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"I’ize very often If ever That didn’t ht with the world, but she felt the need to acknowledge his words Slowly, against her better judgment, she turned around and felt the first flush of the ree hitting her, bringing a slight tingling to her lireed "I can’t take back what I said Or what I know I’ain She sed and forced that cal to be done But thanks for the apology"

"But it’s not accepted"

She threw up her hands "What do you expect me to say?"

"I don’t know" He slumped back "I meant what I said back in Panama: You’re hard to read And I don’t kno to deal with that You’re still that devastatingly beautiful Nordic nine who looks so sad so control I want to understand that I uess I kind of do now, but still I know you think I have no respect for woe of you back then And when I gave you that asshole line about no second dates, I really wish that--well" He shook his head "Forget it"

"You didn’t take advantage ofdrink of ree "And I’ I mean, I didn’t want hiet I ended things with him I refused him"

"Why did you? Frouys were--" Justin abruptly stopped and looked sheepish "Sorry Horatio’s just tactfully re you It’s none of my business"

Horatio The raven that lived inside Justin’s head She’d alotten about that in the midst of this new drama

"What else do they say?" she asked As the ree continued to work, talking about ie

"They tell uy as here"

Mae supposed that was true It also was a conclusion Justin hihed

"Do you want to knohy I have control issues?" she asked "It’s because people have been trying to control one for years" Mae wasn’t sure where her next words came from "I knohat else you want to know," she said She wanted to believe this admission was ree-driven, but some part of her also needed to let out as inside He’d shown discretion with everything else he knew about her, and besides, she kind of had leverage over him "You want to kno a Nordic nine ended up in the military"

His eyes said yes, he very much wanted to know that "It’s not my business"

"It is now Get comfortable"

CHAPTER 25

HOW MAE GOT HER PURPOSE

Mae didn’t think of herself as much of a storyteller, but as she stretched back into a chair and began to speak, she found herself forgetting where she was or that Justin was there The past took over, and memories she tried to keep locked away suddenly burst forth

After her father’s death when she was sixteen, she hadstyle Part of it had just been grief The rest had been an inability to fight her mother Mae had dropped canne, as well as her drea sports related in her tertiaries There was a liirl of her class could study, and Mae had chosento the idea that it limmer of independence, but she’d been na&iuhter that kind of life

Her mother had planned for Mae’s debut party to take place two days after her tertiary graduation Mae had been no fool about that part She understood the point, that herher a husband as soon as possible After all, that hat girls of her class did Plenty of young men had already trolled around before then, and despite her mother’s opinions on certain ones, Mae had been able to rebuff them all That, at least, had been a small measure of control, and even if she resented the for they could force her into

There’d been no avoiding the pale pink dress That was the tradition for all debutantes Mae’s confidence grehen she got to choose the style: matte satin with a short-sleeved off-the-shoulder neckline and long, slim skirt She re else fro the debut the social event of the year She’d bought new furniture and decorations and even hired extra servants to staff the party She’d also invited every influential Nordic person she could think of and even a few visiting plebeians of importance--like General Gan