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  He frowned. “Of course. Why?”

  “I’m sorry. It’s just that all this unnerves me. On the one hand, it feels deliciously exciting to be with someone who interests me as much as you do, but on the other, it terrifies me because you might break my heart.”

  “I feel exactly the same way,” he said. “There’s a great Billy Bragg lyric where he says that love is like a scary ride at the funfair—when you’re on it you want to get off, and when you’re off you want to get straight back on again.”

  “That figures.” Faye tightened her grip on his hand. “Well, I’m ready to board it if you are.”

  “Of course. But first there’s something I’ve been dying to do . . .” Standing up, he dragged her chair round until it stood beside his. He sat down, interlaced her knees with his and looked into her eyes, his face just an inch from hers. As their lips made contact, he closed his eyes and breathed in her scent. If he was honest with himself, he’d wanted to do this from the moment he’d seen her in France, but now it was sensual not sexual.

  He wanted nothing more than to love and protect her, but not in the same, overpowering, one-sided way he had with Melissa. Faye was his equal, capable of verbally slapping him down when he stepped out of line. He, in turn, had the strength of character to convince her that relying on him occasionally wasn’t weakness. Together, he felt sure, they had found the right balance.

  Drawing away from her, he held her face in his hands. “God, you’re beautiful,” he murmured and kissed the end of her nose. Suddenly, the romantic moment was spoiled as a thought struck him and he guffawed.

  “What?” She cuffed the side of his head in mock-annoyance. “What’s so bloody funny?”

  He grinned. “I can’t wait for you to meet my mother.”

  Jane Moore is the author of the internationally bestselling novel Fourplay, and is a columnist for Britain’s bestselling newspaper the Sun. She writes regularly for the Sunday Times (London), cohosts the acclaimed British version of The View (Loose Women), and presents the daily breakfast talk show on LBC radio. She lives in London.

  Also by Jane Moore

  Fourplay

  Praise for Jane Moore’s Fourplay

  “Hilarious cynicism about relationships will appeal to anyone who’s ever lost in love. As therapeutic for heartbreak as a voodoo doll!”

  —Glamour

  “Jane Moore’s novel is a feel-good read, which sparkles with her trademark funny one-liners.”

  —Elle

  “Moore’s endearing exuberance and sense of humor are seductive while the male cast and sex scenes are . . . good fun.”

  —Sunday Times (London)

  “A hilarious and assured modern-day Jane Austen romp.”

  —GQ

  “A slickly plotted, sassy tale [that] takes a look at the highs and lows of being newly single.”

  —Cosmopolitan

  “A fairy tale for grown-ups.”

  —Marie Claire

  “A lighthearted read that might make you yearn for your days as a single woman!”

  —Family Circle

  “Fourplay’s like a deliciously gossipy session with your girlfriends—it’s compulsive.”

  —Cathy Kelly, author of

  What She Wants and Someone Like You

  THE EX FILES. Copyright © 2004 by Jane Moore. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For information, address Broadway Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

  BROADWAY BOOKS and its logo, a letter B bisected on the diagonal, are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  Visit our website at www.broadwaybooks.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Moore, Jane, 1962 May 17–

  The Ex Files : a novel / Jane Moore.

  p. cm.

  I. Title

  PR6113.O557E9 2004

  813'.6—dc22

  2003056054

  eISBN: 978-0-7679-1805-3

  v3.0