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“I’ ood loser with a good line because you’re desperate”

“I’m not desperate!” I exclaimed

“You’re thirty—”

“Twenty-eight!” I corrected

“And at this point, you’ll grab on to anything” Maed

I grumbled, “That is not completely accurate”

Maht now? Why isn’t he here with you?”

This was a pertinent question, but I wasn’t about to ader The truth was, I hadn’t seen Gabriel since the engage the sale of soht that hat he said in the voice mail he left me the day after the party He hadn’t picked up his cell phone when I’d called, oh, twenty or so tiet a better explanation I even went so far as to call the hotel where he was supposed to be staying, but they didn’t have a Gabriel Nightengale registered I was clinging to the hope that he’d either changed his plans or registered under some assumed name, such as Mr I M Deceased

“Gabriel spends a lot of ti my words carefully “He owns a lot of different businesses, and he has to look in on them from time to time—”

Ma her heavily shaded eyes atabout her husband, Claude, and his plu-supply business, and then she found out that he had another faave their sons the sa kids to supper”

“I don’t think that’s so I need to worry about And we don’t have the kind of relationship where we have to see each other every day”

“Well, why not? Why doesn’t he want to see you every day?” she demanded “Aren’t you worth that kind of co with this? Have you two even talked about e?”

“No!” I laughed “We haven’t talked about getting married”

Because state law prohibits it

“Well, why not? Tick-tock, tick-tock, Jane I can hear your biological clock ticking You don’t have tio anywhere If you want to have babies, you have to speed things along”