Chapter One Hundred and Seven

Jasmine nodded. 'I'll come' she replied.

He smiled, relief and happiness written all over his face. 'Thank you' he said, then reached forward and kissed her forehead. 'I'll see you tomorrow'

When he left Jasmine just stood and stared at the door. She could be making another mistake.. Or not, but she'd never know if she didn't take the chance.

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Jasmine stood on the corner of Macquarie Street where the big iron gates to the botanical gardens were wide open, inviting the public to wander in and enjoy the ambience of beautiful trees and flowers. She doubted such pleasantries would even impinge on her consciousness if she entered these grounds.

It was past noon. A steely pride had overridden her usual passion for punctuality. No way would she be found waiting for Collins Templeton. Not after all the disappointments.

She'd allowed an extra half hour in case he'd run into unavoidable delays, but if his word meant anything, he should be in the rose garden by now.

Still the question hovered in her mind—to meet him or not? It would open everything up again. To what end? More pain? He was in Sydney today. Where tomorrow? Was this meeting with her being fitted into a business trip? What if he just wanted small bites of her life, reconnecting at his convenience? She'd die if mat were the case, die of humiliation that she'd turned up to his call.

Yet...the rose he'd kept and sent to her...meeting in a public rose garden in the middle of the day.. Coming to her to apologize and to ask her out...surely it had to mean more than just sex on his mind. If she didn't go and find out, the torment of wondering what she might have missed would haunt her for the rest of her life.

Her legs felt like jelly. It was a fine sunny day but it didn't warm the chill in her heart. She forced her feet forward, determined now on her course. Signs directed her to the path she had to follow. It wouldn't lake long, she told herself, to know the outcome of this meeting.

The sheer physical impact of going out with him again caught her completely unprepared. Emotional turmoil had clouded her memory of how it was with him. Her feet came to a dead halt as she took in the shock of his effect on her; the instant quickening of her pulse, the magnetic pull on every muscle of her body, the frightening awareness of her sexuality and her vulnerability to the power of his.

And he wasn't even looking at her!

He was seated on a bench seat under a tree at the other end of the rose garden. His body was hunched forward, head bent, elbows resting on his knees, hands linked, obviously deep in thought. Despite this tightly contained pose, he radiated an intense energy which she knew would engulf her the moment he was alerted to her presence.

A sense of panic jangled her nerves. It was dangerous, letting Collins getclose again. She couldn't trust herself not to respond to him. Before she could decide what to do about it, his head jerked up and his dark riveting gaze held her locked into his personal force-field. No retreat possible.

He stood in one swift fluid action, then seemed to come towards her in stow motion, dominating her vision, dominating her mind, dominating her heart. She had no control over any of them, and in her stomach grew the sickening sense that nothing was ever going to change how she felt with Collins Templeton. She was too deeply connected to him.

'What do you want with me?' she blurted out, fighting for a defensive foothold that would guard her against falling into some disastrous decision.

The direct challenge halted him an arm's length away, not far enough for her to feel safe, but at least giving her some space. His eyes scoured hers, undoubtedly looking for chinks of weakness. She stood her ground and stared back unflinchingly, resolved on getting answers before he touched her.

'What do you want with me, Jasmine?' he returned quietly, skewering her with her own question.

'You speak first,' she demanded, refusing to take that bait. It would leave her with no pride at all. 'It was you who asked for this meeting, Collins. Not me.'

He nodded. A wisp of a smile curved his lips and his eyes softened with a caressing warmth. 'I'm glad you came.'

'I can go just as easily,' she flashed back, feeling herself start to melt inside and stiffening her spine to counter any crumbling

'I know.' He gestured to the bench seat. 'Would you like to sit or stroll? A family group is coming down the path and we're blocking it here.'

'I'll sit for a while,' she decided, glad there were other people around. Being alone with Collins was not a good idea.

He turned aside to let her fall into step with him and made no attempt to take her hand or arm as they walked along to the bench seat he'd vacated. He was dressed in black casual clothes: jeans, T-shirt, leather jacket. She had defiantly dressed in yellow.

At least her sweater was yellow. Her skirt was mostly black with a zigzag pattern of white and yellow. She had wanted to look bright, on top of her world without him.

It was a lie. Amazing how good she was getting at lies when it came to her involvement with Collins Templeton.

Terrible, Desperate, protective lies.

'Leonard said you just arrived in Sydney yesterday?' she asked, probing for his current circumstances.

'Yeah that's right. Yesterday.' he confirmed.

'Is this a business trip?'

'It was when I came, but right now, you are my only business here, Jasmine. I was supposed to leave today if not for this meeting.'

'So right now you're here just because of me?'

'Yes.' he replied.

'No other purpose? No wedding, no award, no deal waiting in the wings that you have to hurry off to?' she tossed out flippantly.'

'Not this time,' he answered grimly.

A fierce satisfaction flared through Jasmine. At least she wasn't a secondary item on this time. There was no other agenda. He was here for her. Yet that begged the question,

:What if I hadn't turned up like before, Collins?' She sneaked a quick look at him, wary of taking too much for granted.