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Page 16

| her lustrous lips. "That's reality, sweet darlin'what we are planning to share." |

| "It's purely a business agreement," Sasha said, lifting her chin stubbornly. "Nothing else, Ashton. Remember that." Whenever Ashton looked at her with his brooding, violet eyes and got so close that she could smell his pleasant, manly scent, she became unnerved about the agreement they had made with each other. His nearness always made her heart frolic within her chest, and there were dangers in that. She had promised Woodrow that she would remain faithful to him, and upon his return from England would marry him. She had been wrongly labeled his paramour in London. |

| In Australia, she would be his wifelegitimate and respectable in every way! |

| "I know what we agreed to," Ashton grumbled. "But it'd be much simpler if we'd make it a permanent arrangement as man and wife." |

| "As long as there's hope that Woodrow is alive, I feel unclean even speaking of marriage to another man," Sasha said, fingering the ring nervously again. "He was so good and kind to me. I owe him my life." |

| Ashton groaned. "Sasha, it's been three long years since he left," he said, leaning closer to her. "I can't wait three more years for your decision about when you'll go with me. No matter how you choose to live, be it married or single, I need to know soon. We've arrangements to make." |

| "Do you think we have enough money saved up yet, Ashton, to purchase all of the supplies?" Sasha asked, staring down at her bare feet. She had not spent one coin of her earnings on even a pair of |

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