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IT HAD BEEN a long time since Taylor had been on a date

Years

The last dates she’d been on had been with Neil

Neil, who had been perfectly put together, clothes always perfectly arrayed and wrinkle free, appearance always perfectly groomed, hair always perfectly styled

Neil, who had always taken her to the nicest restaurants, to premier shows in Louisville, to only the best of the best Taylor had taken that to be a sign of hi to i Neil and wanting to show off his possessions to the world He thought he deserved the best of the best, that the entire world revolved around him

She’d been the envy of her fellow nursing students because the hospital’s ht her clothes and jewelry to wear to events with him If only they’d known the only person Neil had been besotted as himself

She still wasn’t sure what had attracted Neil to her He’d wanted to change everything about her Maybe he’d wanted a doll to bend and shape into what he wanted her to be She’d played that role well for her parents Letting him take over had been easy When he’d decided she ho he’d wanted for a wife, she’d thought she was the luckiest girl alive Plain her the wife of a renowned plastic surgeon anted to give her things and show her off to the world

They’d been the envy of all their friends—Neil’s true purpose

To Neil, she’d been a possession A piece added to his collection to be seen and not heard Had she not caught hiht still be in her oblivious bubble of living her life on eggshells

“Whatever you’re thinking, stop”

Taylor glanced toward theshorts and a T-shirt, and whose pulled-back long hair was unkempt in a sexy sort of way—a man who had a shadow on his face where he needed to shave, and whose blue eyes were fringed with thick, dark lashes

A man who made her stomach flip-flop Jack seemed comfortable ho he was and didn’t need to impress anyone

Which felt like a breath of fresh air

“Deal,” she agreed, inhaling deeply, deterhts of Neil far fro Jack seeered a plethora of comparisons

“Good” Jack studied her “I was beginning to think I was going to have to visit rip you have there”