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Page 188

| Stanford shrugged and set the basket on the ground. He stooped to one knee and took the glasses from the basket. He poured wine in one of them and offered it to Sasha. |

| "Thank you," she said coolly. She settled down on the ground beside the river and began sipping the wine as he poured himself a glass and sat down beside her. |

| "Are you sorry you came?" Stanford asked, finding himself being caught up in feelings he had not wanted to allow himself. He had wanted only the opportunity that knowing Sasha might eventually afford him. |

| "I truly shouldn't have," Sasha said, guilt tugging at her heart when she thought of Ashton and how much he had been against her going with Stanford. "I doubt if I shall again. I did not come to the outback to become lazy and frivolous. I came here to share a partnership with Ashton." She got a faraway look in her eyes. "It could be such a wonderful relationship, if . . ." |

| Stanford's eyebrows forked when Sasha's words trailed off to nothing. "If what?" he prodded. |

| Sasha shook her head, as though clearing her thoughts. "Nothing," she said, laughing awkwardly. "I was thinking out loud. That's all." |

| "If ever you need a friend, I am close by," Stanford said, his softness surprising Sasha. |

| She gaped openly at him, wondering if she had been wrong about him. And when he spied a wild mustang grazing not too far from them and began speaking so gently about it, Sasha's wonder of him grew even more. |

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