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Woford, but Melanie Costello was going for a world record Adah the gate in the most relentless rain he’d seen in the four years since he’d purchased hishis head

Thunder boomed

His dog, Jack, nudged his hand, whi

“I know, buddy Only a crazy person would drive up here in this weather”

The hair on his arms stood up, but the electricity in the air wasn’t fro Melanie for the second time in his life left hi hiht of passion he could re out the door before he awoke There’d been no goodbye whispered into his ear, no nudge to wake hi kiss All she’d left behind was a memory he couldn’t shake and countless questions, theof which hether she’d ever ain

He hadn’t even known her last naure it out after she disappeared No, it had taken a personal nightmare of monstrous proportions—a tabloid scandal that refused to die—to bring Melanie Costello to his, even though he doubted anyone could do that If any other public relations person had been given this job, he would’ve found a way out of it, but this was his chance to capture lightning in a bottle He had no intention of passing that up, even if he also had no intention of letting the lightning know that he reet his answers

The doorbell rang and Ada at the s into them as he polished off his s Melanie was standing outside, but she could wait to begin the refore She’d been in such a hurry to leave hiht for a few minutes before he’d let her in

It was just Melanie Costello’s luck that she’d end up regretting the best sex of her life As recently as a week ago, her one night with Adaly ht about it, and she thought about it a lot The phone call froer—the call that required a confidentiality agreele word—had put an end to that Now the flutter in her chest had sunk to her stomach and felt more like an elbow to the ribs

Melanie parked her rental car in the circular driveway of Adae parcel of land atop a mountain outside Asheville, North Carolina, the rustic manor, complete with tall-peaked roofs and redwood arches, was lit up in spectacular fashion against the darkening night sky She couldn’t have been any more impressed or intimidated

Cold smacked her in the face as she wrestled her ustone driveway I’h to wear four-inch heels in a ainst her body, shuffling to a grand sweep of stone stairs Icy raindrops pelted her feet, the hipped, her cheeks burned Lightning crackled across the sky The storm was far worse now than it’d been when she’d left the airport, but the nford’s public ie, required prompt attention

She scaled the staircase, gripping the rail, juggling her purse and a tote bag weighed doith books on corporate ie She eyed the door expectantly Surely someone would rush to usher her inside, away froate So

No welco the bell Every passing second felt like an eternity as her feet turned to blocks of ice and the cold seeped through her coat Don’t shiver Once she caught a chill, it took her forever to warford hi if she started

Mene, then thile watching Adam across a crowded suite at The Park Hotel on Madison Avenue Perfectly unshaven, he wore a sliray suit that flaunted his triet every etiquette lesson she’d ever learned The party had been the hottest invitation in New York, held to celebrate the launch of Adaenius, visionary—Adaiven countless labels since he earned his fortune with the headline-grabbing sale of social raduated sued an invitation hoping to netith potential clients Instead, she did the last thing she’d ever i home with the man of the hour, who had one more notable label on his résumé: notorious philanderer