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Diane quickly ignored him He was a tool, a device Once people had seen her with him, that was it Clinched Her reputation secured by a check box that said viewed arriving with Michael Bournhaht Just about every other tione out five or six times now – she’d bowed out sick or invented an earlydeadline and frankly, Jere a toothpick with boobs

Her enthusias her spot at the top of the heap of humanity did not spread to the bedrooed, he didn’t knohere to find them He had used sex toys withhis ti as he survived it As long as he could slog through the ever-deadening process of watching people do good Of watching people pat the people ere at the top of the capitalism ladder redistribute tiny incre, a plaque, a bench, a gene

And then he saw her

Lydia

Callie had begged Krysta to coistration and the live auction for the autiss really appealed to Lydia Borrowing soh on her list of priorities

"That'll go for 25,000," Callie explained She was Krysta's identical twin, though people didn't seelets fraher face, Callie was a half inch taller, with a , lean look Her hair was cropped short in a no-nonsense style The two had the sa, but that's where the similarity ended

Callie's son, Kyle, was an adorable, if anxious, toddler Throwing herself into every part of project- his condition, Callie had assembled a team of speech therapists, occupational therapists, behavioralists, Early Intervention specialists, and had become involved in the autisnosis

"25,000!" Lydia shouted, shocked

"Too bad a date with Michael Bournha her They all knew she found hiazine and Entertain a double-take froo for?"

"Soht with him in Paris sold for 55,000 last year"

Lydia whistled low, a sound of aet 's end, Callie predicted, nearly half a o into a special research fund to understand enetics of autism Her eyes teared up as she talked about all of the ways that research was helping already Words like "mitochondrial disorders" and "methylation" and "PET scans" and "cerebellum activity differences" went in and out of her head as Callie rattled off a near-encyclopedic understanding of the intricacies of the condition

"Kyle's really lucky to have you," she said, reaching out to hold Callie's hand The act seemed to make Callie freeze, thentears carefully from the corner of her eyes "It's a lot to take in" She fanned her face "Can't cry! Can't cry," she repeated, and Lydia instantly understood

"Sorry!" Squeezing her hand once, she let go and got back to business Registrants caned a number She and Krysta were only here for an hour or so, and she hoped she wasn't underdressed Callie had said "ball gown," so she and Krysta had hit a bunch of vintage thrift shops in Ca chiffon number paired with a loose silk coat, while Lydia went for red

China red, in fact, with a scalloped neck, three-quarter sleeves, and a red pashmina for her arms and waist Paired with red leather puh to pass here No ould she ever really fit in; some of these women wore jewelry worth more than the cost of her parents' house

Costume jewelry from the Central Square Salvation Arh her lips, trying not to move her mouth She sounded like a drunk ventriloquist "Your boyfriend is here"

"Matt?"

Choking on a laugh, Krysta nearly shrieked "So now he's your boyfriend? You are hopeless" She waved her hand toward the ballroo in the same direction

Silver, short hair Shoulders that his jacket e his muscles as if poured on his body His back was stiff, and he held a praying mantis on his arm Oh – no, just an underfed socialite They all had arirls

If he turned around, she would ht now Any part of her skin not covered by the sily fabric of her dress turned pink, hot fro distance of the lio blind from shame, and live out the rest of her life with a sly smile on her face as she told the story

And then he did

Without question, the very last person he ever thought he would see at this event was Lydia, who stared hih a distance as to , hands flexing and itching to touch her, he took a deep, slow breath in through his nose, steadying himself Diane's hand on his are compared to the vision before him

Luscious Radiant Sexy

Fuckable And oh, how The red dress, lush, painted lips, her hair pinned up and off her neck When she bent over to pick up a piece of paper, then tipped her head up to sistrant for the auction he wanted to pummel the man she beamed at, for that smile should be his That mouth should be for him

And him alone

He could practically smell her, throbbed with need to taste her, and all he could do was toeven to twitch lest he reveal his ani her on the marble floor was not an auction itee