Secret Confessions: Down & Dusty — Frankie Read online

Colour crept over her cheeks. Then her chin firmed, her blue eyes glinting. ‘What? The “I love you”?’

  ‘Yeah.’ He held her gaze, daring her. ‘The “I love you”.’

  Her throat moved, but she didn’t look away. ‘What’s it to you?’

  Prickly, this girl of his. Because she was his girl now. She always had been. And perhaps he’d been blind not to see it or perhaps he was the one who was dumb. Maybe it was both. But there was a reason he’d always been obsessed with her. Why he’d never managed to get her out of his head. And that reason was staring him in the face right now.

  ‘Because if you didn’t mean it, if you want me to go, I’ll leave. I’ll even give you my half of the property. You wouldn’t have to pay me a cent.’

  Her eyes went wide, searching his face as if she’d never seen him before. ‘What are you saying?’

  ‘What do you think?’ He brushed her little chin with his thumb, caressing her soft, smooth skin. ‘You’re not the only one who’s in love.’

  ***

  Frankie stared at him, her heart thudding hard, searching those amazing golden eyes of his. He seemed to be saying … No. Surely not. It didn’t seem possible, it didn’t seem real.

  She’d stupidly let slip the truth while she’d been his arms, and yet he hadn’t run. In fact, it seemed as if he was almost … trying to tell her the same thing.

  Her throat closed up. ‘I meant it,’ she croaked. ‘I really did.’

  Wonderfully, incredibly, he smiled. ‘Say it, Francesca.’

  And this time the words were really easy to say and came out without a single stutter. ‘I love you, Mac.’

  His thumb moved on her chin and a small silence fell, his mouth curving in that gorgeous, sexy way. ‘I love you too, Frankie.’

  Bloody hell. It was real. He did mean it.

  ‘And I don’t want you to go,’ she whispered, all the words she’d been keeping inside tumbling out, her heart filling up like Red Creek itself when the rains came. ‘I want you to stay. I just couldn’t bear you being around, knowing you didn’t feel the same way about me, so I thought that if I could buy you out—’

  His finger came down gently on her mouth. ‘Shut up, Frankie.’

  Then he took away his finger and he kissed her.

  And Frankie finally shut up.

  Thanks for reading Down and Dusty: Frankie. I hope you enjoyed it.

  If you’d like to know more about me, my books, or to connect with me online, you can visit my webpage http:www.jackieashenden.com, follow me on twitter @JackieAshenden, or like my Facebook page www.facebook.com/jackie.ashenden

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  You’ve just read a book in the Down and Dusty series. The other books in this series are

  You’ve just read a book in the SECRET CONFESSIONS: DOWN & DUSTY series. The other books in this series are CASEY, LUCKY, KELLY, BROOKE, CLARISSA, SKYE and MAREE.

  This book was published by Escape Publishing. If you’d like to sample some more great books from my fellow Escape Artists, please turn the page.

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  ISBN: 9780857992987

  Title: Secret Confessions: Down & Dusty—Frankie

  Copyright © 2016 by Jackie Ashenden

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