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He is looking at me with such intensity that I aht," he says slowly "Now tell aze I count to five, and then look back up to hi to," I say "But I talked myself out of it And then, really, I dropped the dispenser It’s slippery"

"You talked yourself out of it" It’s a statement, not a question

"I sawto break it with that," I say, nodding toward the gooeyto break awith raze my teeth over my lower lip I don’t answer

"I see"

"I didn’t want to uess I did that, anyway"

"But you’re okay now?" He is speaking very carefully

"Yes Just a litch System completely reset now It was just that woht," he finally says He takes o We’ll let the janitors worry about the mess"

I nod and follow hi that Damien is at my side In the restaurant, I search for Jamie, but I don’t find her anywhere "I’m worried about Jamie," I tell him "She was a mess"

"Do you knohy?"

"No, she was just--oh, shit Is that who I think it is?" I point into the crowd, and Daht Bryan Raine is at the event, too, and he’s arm in arm, lips to lips, with a svelte, sexy blonde

"That’s Madeline Aimes," Damien says

I reivesattention to Hollywood?"

"I don’t Lucky guess" I look around the rooain, suddenly worried "Now I really want to find Jamie"

I find Ollie, but he hasn’t seen Jamie, either Whatever detente we’d reached earlier when Susan Morris attacked me seems to have shattered, because he is quiet and distant and keeps shooting Dalances I, however, am too worried about Jamie to call him on it

It takes another twenty minutes before we learn that Edward took Jamie home

"I’m so sorry, Mr Stark," Edward says earea behind the restaurant "She assured me that she’d cleared it with you"

"Don’t worry about it," Damien says "Hoas she?"

"I understand there was soht have to restock the lio check on her?" he asks

I nod It’s already after o home I start to move toward the li her along"

I turn back to hier toward Darab Damien’s hand, as ht here besideabout?"