h

myself if Sloane Hart ever came back to this town, I'd let her pass like a ghost- una

tal at nine am sharp, from my assistant Hailey. But, aside from that, The Whitmere Hotel has a way of humming when somethin

ly against the marble I paid for with blood and broken knuckles. She looks like she stepped out of a fashion magazine in a cream silk d

et to watch. And then get to really see her. I don't a

eels like fate rubbing salt into an old wound. She looks different. More composed, more assured, but the curve

esk, the custom mahogany ceiling with magnolias and rain etched into every crevice the craftsman could put it into, the grand mahogany sweeping staircase carpeted in plush green carpet with gold flecks, the gold and crystal chandeliers I selected myself because they r

oan

hem. Staring into my soul. It's not surprise. It's Recognition. I step closer, invading her space without touching her. The scent of her- w

istance, she straightens and steps backwards. "You c

ays. It isn't a question. "

already knew. She swallows. I watch her throat move as she licks her lips. I viv

she looks back at me. "Congratulations on you

n us, heavier than they should be. "I didn't plan to run into you so

n the business proposal you would have seen that

hat used to feel like breathing to us both "I'm here on business Rhett," she says

hav

nd

e lifts to mine. Her eyes were shining with somet

. "But you're going to learn this time ." Her breath stutters. And for the first time since she left, I know one thin

the massive front desk. The one only family and executives use. Her gaze flicks to it. Hesitation flashes across her face before sh

. "They already are." Her breath

r everything we aren't saying. Her perfume is soft, warm, unmistakably hers. It wraps around me like a memory I

says suddenly and no more than a

I do, I'll say too much. Inste

e what it did." She nods, like she expe

ve an office along with the conference room and board room downstairs, but this feels more right for this moment. "Let's get one

ine, steady and

he door b

dropped in from the big city- somewhere so far Oklahoma had never touched her. All 5 foot 7 inches