identity as the sole heiress to a culinary empire, pretending to be ordinary just to protect his f
rm. For the twelfth time, he canceled everything for one of her m
Kathie a diamond tennis bracelet-the exact one I' d o
d had the nerve to ask, "Can't you
It was a seafood stew I'm deathly allergic to, a fact he swore on our third date he
ingdom. So I smashed the model of our shared dream to pieces, booked a one-way ticket hom
pte
e Sawy
n five years we were suppos
ready. Tonight was meant to be a quiet celebration, just me, Jace, our two lead investors, and the cri
smile for the investors, Mr. and Mrs. Gable, who were admiring the restored brickwork in the lobby. I' d spent all day on my
nd entrance, searching for
head intensifying into a sharp, pulsing beat. His hand was resting on the small
and carry the latest handbag. She stumbled slightly, a practiced, delicate move that had her leaning into
hispered, her voice loud enough to ca
wn at her. He didn'
otion. I shot her a look that was supposed to be a warnin
ttered, appearing at my side with a glass of water. "O
knew how much this project meant to me, how I' d poured every ounce of my culinary ta
same scene that had play
n, her voice trembling, "I' m so sorry to do this, not tonight, but... my final model for the w
ll of it. The Gables, the papers, m
old dread coiling in my stomach.
g out his phone, his brow furrowed with a se
he flinched away almost imp
faux apology. "I am so, so sorry, Eve
impatience. "Something' s come up with Kathie' s proj
y a whisper. "Jace, not again
find endearing now a signal of his impending retreat.
felt like as
protective gesture that made my stomach chu
back toward the door he' d just w
ings. And every single time, the
rown things. I had cried until I couldn' t br
rent. A strange, chilli
led out, my voi
or, turning back wi
, the sound echoing in the cavernous space. I stopp
ting like poison and freedom. "Go. Kath
Eve." He fumbled for a moment, clearly expecting a fight. "Hey, I' ll make it up
y smile feeling
said. "Dr
look before disappearing throu
my face the second t
o from
to him, after he' d ordered it for the table, that I was deathly alle
apkin to write it down. "Shellfish. Got it.
into the back of his wallet
He just hadn' t care
ows seemed to seep into my bones, chilling me from the
f the hotel sitting on a display pedestal in the center of the lobby. It was a
o the stunned Gables and a wide-e
crashing down onto the polished concrete floor. The sound of splintering w
o burn it all