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She opened her laptop, then stood and changed clothes while it found her parents’ Wi-Fi and logged on She hung her dress in the closet and pulled on the turtleneck sweater and orn jeans she’d worn for the drive up Still barefoot, she settled in front of her laptop and brought up the train schedule back to Chicago There was one ht--she checked the time--and she could just make it, if she hurried

She yanked on socks and boots, then tapped out a quick e- her cell phone, then turned it off Hopefully, her brothers would be too busy to pick up her e-, but just in case, she didn’t want the her about her abrupt departure She’d done her duty; she’d co hoo instead of this pretty suburb She’d always told herself she’d return here when the story was finished, andthat back when she first o, and so, unfortunately, was her heart

There wasn’t anything to pack Her party clothes could stay All she really needed was her laptop, her purse, and her jacket

Grabbing all three, she ran down the back stairs and etaway the sa through the train station Half an hour after that, she was sitting on a train, heading for Chicago, and conte the dismal state of her love life

She wasn’t happy with the way she’d ended things with Aden It wasn’t like her to slink away If he was an asshole, then she needed to tell hiood-bye, nice having sex with you, have a good life

"You heading to the city?"

Sid jerked in surprise She’d been so caught up in planning for what she would do when she saw Aden next that she hadn’t realized someone had sat down across the aisle from her She’d reserved a seat in business class and had found the car mostly empty when she’d arrived She looked up and down the aisle and saw that that was still the case There was one couple at the other end of the car, and then there was her new and unwanted friend

"I am," she said pleasantly, then immediately pulled out her book and pretended to read

"Me, too Had one of those faht Grandparents’ anniversary Their fiftieth, so I had to be there"

Sid barely glanced over andhe’d take the hint No such luck

"Morning after brunch tomorrow, too, but you kno it is I didn’t want stay over," Mister Chatty Cathy continued

She s

"Soyou fro him see a little bit of polite irritation Maybe if she let hiet it out of his systeive him any tidbit of information about herself, she switched the questions back on him

"Co her to be i to herself that she had no interest in the subject at all

"Definitely," he enthused, and proceeded to tell her indetail about every pork belly and soybean he’d ever sold She knew in principle as involved in commodities, but this was far aled her with the wonders of his job, she studied hi Mediuh it was difficult to tell the latter with hiht have been interested Maybe But not tonight

"I’ his hand "Richard Vasco"

"Sidonie," she said, not giving up her last na cold?" He stood as he offered, and she saw she’d been right about his height He was a couple of inches over her own five foot seven and a half

"No, thank you," she said pleasantly

He shot her a quick, "Be right back," and one, Sid checked the time on her cell phone and realized she’d never turned it back on after leaving her parents’ house Figuring she ell away from her brothers, who by noere either sound asleep or so drunk that they’d forgotten her, she turned the phone back on Then she draped her jacket over herself like a blanket and pretended to fall asleep It was cowardly, and she was deeply ashamedokay, so she wasn’t ashamed at all She simply wanted a quiet ride back to the city Was that tooin the aisle studying her,it or not But Sid was made of sterner stuff She kept her eyes closed and her breathing steady and eventually dozed off for real

ADEN OPENED YET another file on his co windy financials report, when a si would have done the job just as well It ht to the death He’d been at his desk for hours, but business didn’t stop just because the challenge was underway Lucas was still his o and why, but that didn’tin Kansas City Reports still came in and so did a thousand requests Some va advice or permission Aden knew these vampires were as necessary to the race as he was, but sometimes their timidity drove him to distraction They were vahed, knowing the answer to his own question If every varessive and driven as he was, they’d have wiped theo

He looked up when Bastien entered the office, hoping for a distraction But one look at his lieutenant’s face, and he kneasn’t good news

Aden did a quickthem all well and alive, he asked the question he wasn’t sure he wanted answered "What is it?"