A maid placed coffee in front of them. Quentin Grant picked up his cup and gazed at the dark liquid. He suddenly looked at her, perfectly at ease. "Once her injuries have healed, I'll make her leave. To me, she's just a woman. I can have as many like her as I want. Love has nothing to do with it."
Catherine Callahan's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"I have no obligation to prove it to you. And you'd better not come to this villa again. I have my boundaries, Catherine. You'd be wise not to cross them a second time."
Watching him turn away with his coffee, Catherine Callahan grew anxious. "Quentin, it's been so long. Why won't you give me a chance? Give *yourself* a chance? You still love me, I know you do. Otherwise, you wouldn't have protected me after I hurt Nora Ainsworth. That proves where she and I stand in your heart, doesn't it? Let's get back together, okay?"
He didn't break his stride. His posture was as ramrod-straight as ever as he walked upstairs and disappeared from view.
