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“I won’t forget this,” he hissed “And you haven’t seen or heard the last of h for you to hide forever”

They watched hiuard alallery

Matt blew air out through his teeth “I hope you weren’t still holding a flame for that jerk, because I think I just messed up your last chance”

“Hoe ever buy a decent house and have babies now that you’ve trashed his entire career?” She winked at hied with relief when he realized she was joking “Shit, was I that good?”

“Ballistic, nuclear, a Stan? No way, but I wasn’t being paranoid about bu into him, see?”

“Perhaps I need to talk to some people about that”

“Um, no, just leave it alone for now It’s over and he’s a coward”

He scratched his chin and looked serious “Okay, if that’s what you want, but uessing he’s been there before?”

“I’ll be fine and proers once you’ve dropped enuinely concerned, which softened the brittle way she’d been feeling during the Stanley incident “My ne, so let’s do e caoodness’ sake”

“And I think you’ve only had one drink, half of which that bonehead spilled all over you”

“Oh, I’”

“Nobody but you is ever going to wear that outfit, so if you want to wear it again, I’ll pick up the dry cleaning bill And if the stain doesn’t coet you a replacement”

“It’s the most fabulous outfit I’ve ever worn,” she said quietly “I hope it’s not ruined with that Cha to ask you if I could keep it after the official PCB No68 launch, you knoe go our separate ways”

“Why would you need to ask that? I’hed as he pointed ironically to the breadth of his chest and the length of his legs compared to hers “And no other woman could ever do it justice after you, Piper Those heels are just…they’re just ”

“Thank you,” she h heels because it made hi them for me”

“Don’t thank aze away from her “I blackotten that sotten that she should be resenting everythe line she had slipped into wanting to be with hi-ter that—he’dfrom the same hymn sheet ever since they’d met in Sanibel

Perhaps it was the sudden, in-your-face contrast between Stanley and Matt that was unsettling her Matt was the tall, dark, handsome hero versus the self-interested cheat who had made such a fool of her over the years Her heart had been stah She should take an iot ter as well