Annie returned to her room about twelve after a visit to the hotel hairdresser for a trim and a manicure. Mostly she was bored. Terry would be back in the early evening and they were flying back home at midnight. Until then she had a long day stretching out before her with nothing to do but anticipate his return. At least she would look good for him. Maybe they would get the chance to go to bed for a few hours before they checked out. She smiled as she strutted down the corridor. No matter how down she felt about Zoe, she could not contain her excitement about seeing Terry again. Maybe she was wrong about the passion. Perhaps it just needed reactivating every now and again.

She slid the key card into the door and entered, stopping dead in surprise. Terry was sitting there on an armchair reading; he looked up at smiled at her as she approached. "What you doing here?" She laughed brightly.

"Too early? Thought I might catch you saying goodbye to the boyfriend..." he called her over with a little flick of his forefinger and she nestled on his lap.

"No, he had an early meeting..." she replied sassily. "I wasn't expecting you till late afternoon!"

"I'd had enough. Missed you. Wanted to spend our last day together. Jesus, you look good enough to eat...!"

He took her tenderly by the back of her neck and eased her to him, his lips reaching for her with a soft nibble on her upper lip as she licked the inside of his mouth. Delving down again he took her lower lip and then thrust his tongue sensuously into her open mouth and they kissed with more abandon than usual. Both had things to lose in this kiss, baggage that had been darkening their thoughts for days. Caught up in their own private hell, neither wondered at the intensity of the other.

"God...I've been so lonely..." Terry muttered. "I cannot do this without you anymore. I don't want any more separations. You think I should retire completely? What's the point? We got enough money. I'm so damned tired of all this crap..."

Annie pulled back and stroked his brow. His outburst was unexpected: welcome, but unexpected. It felt good to know that his business trips were bothering him too and that all he really wanted now was to be back home and living a less stressful and highly paced life. "Whatever you want, Terry. You know I would love it if you never went away again. But, I'm not sure I see you as the retired gentleman on his few acres in France. I don't want you to get bored again. You're still young. I don't know if it's a good idea for you, no matter what you feel right now. But cut back, for sure. It's been hectic. Let's have a couple of weeks back home and then talk about the future?"

He nodded and exhaled softly. "What did I ever do to deserve you? I still sometimes stop and think and wonder how in a lifetime of bad judgment calls with women, I made one that was so bloody right? I try to imagine where I'd be now if I had never got to know you...."

She smiled. "Someone took his good boy pills this morning...!" 

He chuckled at her teasing. "Works both ways. Don't sell yourself short. You gave me my life. I love you so much..."

She leaned over and they kissed again, a little softer, a little more sensual. Her fingers went to unfasten his tie but he stopped her. "Later... I want to take you to lunch first. Buy you something pretty...I want to woo you before we fall into bed and make passionate love...but make no mistake, that's where this is going, baby..."he grinned and she wriggled in glee on his lap.

"Surprises! I love surprises! Okay...give me fifteen minutes. I need to change and get ready..."

"Hey, go like that! You look great,' he insisted but she merely gave him a seductive glance as she hopped away and stripped off her jeans and shirt. He followed her into the bathroom and watched as she began to apply makeup.

"What are you looking at?" Annie giggled and threw a hand towel at him as he leant on the door, arms folded.

"You. I love to watch you. Everything you do is so womanly..."

She rolled her eyes. "That's because I'm a woman. No prizes for working that one out, sweetie."

He laughed. "I love women. You most of all. The way your hands move, how you hold things, the delicacy of your touch. It makes me think of how you touch me. How you used to touch the children when they were small. Something uniquely you..."

She stopped, mascara poised in her hand and observed him as he held up his hands helplessly as if to say 'I know, I'm a hopeless case'.

"It's the same for women. They love how a man moves and uses his hands. Especially a man like you. We're all hotwired to respond to that and, yes, I guess it does remind us of the sexual touch we desire somewhere in our brains...Terry, that was a beautiful thing to say though. You don't know how much I need things like that right now..."

He stepped forward suddenly sensing that she was upset. "What's the matter, love? Why now?"

She shrugged and looked embarrassed. "I don't know. Recently I've been pretty down...a bit depressed, I suppose. I just lost a bit of confidence, you know? It was good to hear you say those things..."

He slipped his arms round her waist. "I don't say them enough? That what you mean?"

She smiled up at him. "I don't think it says in the rule book how often you have to say them. You do all right. But, yeah, today was a good day for me to hear that..."

He held her face in his hands. "Why are you down? Some woman thing? Liam? Something I've done? Not done?"

Annie smiled at him. "Not really. Yeah, the kids, I suppose, time of my life, my birthday making me feel pensive about stuff. Sometimes I see my life slipping away and I think 'What have I really done with it? Is it too late now?' Am I any use to anyone anymore?"

Terry groaned softly. "Baby...you are just the most important thing in my life. I love you so much more than I could ever say. Words just have no meaning compared to how I feel. You are first in life, always....and the kids...they feel the same, even if they don't always say it...Come on, Annie...you know how I feel about you...."

She sniffed back a tear. "I...I...now look what you made me do! My mascara will run!"

He grinned as he wiped away the trickle of tears that ran down her cheek. "Not at those prices...gotta be water proof...!"

"I feel the same....I ..." She filled up again as he ran his fingers down her cheek tenderly.

"Hey, stop it...you don't have to say it, Annie. You show me how you feel every day of your life. You stand at my side and are there for me all the time. I know what I mean to you and what you mean to me. I wouldn't let anything come between us for anything in the world. You got that? Your age is irrelevant. I love you and always will. I desire you - and always will. Baby...don't get upset..."

She hugged him tight and he lifted her off the ground, twirling her round. "Now go get some clothes on before I change my mind about lunch. Nice undies..." He set her down and smoothed his hand down her body.

"You like?" she gave him a twirl.

"I like," he licked his lips and rolled his eyes at her.

"Go get the suit in the wardrobe for me. The pale pink one..." she asked as she put the finishing touches to her makeup. Moments later he returned with the outfit in question and she slipped it on. "Do you have to watch? I feel inhibited!" she laughed.

"I've seen you naked before. What's the big deal? I like watching you dress as much as undress."

"I just feel conscious of myself. The bits I hold in...you know?"

He observed her svelte frame and shook his head. "What bits? Turn sideways and you almost disappear. You're too thin actually. If I had my way I'd fatten you up substantially."

"What? Too thin is good!"

"I never understand why women find being told they are too thin a compliment."

"That's because you're a man. Like you would complain if I said 'you have too many muscles? Lose some bulk'?"

They both chuckled as she smoothed down the suit and gave her hair a final flick. 

"Okay! Ready..! Now go spend some money on me..."

Liam Thorne deplaned at JFK and swung through the arrivals hall, swinging his carryon on in time to some internal beat. There was hardly a time when he wasn't singing something in his head or under his breath, his MP3 plugged into his ear as usual. He had to be in LA on Monday but had flown via New York to see Nick. He felt his unwitting benefactor had the right to know what his phone call had set in motion and how Liam would forever be in his debt for simply just taking the trouble. How many people talk the talk but never actually do anything about it?

He checked his watch. Mum and Dad had left last night. He had wanted to fly a day earlier to see them but a last minute hitch had prevented him. It was unlikely he would see them before Christmas now with the schedule the producers were setting out for him but maybe in some ways there was a certain relief in that. A little bit more water under the bridge might serve them all well at the moment.

There was a spring in his step that was so marked that he could even recognise it himself. It was the walk of a young man who had it all before him, who felt the turn of the tide in his favour. He was going to be the next best thing. He couldn't fail. At twenty one, failure is not a word in your vocabulary.

Outside he queued for a cab and smiled at the thought of the wad of notes in his pocket. He had had a sizeable advance from the record company and most of his expenses covered by them. Need his allowance? Fuck that, Dad...but even as he thought that, he recalled that the deposits were still arriving and his father had not carried through on his threat. He had never imagined he would. Dad would not do that sort of thing or ever try to blackmail him into giving up. It wasn't his style at all.

Another thing that was bothering him was that whole scene really. He had had one lucky break that no one could have expected. Mostly his father's apprehension had been justified, he realized that; anyone with half a brain could see that the career he had chosen was fraught with almost impossible hurdles. Now he had had this unexpected godsend, Liam felt like if he turned up flaunting the turn of events it would be like rubbing his father's nose in it. I told you so, Dad! His father did not deserve that; his response had simply been what any concerned parent might feel.

Time had worked a few changes on Liam's mindset. But he was always like that, hotheaded and impulsive in the moment but internally a deep thinking and highly rational young man. He was still trying to figure out how he might smooth the stormy waters with his parents in the months ahead in a way that would show them what he really needed to say to them; how grateful he was for what they had always done and still did for him. How much he loved and respected them. One day soon, he would pay them back in words and actions for all he owed.

He caught a cab into Manhattan straight to Nick's place. He had never visited before but Nick had given him the address and told him he could hang there anytime he was in New York. Mostly, though, his reason for calling was simply to say thank you. Take him out for a few beers and get to know him better. Nick fascinated him in an almost hypnotic fashion. The guy seemed to be so different from anyone else he had ever met and Liam had a passion for collecting people and their stories. It fuelled his insights and imagination, and gave him material for his lyrics. A writer needed more than his own limited experiences through which to view the world and all its complexities.

The apartment building was top end and Liam stared up at it in amazement; Nick lived in a penthouse above an office building towering over the city. Amazing address; the guy must be wadded. As he sauntered in a guard called him over.

"Got ID? Which floor? Name of resident?"

Liam showed his Australian passport. "Nicholas Costello."

"Purpose of visit?"

"Personal."

The man punched a code into his key board and then picked up a phone. "Mr. Costello? You've got a visitor. Name of Thorne. Liam. Australian." The guard listened and then asked Liam to stand to his right where he realized he was picked up on a camera. Nick was taking no chances.

"He says straight up. Sorry for the inconvenience..."

Sunday morning and Nick and Zoe were sprawled out in the lounge over the remnants of breakfast watching TV and reading newspapers which were scattered haphazardly all over the floor and the leather suite. Nick was lying on his front leafing through a supplement on cars, Zoe was perched on his back flicking channels and stroking her fingers through his hair. She was wearing one of his shirts and he was in an old pair of sweats and a running vest, unshaven and untidy.

"Thinking of buying another car..."

"Why? You already have two and you hardly use them! New York is not the city for car ownership. It's like London. Better to use cabs and the tube..."

He grunted. "Actually wasn't thinking of buying it for here..."

"No? Where then?" Zoe asked and she rolled forward to stretch her length languidly along his back. "What are you planning now?"

He rolled her under him in one deft manoeuvre. "Planning? Nothing...just tossing a few ideas around. I was thinking of selling this place. I mean, I don't need it if I'm not in the same business. Any consultancy I do for them, they can bloody well pay my hotel bills as well...fancied a change of scene..."

"Change of scene? Like where?"

He shrugged and bent his head, nibbling on her neck as she giggled and pushed him away. "Dunno...maybe back home...Sydney...what d'ya think? Touch base for a while?"

"What do I think?" Zoe asked, bemused.

"Stop repeating what I say," Nick grinned. "Yeah, why not? For what I'd make on this place I could buy anything I wanted on the harbour and have change for a stable of sports cars....and Oz is the best place in the world for testing your wheels...miles of highways, mostly deserted...you know?"

"Suppose so. Whatever you like," she said quietly. If he went back to Australia now she would never see him. She wasn't sure what he was trying to say to her. Perhaps the incident with her father had made him think that maybe they should end this. Nick respected Terry Thorne more than any man in the world - would he sacrifice what they had so as not to lose his relationship with him?

"Hey, what's the face for?" Nick tilted up her chin and smiled sweetly. "I asked your opinion because I wouldn't make any changes in my life unless you wanted to make them with me. Look, you said you've only got the research and write up on your thesis to complete now. Do you have to stay in Boston? Come with me to Oz and we'll take a beach house for the spring and summer. You can fly back every month to see your prof... then you can help me look for a permanent home...Zoe, it doesn't matter where you're based. Look for a job on one of the Australian dailies...or some TV station...you're Australian, too. And bloody well qualified and traveled compared to most candidates of your age...they'd snap you up...the market for those vacancies in the US or Europe will be a whole lot tighter..."

She gave his comment some thought. He was right about the career opportunities, he was right about her course - many students went home at this stage to concentrate on their private research. But most of all, he was thinking 'us'...her heart skipped a beat...he was thinking of buying a place and for her to live there with him? In Sydney? She had always wanted to go back to Australia, still regarding it as her home although they had never returned again except for holidays after they had left for New York all those years ago. The house in Canberra had been sold and all their memories shipped out; many were still in boxes in one of their other places. But the nostalgia she and Liam had always felt for their childhood home had never been replaced by any other country in which they had lived. Nor did the fact that they had both been born in England and their mother was British ever change the sense they had that they were Australians. It was always 'Go, Oz, Go!' when they supported any international sporting event. Zoe wondered whether part of her attraction to Nick, apart from his obvious charms, was that he was that irreverent Australian macho male personified, cocky and arrogant, chauvinistic and relentlessly alpha. Perhaps that prototype had been imprinted on her during her formative years.

"You mean it? Take a long trip? Together? God, Nick, that would be fantastic...! Oh God, I would adore it...! When can we go? How long would it take to get this place on the market...?"

He said he would start the ball rolling the next day but that they didn't have to wait for it to sell. That they should simply pack and leave as soon as she could respectably clear it with the Uni. Now that her parents knew (they both supposed Terry had told her Mum) there seemed no reason to hide the fact that they were together, so there was nothing barring them from doing exactly what they wanted.

"Nick?" Another thought crossed her mind. "You said you wouldn't need to be based in New York anymore if you weren't in the same business. What do you do, Nick? Or what did you do? Can't you tell me anything about it? I know it's government stuff but if you've given up..."

He pulled away and she read the shadow that fell across his face immediately even as he attempted to disguise it. Her father's words of Friday night ran through her mind. '...Just ask him. About his career. He won't tell you, of course, but at least it will prove one thing - that he hasn't been straight with you...'

"Signed a secrecy act, love. Can't divulge, even to you. All I can say is I was an agent, freelance, who was seconded to various NATO countries when my skills were required. Much like your father is. How much does he tell you of what he does?"

Zoe narrowed her eyes. He'd ducked that one pretty easily and deflected the question back on Dad. Why? Was he second guessing what her father had said to her? Why immediately raise her father's quite obviously different area of expertise as if it were an answer when it seemed more like smokescreen to her. Or had her father played his cards right and managed to plant the seed of doubt until she couldn't work out which of them was actually misrepresenting the truth.

Or were they both as bad as each other?

Just then the door phone rang and Nick looked up in surprise. "Who the fuck...?" He rarely had a visitor that he didn't expect.

Easing away from Zoe, he was on his feet and over at the door in seconds, talking in muted tones and looking at the digital image on the tiny monitor. Security was very tight here. Zoe sat up and listened, her head cocked to one side, concerned, slightly alerted by his sudden change into watchfulness. There was definitely something he was hiding and it was more than just her father's behaviour.

But then his face relaxed and he grinned broadly. "Hey, bro, come on up! Got someone here you'll be pleased to meet..."

Turning back to Zoe, he laughed. "Go get some clothes on, princess...Liam really doesn't want to see you with a bare bum...."

They sauntered along sidewalks on the sunny Saturday afternoon hand-in-hand and chatting aimlessly, just happy to be together with nothing to do but have fun. They wandered in and out of expensive jewellery stores, Annie protesting she did not need anything more to add to her collection and Terry insisting he was buying anyway. He finally purchased a dress ring, a startlingly modern setting, lolite in white gold, the colour of her eyes, he remarked.

From there they talked about lunch. Terry led her through a few back streets off the main thoroughfare, through a rather unimpressive doorway and down a dimly lit corridor to a courtyard set between a few a few buildings. It was festooned in flowers and shrubs, decorated like a tiny Tuscan farmhouse building. She clapped her hands with glee and felt like Mary Lennox finding The Secret Garden. "How do you know about these places?" Annie exclaimed.

Terry shrugged. "I never brought you here before? Must have been some other girl then ..."She punched him playfully as they settled down at a rustic table and perused the homely but delicious menu. Annie played with her new ring and Terry grinned across at her. Women. Any age. A sparkling bauble and they were like little girls playing with some Barbie trinket. He recalled Zoe as a child, always decked out in some cheap tat and imagining herself a little princess. That's where the name he always called her had originated. She'd had a ballet dancer's tiara that they had bought her at the theatre shop after taking her to see Swan Lake once. She had worn it for weeks and they had had to call her Odette...or had it been Odile? He could never remember which was the bad one...Zoe had invariably wanted to be the good ballerina, the swan who died...the tragic heroine... The sudden reminder of his daughter made his throat constrict and his stomach heave. Where did all that go to in one crazy interlude when they threw away a life time of memories?

He looked over at Annie, still sneaking peeks at the sunlight dancing off her new ring and he could not stop from smiling. Whatever bad things haunted his nights, Annie was always his sun and kept the darkness away. She glanced up and saw his amused look. "What is it? Are you making fun of  me? So I'm a girl? Thought you liked that about me?" They both laughed gently and he took her hand in his across the table; her fingers curled round and held him tight. "I never buy you presents. Why do men always want to shower their women in gifts but never expect anything in return?"

He snorted. "What would you buy me? A new shirt? Pair of socks? It doesn't quite work the same way for men..."

"Why not? I could buy you a ring... a chain. A bracelet...men wear jewellery too...a new watch..."

"I don't need anything..."

"It's not about need. I don't need this ring..."

"What's the point? I'd just get the bill..."

Annie sighed and gave him a pensive look. "Actually, that kind of remark hurts."

"Hurts? Why?" He asked her, frowning.

She shrugged. "Because...it's true..." She sat back and pushed her plate away. "Because everything I have comes from you. I don't earn anything or contribute anything..."

"Aw...come on...! You're my wife! We're a team...I go kill the dinosaur and you skin and cook it...then I drag you around a bit by your hair...and you get a bone necklace..."

She giggled at his foolishness but she saw the look in his eyes. This kind of comment hurt him. He was right in a way. She had earned as much as he had - because they were in this together. Running the home, raising his kids, being by his side - it was a division of labour not a 'This is mine, this is yours' game. Legally everything he had was hers. Literally it was, too. Never once had he ever pulled that routine on her about what she spent - he was normally trying to encourage her to spend more. Terry was always a fool with money and just didn't care. His life had taught him not to worry about those kinds of things as long as they were provided for. He could always make more money. It was just a question of whether he wished to take on the particular assignment or not - but he would if he had to. She knew he would never have baulked at anything if they had ever needed the money. Even Nick's game. He'd had offers which he had resolutely refused but that was because he'd never been in a position of desperation financially. But she knew enough about the man he was inside to know that for his family there was little he wouldn't be prepared to do if the need arose. Sometimes that bothered her.

But as for the personal income matter, it was a silly thing for her to raise at this time and threatened to spoil this wonderful day.  He wouldn't get what she meant anyway. It was just a stupid point of pride on her part, not worth the upset it could cause by hammering it out.

"Well, one of these days, I might just buy you something completely impractical and you will wear it for me..."

"...Cock ring?"

"Terry!"

"Well, if they do them in my size, that is..."

She threw the remains of the bread roll across at him and he pulled his tongue out at her.

"Maybe I should pay for lunch?" Annie suggested.

"Nope...I want a blow..." he chuckled and she kicked him under the table. Then she slipped off her sandal and ran her foot up under the edge of his trousers. They caught each other's eyes across the table and for a moment both stopped laughing and just stared.

"I love you so much..." he whispered.

"I love you too..." she replied.

"...but I'm hungry...let's eat..." he giggled and tucked into the main course that the waiter had just set down before them. She sat back and watched him, thinking of how he could still look so boyish sometimes. Or was that just a trick of her brain? Did other people ever see him as she did? Or vice versa?

From the vantage point of a corner table, Deborah Stavin watched the couple eating. She was wearing dark glasses and a head scarf but wondered if she had needed to bother with the rather trite disguise. Terry Thorne wouldn't have noticed her if she had stripped naked and danced around the tables. He was so far off his game today that she could scarcely believe he was the same man whom she had met in Washington earlier in the week. This guy, goofing around with his girl on a warm late September afternoon, holding hands as they walk along public streets, laughing and chatting, was simply nothing like the alert and incisive Thorne with his arrogant swagger and quiet authority. The wife had him wrapped round her little finger amazingly it would seem.

She turned her gaze on Anna Thorne. Good looking woman, looked years younger than her age according to the files. Girlish, slender, beautiful - and clearly possessing a high intellect if her academic background was anything to judge by. But hardly a woman of much interest. Had given up work years ago to be his little wifey and raised a family. A typical domestic lifestyle - how does a homebody like her keep a man like him? Or is that the point? The alphas want some simpering little beauty to keep their bed warm and bring their children up right, not a woman who might give them any cause for concern. Deborah laughed to herself in disdain. It was all about men's fragile egos and submissive women - even men like Terrence Thorne wouldn't compete with a woman who was his equal. He wanted the conventional set up like they all did - and look how he had behaved towards a woman beating him at his own game! He couldn't cope with it. He had had to shoot her down, humiliate her sexually and prove to himself again that he was The Man.

Well, he had made a very big mistake this time. She would do the same back to him. Hit him where it hurt. First the wife. And then the son...Now from the look of that sweet little man child, she would enjoy every minute of it...

"Answer the door," Nick said with a smile as Zoe ran down the stairs now dressed in jeans and a T-shirt.

"You're closer!"

"Answer it...go on...!"

She pulled a face then bounced over to the door as it rang. It was hard to know who was more surprised when she saw who the visitor was.

"LIAM!"

"Fuck me...! What you doing here....?" Liam looked from one to the other and the dawning comprehension was visible on his face. "You...and you...you're not...? You are? Fucking hell....Dad will have a coronary..." Then he began to snigger at the very idea of it. "How did this start? Mum's party? Jesus Christ! You dirty bugger, Nick...!"

"...You could just say, hello, Liam? And what do you mean, you dirty bugger...?" Zoe retorted primly.

"...You mean he hasn't shagged you yet?" Liam grinned. Zoe gave him the bird. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, dumping her on the couch and jumping on top to tickle her mercilessly. Nick stood laughing at their antics as Zoe screeched and fought like a little wild cat, kicking and biting him. Finally Liam wrestled her down and scrambled off.  "Nick....save me! She's a fucking lunatic...!"

Nick caught her round the waist as she made for Liam again and swung her around; she wriggled away but he held her close and pulled her against him; then he snatched a kiss and she melted into him, grabbing his shoulders and sliding her legs round his for the full blown make out..

"Get a room...you two really a couple? Jesus Christ! How do you put up with her? She's got permanent PMS. She had it from birth..." Liam threw himself down on a leather armchair and surveyed the apartment. "Some place you've got here. Must have cost a bloody fortune!"

Nick and Zoe separated and she began to clear up the debris of breakfast. "Yeah, well it's only money. What brings you here then? Need a bed?"

Liam shrugged. "If you can fit me in for the night. I'm off to LA tomorrow. Just wanted to come over and say thanks for what you did. Take you out and maybe buy you dinner...To say thanks..."

"For what?" Nick asked, picking up a piece of half eaten piece of toast and munching on it. "...Thanks for what?"

"For calling Robbie and setting me up..."

"Just a phone call. Didn't cost me anything, mate...so how's it going?"

"Pretty good...the early cuts got a lot of interest and I've been offered a deal. Off to LA to work with a team of producers on an album. A couple of small venue dates in UK before Christmas and then I'm opening on his tour. Pretty fucking amazing break, actually..."

Zoe was in the kitchen and shouted through. "Really? You mean, it's really going to happen? You're going to release an album?"

"Oi, you, who said you could come out of the kitchen...?" Nick teased. Zoe just laughed.

"Jeez, mate, she'd have had my bollocks for a comment like that. How do you get her so docile?"

"Sex...the one thing not open to you, mate..."

Liam shuddered. "You're a brave man...thought hers had teeth...."

"What was that?" Zoe came back and sat down. The two men grinned. 

"Nothing, love, just guy talk...."

She gave them a look and then snuggled up next to Nick. 

Liam was still looking stunned. "I just cannot believe you two are together...!"

"You not disgusted with us? Going to give us a lecture? Tell Nick you'll kill him or something...?" Zoe said wryly.

"Me? Why? You're adults. If it's working, it's working. Nothing to do with me. Anyway, I think it's cool. I hope it works out. But I will, of course, kill you, Costello, if you upset my sis. That's my job - upsetting her, I mean."

"Kill Nick? Some chance." Zoe boasted.

"Well, I would try. Bite his ankles or something. You can't accuse me of cowardice - just not being very good at fighting..."

It wasn't true. Liam was quite capable of defending himself as he had also spent years in martial arts classes and was a talented all-round athlete. But no one for a moment seriously considered his chances against a man like Nick. Yet the warning was there. Liam was man enough to defend his sister if he needed to. He always had taken that role very seriously, naturally even. It was something he had inherited from his father. Even as an eight year old boy he had stepped up against dangerous men and risked his life rather than see anyone hurt his Mom.

"Okay, consider myself warned! Now let's crack a few beers as it is almost twelve and you can tell us all the dirt about Robbie and what you've been up to...got into the groupie scene yet, kid...? Zo, go and grab a couple of tinnies, will ya, there's a good girl....?"

It was late afternoon when they arrived back at the hotel. Terry settled the bill, arranging a late check out as their flight was not until midnight. He asked for an eight o'clock alarm call and then made his way upstairs. Four hours with nothing to do but play.

The room was in semi darkness when he entered. The heavy drapes were closed to shut out the late afternoon sun. It was quiet and cool in the air-conditioned peace of the suite. A fragrant candle was burning and Annie was kneeling on the bed, running her fingers through her hair, dressed in a delicate pale mauve negligee. She glanced up and smiled when he stopped at the door for a moment to observe her. He went to pull off his jacket but she shook her head and beckoned him over to her, slipping off the bed to her feet.

He stepped close as her hands reached out and slid off the jacket and then slowly opened each button on his shirt. He ran his hands down the contours of her body which was sleekly clad in lace and satin. She sighed as her fingers came into contact with the solid bulk of his flesh and then, as he toed off his shoes, she gently unfastened and then eased off his pants as his own exploring fingers played with the tiny straps before he lowered them down her slender shoulders and let the beautiful garment pool at her feet.

He took his time, sweeping his eyes languidly over her nakedness, feasting all of his senses on her feel, the visual perfection, her fragrance, her soft murmurs as she took her own journey of discovery on his body. He laid her back on the bed and climbed above her, she deftly pulled down his shorts with her foot as he settled down between her legs and kissed her passionately.

They rolled around the bed, just kissing, no hurry, nothing to prove or gain from being together except the intense pleasure of being there and knowing that this was their time. Annie buried far down the sadness that she felt for the knowledge that was haunting her. He would never find out. There was never any reason for him to. Nick would move on soon enough; Zoe would get over him and life would simply leave this all behind, much as it always did. All that mattered was that nothing got inside to hurt him.

Terry had a sudden fleeting memory of the last time he had touched a woman and shuddered at the many different images sexuality drew in a man's psyche. How could this moment ever be remotely likened to the other forms of intercourse between men and women? Touching Annie was like touching a little piece of paradise, as if for just a moment you knew the answers to all those questions you pose about the meaning of life and understood at last what it was all for.

They knelt up and held each other, she smiled and so did he; he heard her little moan as he entered her and she sat on his lap, rising and falling, her eyes flickering and her cries intensifying as he moved round and round in tandem with her, his own breathing heavy and laboured as he struggled against the desire to come. At one point, he stopped her, held his breath and bit hard on his lip as she tried not to tighten and drive him further. The moment passed, he whispered a crude endearment about the utter delight of her cunt, and she relaxed, bore down on him again, made him groan with the very joy of her body.

They tumbled back and he found more control lying above her, driving forward now, relentless as she arched and writhed beneath. She clung on, beginning to reach that tender exhaustion when her body, weak with pleasure, simply lay there for him to enjoy; he delved deeper and dropped his head to her neck, desperate for contact with all of her flesh as he muttered of his nearness and she urged him to fill her up. The burning need coursed through him and then the sweet hot flow, white light, flashes of half grasped memory, everything pouring out in the wave - and then silence and the momentary loss of self.

They both began to regain their wits, rolled into to each other and lazily smiled. He chuckled when he realized he was still wearing his shirt, she nestled in the crook of his arm and there they lay in silence for some time, no need even to speak.

At some point they dozed off, later woke and made love some more; sleepy, languid love, punctuated with sighs and giggles as they struggled to overcome the handicaps of the entangled sheets and their lazy torpor. Finally they collapsed in a sweaty satiated heap and lay side by side, drinking the remains of the mini bar and talking mostly nonsense to each other.

"Come on, ya lazy bastard...get your carcass out of that bed and take a shower! Look at the time!" Annie eventually slapped his naked rump as he groaned and jumped out after her, wandering into the bathroom while she snapped on the shower jets.

"You seem to be awfully attached to that shirt..." Annie giggled. He was still wearing it, hanging off his shoulders. "Although naked man in shirt is a good look on you, I have to admit. Love the way your bits peep out and jiggle round under the hem..."

"Don't be so crude...a woman of your age!" He ripped off the shirt and balled it into a heap on the floor then stepped into the roomy cubicle. "Budge up, I can't get the jets..." he whirled her out of the direct flow of the warm water while she tried to push her way back in as he soaped himself. He gave her his back laughing. It was quite an obstacle to get round.

Jumping up, she caught him round the neck, wrapped her legs round his waist and forced him to piggy back her to allow her under the shower head too. "Make yourself useful then. Shampoo my hair...." he ordered, handing her the lotion. She applied it and chatted while massaging the soap through sensually.

"What's that on your back, Terry?" She asked, looking carefully at a few marks. He seemed to have two parallel cuts running down from his shoulder blade.

"What?"

She hopped down and wiped off the foam to get a better look.

"Here, on your back...looks like you've been...scratched....?" her voice dropped off as she said the final word.

"Scratched?" he said, trying to view it. "I don't know. Can't feel anything. Maybe you just did it then?"

She shook her head. "It isn't fresh, Terry. It's a day or two old..."

He turned and looked at her, holding her upper arms in his hands. "What are you saying, Annie? You accusing me of something?"

She pushed the wet hair from her face. "No...I just...oh, never mind..." she rinsed and walked out, wrapping herself in a large towel and picking up a smaller one for her hair. Terry lay back against the wall of the shower against the cool tiles and closed his eyes. Fuck! The bitch must have clawed him - how had he missed that? Taking a deep breath he thought through it quickly. He should tell her. She'd given him the perfect opportunity now to come clean and get it out of the way. It would be the wisest thing in the end.

But what exactly could he say? That he'd had had sex with Deborah Stavin?  The circumstances had been sordid and unpleasant to say the least and he knew no wife would find acceptable even the provocation that had pushed him into his crazy act of self- destruct. It wasn't acceptable even to himself. And that was allowing for the fact he would have to tell her why Stavin had upset him so much.

Which of course he simply could never do.

 So, he had the impossible choice that she suspected him of messing around set against the more disturbing revelations of Nick and Zoe. No contest. He had to swallow this. Lie if necessary. Absorb her anger at imagining he'd used a hooker or a pick up while he'd been away. Jesus Christ, what had he let himself get into when that was the only viable course of action left open to him? All he could do now was pray that Annie shrugged it off and assigned no suspicious cause to it. But he didn't think that likely. Her body language had immediately suggested that she was fully aware what the marks implied.

Leaving the shower, he shaved and dried off quietly, giving her time to compose herself outside. When he came back into the room, she was dressed, her hair freshly blow-dried and appeared to be on her way out somewhere.

"I'm going for a walk. I'll be back in time to get the cab to the airport. I just need some air, Terry..."

"Annie...come on...! Don't make some drama out of this..."

"...I said I needed some air. You know, like when you walked out on me the night Liam threw his little bombshell at us? Well, just like you then, I need to be alone now. So give me a break, huh?"

He drew in a breath and nodded, running a hand down his face as she gave him a searching look, picked up her purse and walked out, slamming the door behind her.

She had known the moment she saw it, even before his reaction had confirmed it. Terry was good at hiding but she knew the signs. The most telling one was that he had immediately gone into that bedside manner mode, put on his soft and reasonable tone, the one which sounds like you'd be a fool not to trust him. In other words, it was not the open way he usually spoke to her. It was his professional personality.

Then there was the fact of his turning up earlier than usual today and his unexpected romantic declarations which she knew he meant but also knew now had been said to help him assuage his guilty feelings. Jesus, did he think her some stupid empty headed bimbo that a fancy lunch and a new bauble could get him out of jail free?

Striding out onto the early evening sidewalks, she wandered aimlessly lost in thought. It was true what Mel had said. They must all do it from time to time. Maybe Dino and he had gone out on the town like the old days, got smashed and it had gone too far? She could see that happening. He wakes up the next morning with some slut and groans when he realizes what he's done. I mean, if he felt so guilty then it was a sign that this was not typical behaviour for him. Some sexy young thing has waved her tush at him and he had just gone for it. He was a man. It meant nothing. Even if it hurt a damn lot, Annie knew it didn't have any significance in his head. His earlier lovemaking had been real even if she now felt slightly sick at the thought of what he was burying in her. That he had been inside another woman probably not very long ago. Would he have used a rubber with someone else? Surely he would have done? She couldn't imagine he would have taken any risks and these women usually wouldn't let you anyway. That was some comfort, she supposed. But it seemed so dirty and sad. Why did he need that? How could that be worth it even for a quick thrill?

After an hour or so, she stopped at a café bar and stepped in, ordering a strong Italian coffee. Her mood had calmed and she was thinking rationally. Okay I'm upset. I'm bloody angry and I shall tell him so. He'd better come clean and simply admit it. If he lies I will bloody kill him, she thought to herself.

But it was nothing she hadn't intellectually accepted already. Men sometimes let you down, especially men who were constantly given the kind of offers that came his way either by the fact they were rich, powerful or very attractive. And Terry fell in all three of those categories in a sense.

She would go back and tell him that she was not going to make a scene here in New York but back home he was going to come clean and they would deal with it together. And also that if he ever tried to bribe her with sentimental claptrap and expensive gifts again he would seriously be in trouble. Seriously.

"Hi...may I sit down?"

Annie was startled at the voice that broke into her reverie. Glancing up she saw a young woman with that ethereal beauty that reminds one of a delicate china statue. "Pardon?"

"I asked could I join you? My name's Deborah. I wanted to ask you something..."

"Do I know you?" Annie asked, confused.

Deborah smiled serenely. "Hardly. You're Anna Thorne, I believe. I know your husband. Quite well."

"Oh you do, do you?" Annie replied. Good God, what now?

"Yes, we have been working together in Washington this past week."

Annie took a deep breath. It felt like she was in a car crash, in that moment when you know it is going to happen and everything seems to happen in slow motion even as you are powerless to avoid the inevitable coming collision. "Why are you talking to me? Say what you came to say." Her manner was glacially cool; there was a steely streak in her that she rarely showed but it was still there when she felt her wagons circled.

"I want to apologise to you. I am very ashamed of myself. I thought he was divorced. He told me he was divorced. I never thought to check...he seemed so genuine. So very open and honourable. I meet so many jerks in Washington who think any attractive woman is merely there for sport. But Terrence Thorne seemed different, otherwise I would never have let it go that far so quickly...I am not usually like that..."

Annie stopped her with a slight wave of her hand. "What are you implying? That you and my husband are having some sort of affair? Is that what this is about? So very public-spirited of you to tell me...."

Deborah smiled sweetly and eyed Anna Thorne up. "He lied to me to get into my bed. I think he needs to be punished, don't you? That's why I came to you..."

"...And what do you suggest we do? That we get together and plot some feminist revenge? Get out of my face. I have no idea whether what you say is true or if you're trying to set me up so you can have a free shot at my husband. Either way, I don't much like your style nor do I give a toss for your bruised feelings. .." Annie found herself twisting the ring he had bought for her as the other woman spoke. Reminds you of my eyes? Or the pale blue ones of this woman? God knows what was in your head.

"...You're a very tolerant woman. But then I suppose you've had to be over the years. How else could you hold onto him?"

At that, Annie tipped her coffee cup over until it swamped the table and splashed all over the immaculate cream Burberry Deborah was wearing. Then, picking up her purse, she walked out, anger burning red spots in her pale cheeks. This was the woman he'd been with? Not some two bit hooker or a kid he'd picked up in a nightclub? A colleague in Washington whom he'd romanced with a pack of lies? It was a shattering revelation that seemed to tear at everything she thought Terry was. Or was the woman lying? Who could tell in this world he inhabited where no one was ever as they seemed and everyone was corrupt and cynical. But he had clearly slept with her. The marks on his back proved that. He had gone there obviously intentionally looking for younger women, high flyers in that inner circle who stimulated more than his libido. If he had lied to Deborah, lied to her his own wife, then maybe he lied to them all and this was what he was always up to when he was away, returning with excessive gifts and days of abject devotion to her. Not because he had missed her but because he had to wipe away the guilt.

Were the lingering doubts that had assailed her for months not the result of her insecurities but rather some accurate sixth sense that things were not really as perfect between them as she had been led to believe? She knew Terry well enough to pick up on the things that he did not say as easily as the things he did. As she returned to the hotel, she made her mind up. For too long now she had worried about her lack of direction and the way her life was drifting aimlessly at the beck and call of others. Perhaps now was the ideal time to take some affirmative action. Or she was really going to make a fool of herself.

Back in the room, she found him pacing about, a cigarette burning down between his fingers, on his cell phone.

"I've been trying to call you..."

"I switched my phone off..."

"Clever...we need to get going...we're cutting it fine..."

"Cancel. The flight. Mine anyway. I'm not going home."

"What?" Terry spun round and stared at her; she could see he was trying to tamp down his annoyance so as not to say anything he would regret.

Annie walked over to the window and stared out thinking about what she needed to say. "I'm not going to France with you. I want to go to England instead. Just for a while. I need some thinking time. I might as well go and see my Mum and the rest of them. It's been a while. So, I'll fly to England tomorrow. Can you arrange that...?"

"...For Christ's sake, Annie...! Okay, we'll go to London. Stay in the apartment there for a few weeks...sounds like a plan...."

"No."

Annie let the curtain fall and walked back into the room to stand before him. "Alone. I don't wish you to come with me. I'm sorry..."

"...Is this because of a scratch on my back? What the fuck's up with you...it's just a tiny scratch...maybe I did it myself...I don't know..."

"...Don't lie to me! Please don't lie to me. Just tell me the truth and I will find a way to deal with it...but don't try and tell me this is all innocent. It isn't."

He stepped back and ran his hands through his hair, groaning softly. "I had sex with a woman. Got drunk with some of the guys, went to a club and must have picked someone up. Woke up with her the next morning. Look, Annie, I feel like shit about it...I can't believe I did it. It was just some crazy thing....I should have told you....I should have admitted it but I was ashamed..."

"Yeah, right. Just one of those things, hey? Happens. You're a guy...travel a lot. Who could blame you...?"

"Annie! Listen to me...:

"No...you listen to me! You're still lying. You are so bloody good at it. You think you can manipulate everyone and everything...but I can't believe you would be so bloody obvious....all that shit about 'You are first in life...you love to watch me do things....' buying me another expensive present as a bribe to make you feel less guilty, lunch out, sex....How many years you been spinning me that line? I blame myself for allowing myself to fall for that. But you knew I would. She's needy. Tell her what she wants to hear and she will do the rest...So bloody easy to play Annie, hey?" She pulled the ring roughly off her finger and threw it at him. It bounced off his chest and skittered away across the floor. He physically winced as if the impact had hurt him.

As she raged on at him, he had listened to her hysterical rant quietly, impassively even, standing there with his head bowed. The only sign of emotion was the rapid blinking of his eyes. When she stopped for breath he began. "I don't play you. I never have and I never will. I accept I made an error of judgement in what I have just said. You want the truth? A woman called Deborah Stavin whom I met in Washington approached me with some information that was of a personal nature. It concerned Zoe and the man she is seeing. I was very shocked and as a result I behaved in a manner which has let us all down..."

Annie frowned. "So...someone tells you about Zoe and Nick Costello and you screw the messenger? What kind of explanation is that?"

"You know?" He seemed totally thrown by her casual reference to Costello. "You knew all along about them and didn't tell me? You let me find out from some CIA bitch....?"

Annie hunched her shoulders. "I found out when I was in Boston. I didn't tell you because I had a pretty shrewd idea you would do something crazy. And it looks like I was right on the nail there. But ...I don't understand how that excuses you sleeping with a woman!"

"I didn't sleep with anyone. I had sex with her. She made me angry, taunted me and I ...I gave her what she wanted...gave her more than she bargained for..."

"That is so disgusting...."

"I know. Now do you understand why I didn't tell you? You know how ashamed I am? But you gotta understand...this Costello thing....I saw pictures...I went to see him....he laughed in my face. He made me feel like I was...like I wasn't man enough to even keep my daughter safe..."

"So, life fucks you over, some guy makes you feel less of a man....so you go find the nearest woman and take it out on her body? Is that what you're trying to tell me? I'm supposed to feel sorry for you?"

"I wasn't asking you to feel sorry for me. I was telling you the truth. I know it's unpalatable, but you asked for the truth. The problem here seems to be that what I considered a nightmare doesn't bother you too much. But then, come to think of it, you didn't seem too upset about your precious Liam either. He can do know wrong, hey? That extend to Zoe as well? She wants a bit of sexual kicks from a bastard like Costello? Well, you're only young once. I mean, he's a good looking guy...you probably recommended him to her in one of your girly chats..."

"...I beg your pardon?" Annie said. "What's that supposed to mean? Of course, I was devastated when I found out! I cannot imagine a worse thing in the world than her and Costello. But what can we do? If we say anything, then you drive her further into his clutches...You didn't, did you? Have you spoken to Zoe about this? Jesus Christ...just what have you been up to? First you drive Liam away and now Zoe? And you are doing your best to make me walk as well....what is your problem?"

"I am doing my best? I'm the one here trying to deal. You...you just bury your head in the sand and hope it will all go away. Have another facial....buy yourself a new frock...it will soon take your mind off it..."

Annie slapped his face. "How dare you! How dare you belittle me! I have put up with everything you have thrown at me for YEARS. How dare you imply I have never supported you! This is about your infidelity! Not about me! About the fact that for years you have probably been screwing around behind my back when you've been away from me. Do not do your usual trick of diverting the issue to something entirely off the point..."

He put a hand to his face, utterly stunned by her attack. It just wasn't her style at all. He detected a high level of anger and wondered if it was connected to his introducing the notion of her former interest in Costello into the argument. It was almost an instinctive use of the tactic of opening up someone's vulnerability by pressing on a wound that made him snap out: "I am not diverting the issue at all. In the past twelve years I have never touched another woman until the other night. Now, you can believe that or not. You have no evidence to accuse me of lying apart from some melodramatic self pitying notions you have that I must be looking at other women because you're so old and undesirable. How many times I got to tell you, show you, that those things are not true? How many young men you got to throw yourself at before you will have enough confirmation that you are still a babe? And tell me...whilst we're on the subject of infidelity....how come I'm the devil in disguise when I make a mistake but you can fuck a friend in my bed while me and your kids are just outside the fucking house...? That not adultery in your book? Because it damn well is in mine...!"

Annie's face fell at his tirade. For a few moments she seemed to be struggling even to understand his words. "What are you talking about? What are you accusing me of?"

"Valparaiso. You and Costello. I know about it."

"That? That was twelve years ago. And it wasn't what you think. He just made a pass..."

"You never mentioned it..."

"I didn't want to cause trouble between you."

"That so?"

"Terry, it was twelve years ago!"

"That makes it all right? The statute of limitations run out on that one or something? But not on me...oh no...every little thing I've ever done is remembered and used against me..."

"I never slept with Costello..."

"I have never been unfaithful to you until the other night..."

"I don't think I believe you..."

He laughed coldly. "Well, maybe I don't believe you either..."

"Get out, Terry! Get your bag and get out. Before we really fuck this up. Leave me alone..."

For a moment she thought he was going to try and reason with her. The look on his face, whilst dark and stormy, was so full of conflicting emotions. He could never hide those from her. Not with those eyes.

But he gave her one last look and then closed down. Snatching up his carryon and laptop case that were already waiting by the door, he walked out. With his back turned, shoulders squared in that way he had when he was driving himself forward long after his legs had really given out on him, he stopped and said. "Sort out your own flight. Maybe it's time you learned to do things for yourself for a change. Call me when you're ready to talk rationally."

It was only then, when the door closed and she found herself alone, that the full realization of what alone actually meant dawned on her. What had she done? What had he done? How had they got here?

Memories of the awful accusations they had slung at each other and the cruelty with which they had used the barbs they knew would hurt the most assailed her. She bent double as if she had been pierced through the heart, falling to her knees, unable to remain standing. The glint of the ring caught her eye; it was lying beneath the armchair. She crawled desperately after it, clasping it into her hand and rocking back and forth in her wretchedness. Later she slipped it into her purse. Somehow it seemed like the best and the worst of what he meant to her but she could never let it go. It might be the last gift he ever gave her.

In the bathroom, as she went through the motions of washing and preparing for bed, she found his shirt still balled up where he had thrown it before when they had been deep within that idyllic lovemaking. Already the late afternoon seemed to have happened in another age.

That night she slept wrapped up in Terry's shirt and tried to recall the memory of his real arms around her in the night. She felt numbed by his sudden loss. Too in shock even to cry. Gasping for breath. Lost and bewildered as her whole world crashed down around her ears.

"Taxi!" Liam ran along the sidewalk towards the cab he had hailed outside Nick's apartment block the next day. The three of them had spent a really great time together. Zoe had made a simple lunch, they had hung about the apartment talking all afternoon and then in the evening, he had treated them to dinner and drinks in a smart wine bar nearby. It had been warm and affectionate. Nick almost felt like one of the family to him.

Nick and Zoe together fascinated him. He had quietly observed them whenever the opportunity to watch unnoticed had presented itself. They were so completely in love with each other; it was an intense and powerful bond. Nick was almost lost in it, Liam could see that so clearly. He needed Zoe by him all the time, constantly touching her or pulling her against him, stroking her hand or kissing her fingers, playing with her hair or fussing with her clothes. Zoe seemed docile and adoring, spending a lot of time just looking up at him. It was a totally different side to his feisty sister than he had ever seen.

God, they made a beautiful couple! It was like seeing some artistic vision of a man and a woman, almost too insanely perfect to be real. They would make unbelievable children. But yet, most of the time, they acted just like a normal couple, teasing and bickering playfully, interrupting each other, talking about mundane things. It was real and happening before his eyes. This man, the most unlikely partner anyone would ever have chosen for his sister, was redefining himself as her soulmate - and she was there beside him, strong and sure. He thought it was a very special bond, almost a privilege to see inside these two people at this time in their lives.

He had lain awake that night in the luxurious spare room that looked liked it had never before been used, thinking about love and how you just could never predict where it would strike or the consequences it could unleash. In the quiet of the night, he had heard Zoe's soft cries as Nick made love to her in their nearby bedroom. It made him smile. One day he wanted something like that. A love that blew him away and changed his life forever. One day he would find it. The woman who would be everything in life to him. The mother of his children. By his side forever.

Until then he would simply watch others and learn.

"...I think he stopped for me..." the soft voice of a woman made him turn his head as he put his hand on the cab door. She was a very beautiful elegant blonde, dressed expensively with that confident poise of rich and influential women. He recognised the style.

"Sorry...my mistake...please..." Liam stepped back, holding the door of the cab for her to enter in his place. "I didn't see you there...I was miles away..."

The woman got in and then leaned forward out of the door. "I'm going to the airport...if it's any use to you...?"

"Really? Me too... no, I couldn't impose..." he replied.

She grinned warmly. "No, jump in...! We might as well co-share!"

"You sure? That's very kind of you...thanks a lot..."Liam slid in beside her. 

"No problem at all. My name's Deborah Stavin, by the way...and you are...?" She added, holding out her hand.

"...Liam...Liam Thorne...pleased to meet you...Ms. Stavin..."