Synopsis
On our wedding anniversary, my husband, Tristan Reed, told me he had to fly to Mexico for an urgent international negotiation.
So I went alone to an exclusive private collection gallery in New York, determined to bid on the Centennial pigeon blood red ruby ring I’d been admiring for six months—a gift to myself, since no one else seemed inclined to celebrate me.
I had just settled into the VIP lounge with a cup of coffee when I saw him.
Tristan. The man who was supposed to be in Mexico.
Standing beside him was his new personal bodyguard, Lola Payne, who had never bothered to hide the disdain in her eyes whenever she looked at me.
She’d noticed the ring I had reserved.
With a slow, deliberate sway of her hips, Lola walked over. In front of several well-known society matriarchs and the gallery manager, she slipped a single dollar coin into the pocket of my Burberry coat—like I was something to be tipped, pitied, or bought.
And Tristan didn’t say a word.
