nor

p me here

hour diner. I needed a place to think, a neutral cor

ed vinyl cool against my skin. The waitres

offee,"

come shock to my system, grounding me in the present.

s ago. A r

, leaving me stranded in a cold, cavernous warehouse to recount thousands of units by myself. The rain wa

out when the wareh

Ewing C

ove me to the hospital. He stayed with me, his pre

ll in love with him. He

I th

to her friends. She was the one who had called Ewing that night, te

ushed over

elt a desperate girl clinging to his jacket. He assumed that girl w

He fell in love with t

ust a s

re, a lie I'd told myself to keep the fairy ta

truly chosen. Not by my family, not by the man I thought I loved. I was alw

o next. He'd find another alliance, another family to marry

o save

he black depths of my coffee cup,

airport lounge. The one wi

c Cha

arles family. A man so formidable, even my

reclusive, and supposedly repulsed by the scent of a

could offer him a dea

e. The thought of them having to greet me with deference, with respect, sent

wouldn't dare touch my position at Northwood. I could fin

A terrifying, h

nothing le

he flood of missed calls and angry te

livan. My

button. She picked

god, are you ok

ear, forged in the fire of my newfoun

ng. Wha

thing you know about Alaric

nce on the other end of

, sleeping city. A flame of determination

m going to