Page 81 of Sin City Lights

Adam smiled.

Smoothly, he dived in, his body instantly invigorated by the frigid water, and started his fifty laps.

•

Eve

The little box came with a note.

Again, I apologize

for last night.

Dinner at 8.

Movie after dinner,

if you’d like.

Wear the purple dress.

This is for you.

—Adam

Eve looked down at the small box wrapped in simple white paper. A thin gold ribbon crisscrossed it, tying in a small bow at the top.

A feeling of discomfort overcame her. So many men used jewelry as an apology, thinking all it took was an expensive bauble, and women would fall all over themselves, forgiving anything they’d done. It was a tactic as old as time, but it felt a lot like a get-out-of-jail-free card to her.

The coffee maker beeped, announcing morning joy. Her nostrils had already been teased by the fragrance for five whole minutes.

She hurried to the kitchen and placed the little present on the counter. First, coffee. Grabbing the half-full carafe, she poured the wake-up potion into the white Route 66 mug she’d purchased at the Rusty Bolt. She added just a splash of milk, then took a sip and closed her eyes as the complex flavor overtook her senses.

Ah…nothing was better than coffee in the morning.

She looked down at her souvenir mug and smiled, recalling Adam’s face as he’d allowed himself to be photographed with Elvis. Grabbing her phone off the charging stand, she tapped her picture app and quickly found the photo.

There they were, smiling, The King sitting between them, immortal in his black Comeback Special suit. Well, she was the one smiling. Adam, however… She snickered at his expression.

Her gaze returned to the small box. She set her mug down on the counter.

Time to find out what he’d sent.

She made quick work of the wrapping. Inside, she found a blue-and-gold box with a LarsAir foil logo sealing the top. Carefully, she peeled off the gold seal, not wanting to rip the foil for some reason. She flipped open the top. It was something wrapped in sky-blue tissue paper. Eve overturned the box, and something dense and heavy fell into her palm.

Definitely not jewelry.

Intrigued, she parted the tissue.

It was a Matchbox size, diecast replica of Betty, accurate down to the little windows, wheels, and vintage LarsAir logo. Eve studied the shiny little mock-up, turning it over in her palm. This was more meaningful than any fancy bracelet or necklace Adam could have purchased.

She ran a fingertip over mini Betty’s glossy little wings.

He wanted the purple dress. A little thrill ran through her. He hadn’t been too drunk to notice Lauren’s latest exquisite creation. It was a deep V-neck with subtle seed beading accents at the décolletage and hem and a keyhole opening at the lower back.

Eve headed for her closet. Her eyes landed on the silver sandals she had kicked off carelessly last night. Yes, she’d wear those again. Good memories had been made in them, even those from yesterday.

She’d kissed him endlessly and hadn’t wanted to stop.

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