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ng on her. She should have been angry, instead, her face was a blank mask. No tears. No gaspi
t message contain
d on a glass tabletop. The custom cufflinks she'd given him for their anniver
rish, blood-red, a cheap-looking ring on her index finger. The intimacy
The three-carat diamond on her ring finger, a symb
e, miss. Th
erie looked up, seeing the discreet, black a
calm. The late-night breeze caught the silk of her dress as she
poke suit, moved to block her wa
e steady. The name was a key, one she had us
ded and pulled the heavy door open for he
throbbing with the bass of some forgettable electronic son
n at the bar. The photo was her map. She recognized the unique, swirli
ack, her heels clickin
n she s
in a dress that was too tight and too short. He was laughing, his hea
starlet, desperate to climb the social ladder. Averie had seen her at
painful knot. But her face remaine
right up to
and now resting on her bare thigh. He hadn't noticed Averie.
widened for a fraction of a second, then narrowed
ore dismissing her entirely. Her focus landed on
fun, P
et, precise, and it sliced throug
froze, then crumbled. He turned his head slowly, his e
ning of color. "What are you doing here? B
ed movement. But it was far too late. The whol
to the table, to the glass of amber liquid sittin
she picked up the glass. The condensa
s mouth opening and closing like a f
idn't
red the entire contents over
is chin onto his thousand-dollar suit jacket.
hs. The low chatter of the club died, replaced by a
but they didn't matter. Only
f her finger. It caught on her knuckle, and for a heart-stoppi
orefinger, the diamond catching the di
e let i
sharp, definitive clink. The sound was
ear and carrying. Each word was a perfe
whose face was now a mask of pale shock. A sm
, trying to grab her w
m back as if his
r voice dropping to a low, ven
held high. The sound of her heels on the floor was a death knell for their relationship.
whiskey and shame, the eyes of New
ut into the cold night air. She took a deep, shuddering
, the picture of them smiling in the Hamptons mocking
k and silent as a panther, pulle
rear window
eekbones, a strong jaw, and eyes that were a deep, unreadable blue
hers, intense
," he said. It
know Fielding well-only the version of him she'
her now, as if he'd been waiting for
hen he'd walked past her and casually mentioned that the clasp on her bracelet was
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