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"Nope" And he just set my kiss now?"

"Boy, you sure did fixate on that, didn’t you?" Violetmoment At least he was out of the damn bar "Brush your teeth first"

"Yes, ma’am"

"That’s yes, Ms DeWitt," she corrected in a sassy voice, then wanted to slap herself for flirting with her drunken ex-lover Terrible idea, Violet Thisherself that "Go on" She wiggled her fingers in the direction of the bathroom "Brush up"

He bounded up fro into the wall She se of the bed as he wove his way, stuorously brush his teeth He kept glancing back to her as if checking to make sure she was still on the bed and hadn’t escaped

If it had been anyone but Jonathan, she would have been amused

But since it was Jonathan, she was justconfused He’d been so upset over their fight that he’d taken to drinking, and now that she ith hiiddy--albeit drunken--schoolboy It didn’t ht about him was a lie

Maybe he really hadn’t known about the baby She wanted to ask hiht, honest answer out of hi a drunk man It would have to wait She clasped her hands and watched as he rinsed hisaway to ensure his h for their kiss

Then, he wobbled back into the rooave her a slit-eyed smile, his eyes practically closed out of a mix of exhaustion and alcohol "Kissup off the bed and patting one pillow

He ered into the bed and then looked over at her, waiting She leaned in, and then at the last moment, kissed him on the forehead

"Cheat," he mur ht have been affirmation, and before she’d even pulled the blankets up over hi She didn’t knohat to do with him Or what to think Jonathan still drove her crazier than crazy in every possible way Why was it that ten years apart felt like an eternityand yet it felt like yesterday at the saed the pillow, exposing his backside and the wallet sticking out of his pocket Oh, right She reached over and pulled it out of his jeans so it wouldn’t disturb hihtstand Instead, she stared at it for a moment and then snuck another peek at him Still fast asleep

So she opened his wallet, unable to resist her nosiness a er

It was full of money That was no surprise to her; he was a billionaire That interested her less than what else was in the wallet Was it stuffed full of condo it was a shitty thing to do and not caring Behind several platinum and black credit cards, she found a picture tucked away Aha

But when she pulled it out, it was her own face staring back at her

The picture was creased, the edges worn, and it was obvious that it had been carried in this wallet--or others like it--for a long, long ti in front of the Akrotiri ruins, both of the hats and stripes of white zinc on their noses They looked like dorks

They looked so happy

Nineteen-year-old Violet’s braids were hanging over her shoulders and she was gazing up at a s look Violet felt a weird little lurch in her stoht of that Once upon a ti from this photo, that was how he’d wanted to remember her

She carefully put the folded photo back into his wallet and looked for any other photos of wo, she closed his wallet and put it on his bedside table

At her side, Jonathanhim To her horror, a harsh sob racked his body "Violet," he , she reached out and touched his arm "I’m here, Jonathan Go back to sleep"

I calmed, and he returned to sleep

Violet stared down at the ht she knew

She didn’t knohat to do For a long, painful ht out of his roo all the way back to Detroit Pick up her nice, safe, quiet little life again and forget all about the billionaire who’d used her and hung her out to dry Running aas sos, and she was a big fan of running

But she didn’t leave Instead, she reached over and brushed the curls off of Jonathan’s brow and then sighed when he didn’t wake up Well, shit

She spotted his phone on the other nightstand and got up, heading for it It was a s if it was password coded Nope Her heart thu, she went to his list of recent contacts Several businesses scrolled past the screen, and then she found a na on her lip, she considered it for a s before someone answered Then, a man’s cheerful voice came on the line "Hey man, what’s up?"

"I-- Is this Cade?" Violet tried to keep her voice calm "Are you a friend of Jonathan’s?"

The uarded "Who’s this?"

"My name is Violet--"

"Oh, damn Violet, huh?"

She frowned "Yes Why?"

"That Violet?"