umed the text was not

of her sudden city hall wedding f

eath and pressed her pal

o completely from her life that she s

d out her addre

he followed up with anoth

away. "Don't mention it. Tha

ic turned the car toward Providence Road

olled to a stop outside an

into the elevator and pressed

a door, Dominic checked the number on it to be sure

nd him and countless negotiations under his

and standing ther

colas Graham's eyes as

he worst about Kaitlin, so he a

his voice edging toward hostilit

ddenly found the gesture almost laughable. "Forget it

stepped into the elevator, hi

ad blurred the image of

knew he had faile

be justified. Her actions

sh bin in the hallway. He walked over and tossed the gift inside,

find her best friend, Sadie Morgan, and Sadie's bo

r face. "Why didn't you

her. "Because then it wouldn't be a surpri

table where the cake sat,

ugh, why are you getting home this late? Good thing Sadi

them made Kaitlin's ey

er mother, birthdays

was reminded that love

ore thing-some guy came by earlier asking for you. He didn't seem right, so I sent

e g

rowned, c

of Sadie and Nicolas, she didn't

her? Was Nicolas right? Could someo

de her skin pr

n't scare her like that. I saw him too, and honestly, he didn't look threatening. Pr

e dining table before Kaitli

ips curling into a playful grin. "So, birthday girl, did yo

e with her fork halfway to her plate. "He sai

els more like a cage. Who knows if he'll ever come back? You're ju

r head. "I don't

son, and she never expected mu

one, driven into a breakdown and eventually to suicide, she

empt to brighten the mood. "Come on now, no more gloomy talk on such a cheerful d

letting herself smile for a moment. None of them noticed her phone on the