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CHAPTER ONE

CHRISTMAS It was that tirimaced, his darkly handsome features hard with impatience He had no time for it—the silliness of the festive season, the drunken antics and the extravagance, not to mention the lack of concentration, increased absenteeism and reduced productivity froood ins

Nor was he ever likely to forget the Christh three years had passed the tragedy of Olly’s horribly wasted life was still etched on his ht and full of proot behind a car wheel after a party, Vito’s party, where he and his brother had argued minutes before that fatal car journey Guilt clouded his happier memories of the boy, ten years his junior, whom he had loved above all else

But then love always hurt Vito had learned that lesson young when his mother walked out on her husband and son for a lected hi affairs Olly had been the result of one of those affairs, orphaned at nine years old when his English mother died Vito had offered hienerosity Vito had never regretted, for, rateful to have known hi’s sunny outlook had briefly enriched Vito’s workaholic existence

Only now Bolderwood Castle, purchased purely because Olly fancied living in a gothic er a home Of course he could take a wife and watch her walk aith half his fortune, his castle and his children, a lesson so many of his friends had learned to their cost, a few years down the road No, there would be no wife, Vito reflected grireedy, ambitious women literally threw themselves at his feet But tall or short, curvy or skinny, dark or fair, the woh sex drive were virtually interchangeable Indeed sex was steadily becoed wryly At thirty-one years of age, Vito was reviewing the attributes he used to define an attractive woman by

He knehat he didn’t like Airheads irritated him He was not a patient or tolerant irls and social clily, flirtatious ones reh career wohten up at the end of the day Either that or they wanted a four point plan of any relationship laid out in advance Did he want children? Did he actually know if he was fertile? Did he want to settle down so himself up to that level of disillusionht him how transitory life could be He would be a very rich and cantankerous and de old man instead

There was a knock on the door and a woer, Vito recalled after a momentary pause; AeroCarlton, which manufactured aeroplane parts, was a recent acquisition in Vito’s business e to know the staff

‘I’m sorry to disturb you, Mr Barbieri I wanted to check that you’re happy to continue endorsing the prisoner rehabilitation placement scheme we joined last year? It’s run by the charity New Start and they recommend suitable applicants who they fully check out and support We have an office trainee starting tomorrow Her name’s—’

‘I don’t need to know the details,’ Vito cut in s such a scheme but will expect you to keep a close watch on the employee’

‘Of course,’ the attractive brunette declared with a bright sive someone in difficulty a new chance in life, doesn’t it? And the placement does only last three months’

More goody-goody sentiht in exasperation He supposed the applicant had paid her debt to society through serving her sentence in prison but he was not particularly ena a potential villain on the premises ‘Did this person’s crime involve dishonesty?’ he queried suddenly

‘No, ere clear that ouldn’t accept anyone with that kind of record I doubt if you’ll even see her, Mr Barbieri She’ll be the office gopher She can take care ofand man reception At this time of year, there’s always room for an extra pair of hands’

Aof conscience assailed Vito, for, astute as he was, he had already noticed that the h on her subordinates Only the day before he had overheard her taking the janitor to task over a very ement of his duties Karen enjoyed her position of power and used it, but he could only assume that an ex-con would be well equipped to cope

Ava checked the postbox as she did at least twice every day Nothing There was no point trying to avoid the obvious, no point in continuing to hope—her fanore her letters Tears pricked her bright blue eyes and she blinked rapidly, lifting her coppery head high She had learned to get by on her own in prison and she could do the same in the outside world, even if the outside world was filled with a bewildering array of choices, disappointments and possibilities that made her head swim

‘Don’t try to run before you can walk,’ her probation officer had advised Sally was a great believer in platitudes

Harvey’s tail thumped the floor at Ava’s feet and she bent down to smooth his soft curly head A cross between a Ger with floppy ears, a thick black curly coat and a long shaggy tail that looked as though it belonged to another breed entirely

‘Ti not to think about the fact that the boarding kennels where Harvey lived could not possibly house hi the last few months of her sentence Ava worked at the kennels—outside as encouraged as aprisoners into the community and independent life—and she was all too well aware that Harvey was living on borrowed time

She loved Harvey with all her heart and soul He was the one thing in her life that she dared love now, and on the days she saw hie, the kind lady who ran the kennels and took in strays, had limited space and Harvey had already spenta home Harvey, however, was his oorst eneiven hi theentle, loyal character and clean habits Ava kne big the gap between appearances and reality could be; she had spent soon a false front to keep people at ar that she didn’t need anyone, didn’t care about other people’s opinions and was proud to be the odd one out At home, at school, just about everywhere she went, Ava had been alone …

Except for Olly, she thought, and a fierce pang of pain and regret shot through her as sharply as a knife Oliver Barbieri had been her best friend and she had to live with the knowledge that it was her fault he was dead She had gone to prison for reckless driving but the memory of the trial was blurred because she had already been living in a mental hell and no court could have punished her more than she had punished herself It hadn’t mattered that her father had thrown her out of the house in disgust or even that she had been advised not to attend Olly’s funeral and pay her last respects She had known she didn’t deserve pity or forgiveness Even so she did not re it she had sustained a head injury and was left withshe recalled neither her fateful, incomprehensible decision to drive while under the influence of alcohol or the accident itself So, and so what she had done lay behind her inability to recall the later stages of that awful night

She hadschool, a trendy co-ed institution with high fees and a fantastic acadeet his least-loved child out froed sadly Always made to feel like the cuckoo in the family nest, Ava was the only one of three children to have been sent away from hoe between Ava and her sisters, Gina and Bella, and, now that she had truly becon that anyone wanted to welcome her back to the fold Of course her mother was dead and there was nobody left to h to make the effort Her sisters had their own lives with husbands and children and careers and their ex-con sister was sierald family name

Scolding herself for that deative reflections, Ava strove instead to concentrate on the positives: she was out of prison, she had a job, an actual job—she still couldn’t believe her good fortune When she had first been recoramme she had not held out h she had left school with top grades, she had no relevant office work experience or saleable skills But AeroCarlton had offered her a lifebelt, givingher the chance to rebuild her life, with a reputable fir a permanent job