Page 161 of Sin City Lights

Too late.

The Volvo was already speeding away.

Suddenly, his eyelids burned, and he felt numb all over. He could see his own breath as he stood there, panting. He blew on his freezing hands.

Snow had begun to fall, huge white flakes drifting to settle on his hair and eyelashes.

Adam stood unmoving, watching the red taillights glow until they became tiny dots that disappeared into the frigid night.

Chapter 22

Eve

The doorbell wouldn’t stop.

Whoever it was had surely mistakenly rung her buzzer because Eve hadn’t ordered food, and the front desk hadn’t called.

She struggled to zip her dress.

Buzz.

A tiny voice in the corner of her mind wondered if it might be Adam. No, she’d taken him off the guest list and hadn’t heard from him in over three weeks, except for a text the day after she ran away from him in Norway.

Adam: Safe travels. Please call me when you land.

She hadn’t replied.

Adam: We need to talk.

Yeah, no. There was nothing to talk about.

She’d fallen, like an idiot, for a client. Amarriedclient. She saw so many in her profession but never, ever dated married men. It was an ironclad rule, and he’d made her unknowingly break it.

Everything she’d feared had happened, but she refused to look back or let herself sink into despair. Again, she’d learned harsh lessons, licked her wounds, and moved on.

Because she knew that looking back, or even thinking aboutAdam, would destroy her.

Buzz.

“OK, this needs to stop,” she muttered.

Kicking off her patent Louboutins for speed, she sprinted to the door and checked the peephole.

Lauren.

“Open up, Evie. I know you’re in there.”

Crap.

She’d been avoiding Lauren too. She hadn’t wanted to hear “I told you so” or even see it in her friend’s frank, penetrating stare. She’d also been afraid she’d break down under Lauren’s scrutiny and questions, and there was no way she’d allow that to happen.

“Go away,” she ventured weakly.

“Nope. Not happening.”

Eve sighed.

Unlatching the door, she yanked it open.“What?”

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