeing her now, he wondered if he should have made the effort.
    He lifted his shoulders. ‘There’s not much to tell. I lived in London for a while and then Africa. Until recently, I was in South-East Asia documenting refugee activity for News Planet, then came back to Diamond Downs for some R & R.’ And to help save his foster father’s family home from being taken over by an unscrupulous neighbour, but he didn’t mention that. His siblings had played the main roles. He’d done what he could, but wasn’t big-headed enough to claim more credit than he deserved.
    Laura’s hand found his briefly before she let it drop to her lap. ‘The refugee scene must have pushed a few buttons for you.’
    The brief touch of her hand also reached something deep inside him but he tamped down the flare-up. Emotion was a luxury he rarely afforded himself. ‘After a while, you acquire a certain distance or you don’t survive.’
    ‘You were always good at emotional distance, Cade.’
    ‘Would you rather I broke down over a mother who couldn’t have cared less about me?’ he asked.
    ‘She was still your mother.’
    He dropped some notes on the table and scraped his chair back. ‘Fran Logan was the only mother I needed. There’s no need to psychoanalyse me, Laura. I’m fine. I’m glad we had a chance to catch up.’
    She picked up her folder. ‘This isn’t my idea of catching up. Why don’t you come to dinner at my place tonight? If you don’t have somewhere to stay yet, I have a spare bedroom you’re welcome to use.’
    ‘Aren’t you taking a risk inviting me home?’
    ‘Not much of a risk. You always treated me with respect.’
    ‘My foster father would have had plenty to say if I’d done anything else,’ he commented with a wry grin. Common sense told him to hightail it out of here before things got complicated. Despite Laura’s disarming manner, Cade was pretty sure she hadn’t finished with him on the subject of his mother. Maybe he hadn’t finished with himself on that either.
    Then there was the question of why he felt so foolishly pleased to be in Laura’s company again. The years since he last saw her had treated her well. Her features had thinned a little, giving her a model-like profile. And he liked the way her hair feathered around her face and skimmed her collar.Her skin had always been golden even when sun-deprived through long hours of study. Now she positively glowed.
    Her choice of clothes could have been more flattering. Remembering the sensuous curves his younger self had covertly appreciated, he wondered why she hid them now. Just as well, he told himself, as he throttled back a disturbing surge of desire. She’d never been the family type and her invitation proved she hadn’t changed. If she knew he’d returned to Australia to settle down, she probably wouldn’t have asked him to stay. All the same, the invitation was tempting.
    Suddenly the prospect of a soulless hotel room held zero appeal. ‘You’re on,’ he said, though he probably needed his head read, and Laura was just the person to do it.
    She wrote her address on a piece of paper and handed it to him. ‘Come over any time after five.’
    Laura watched him drive off, feeling pensive. What had possessed her to invite Cade to stay with her? She did want to talk to him about his mother, and