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Chapter One
Selena Harris’s first sign that things weren’t going hen one of her silver, crystal-studded, red-soled heels hit her square between the eyes One second she’d been walking along the sidewalk to her aparth in the perfect blue sky
She squinted Tried to make sense of what had just happened Then the picture was eous array of colors, all fluttering like butterflies in the sky above It was like being inside a kid’s picture book
Was this what concussion looked like?
It took her a few ner wardrobe The second silver shoe cracked down on the pavement next to her head as her red Stella McCartney dress floated through the air and landed at her feet
She sat up and swayed, still dazed by the ard shoe, and squinted at the i The apartious parts of Santa Monica Untoward behavior would generally result in a co trickled down her nose and she brushed it aith her hand Blood
She looked up The sun was reflecting off all of the tinted s except one—it ide open She pushed herself onto her feet and stared up at the open apart one of her shoes in her hand and checking it for dae There was no way she could wear a bloodstained Louboutin
Her sto out, like baseballs hitting the backstop The Chanel leather scuffing off the sidewalk made her wince Or maybe that was the concussion?
“What the hell are you doing? These are ry silhouette inside, hoisting the shoe in the air
Mark’s red, sweaty face appeared at the“Would that be the two-thousand-dollar pair or the fifteen-hundred-dollar ones?” he shouted
She flinched, pressing the back of her hand against her head to stop the flow of blood Her forehead already felt as if it were giving birth to an egg Their ain
This wasn’t the first tiest display of displeasure Once he’d calmed down, she’d be able to talk him
Her crea on the sidewalk and she shuddered, thinking of the dry-cleaning costs It had hardly been worn—not really suitable for the California weather But how could she say no when it was fifty percent off? They were practically giving it away
A car skidded next to her—the driver obviously overcome with terminal nosiness -- and drifted across the freeway
Rage built inside her Mark wasa spectacle of himself
More i her spectacular wardrobe
She grabbed at the things around her, not even registering what they were as she stuffed the? Are you crazy?” she shouted
Wrong question
His head shot out theagain This ti the dreaded statement between his pal A billionaire couldn’t keep you in shoes and makeup”
He turned inside to grab so in the wind like multicolored candy wrappers Now that really attracted the drivers’ attention Cars started weaving all over the place
Her throat went dry Her ar up her underwear from the street made her skin prickle
She didn’t want to think about the Visa bill Her MBA wasn’t doing herweekends as a barista—but desperate times called for desperate et
“You’re being ridiculous What am I supposed to do with all this?”
Thud
Her Louis Vuitton case landed at her feet
She winced That dent would be irreparable
A roll of garbage bags bounced off the sidewalk
“Well, the one thing you can’t do is bloody pay for it!”
She winced again Yeah, the job thing It had all seeood idea at the time Fly from Scotland to LA Use her dual nationality Jobs in Scotland were scarce right now Surely LA would be a better prospect?
See the sights
Have some fun
See the shops
Spend some money
See the men
Then, along came Mark
All dinners, cocktails, LA tan, and perfect teeth
All, “put it on my tab,” “move into my apartment”
All, “have a card on my account”
The honeyht weeks Practically forever in LA
He’d ranted about the joint Visa bill last estion that some of her purchases should be returned Thankfully, as she’d thrown the tags and receipts in the trash, that wasn’t an option
She’d really tried to curb her spending thisher paycheck from the coffee house had ure salary she used to earn
But the silver heels had been like a e sent from above As if her name ritten on their red soles
She exa crystal?
Her heart pounded as a few other—less glamorous—parts of her wardrobe, landed around her Sneakers Running clothes
He was really getting serious now This was the worst temper tantrum she’d seen
Crash Her vanity case
No There was a tinkle of a few thousand dollars s to smithereens
“Give lared at her
“What?” Her brain was still focused on the vanity case Was her crème de la mer ruined?
He pulled his head in from the apartmentand disappeared
What next? Did she have anything left up there?
She opened her suitcase and stuffed the pile of clothes inside Normally, she would have spent hours f
olding and organizing her prized possessions, but people on the sideere staring at her
Little fireworks started exploding in her brain The evidence of her spending was all around her How on earth had she expected to pay for all this? And now Mark was throwing her out, where on earth could she go? She wasn’t exactly surrounded by friends in LA, she’d barely had a chance to ues in the coffee shop, but she didn’t even knohere any of them lived They were acquaintances—not friends
Keeping her head lowered, she grabbed the nearestthem into the case
“I like this color best”
“What?”
An elderly poalker was holding up aroyal-blue set of silk underwear “If only I could still get aith things like that” She dangled the thong from her thumb
“Thanks” Selena grabbed the iterin and poalked on
The humiliation
“Givein her ear made her jump about a foot in the air She’d never seen hiuy, but his eyes were spitting fire at her and his teeth were so clenched he could barely speak
“What are you doing? If you’d let me explain—”
“I said, give h of your explanations” His outstretched palm was directly under her nose
Selena’s eyes met his