aited outside the Hayes villa, its polished sur

rried a flicker of assessment. Cynthia and Holly lingered at the doorway, their smiles brittle

nothing-no regret, no pull. The silence inside the ve

he seat. "Miss Hayes, this is from

her resolve hardened. She would not be bought or bound by Car

econd, then set the card on the empty

ble statues lined the drive, yet the grandeur felt like a gilded cage. Alexandra watched the scenery slide pas

a set of massive double doors. "Miss Alexandra, this is Master Eldridge's room." Sad

shades of black, white, and gray. Medical monitors su

s sharp, defined features held a natural aura of authority. She looked down at his lifeless face

stopped by his side, the weight of this forced arrangement settling over her. A sudden, inexplicable a

e glanced at the medical chart at the foo

huh?" she murm

e given any nurse a heart attack. She lifted her foo

nd landed with a soft thud on the plush carpet. The monitors shrieked with alarms for a

shoved into her pockets. Her voice was lazy, provocative.

dridge's long, dark lashes seemed to

y the sharp, clinical detachment of a healer. She crouched beside him on the carpet, her slender finger

ptured. She closed her eyes, sensing the severe blockages in his system. It was critical,

lips. To think, the most elite, untouchable scion of the Carlisle family has been

he pulled her own things from her suitcase-a few simple T-shirts and jeans that looked utterly out of place among t

er pouch. She unrolled it on a side table, revealing rows of