Chapter 48\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fortunately, Jack had barely noticed me then. His standards for arm candy were as exacting as his taste in art. The fact that he didn\u2019t remember me now was a relief\u2013I was determined to sever all connections to my past as the Wright family\u2019s adopted daughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I offered a composed smile. I\u2019m Cedar Wright, the new design director at Nest Design.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMiss Wright, enchanted. I\u2019m Jack Carter, though most people just call me \u2018trouble.\u201d He lowered his voice conspiratorially. \u201cYou know, you\u2019re the first woman Ridley has ever brought to a business gala. I have high hopes for you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My lips curved into a subtle smile. \u201cMr. Carter, do you say that to every woman who appears in Mr. Sterling\u2019s orbit?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jack looked momentarily stunned before breaking into appreciative laughter. \u201cRidley, she\u2019s delightful! A rose with thorns, this one.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ridley\u2019s expression remained impassive, his lips pressed into a thin line.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t read Ridley\u2019s thoughts, but his cold stare suggested he wasn\u2019t impressed by Jack\u2019s flattery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I maintained my polite smile and followed a stylist into the private suite, leaving Jack and Ridley to converse in the waiting area. As I settled into the chair\u00a0<\/p>\n
before the mirror, I could barely hear their muted conversation from the adjacent lounge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ridley\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is she, really?\u201d Jack asked, sidling up beside me as I watched Cedar walk away with a stylist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I gave him a sidelong glance. \u201cThe Design Director at Nest, as I\u2019ve already told you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on,\u201d Jack scoffed, sipping his champagne. \u201cA subsidiary design director doesn\u2019t get escorted to the Marshall gala by Ridley Sterling himself. There\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
something about her \u2013 refreshingly genuine. Not like the usual social climbers circling you like sharks.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd your assessment counts for what, exactly?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor plenty!\u201d Jack\u2019s eyes gleamed with mischief. \u201cI\u2019m Jack Carter art collector extraordinaire, Chicago\u2019s most eligible bachelor. I\u2019ve dated more women than you\u2019ve interviewed for executive positions. You excel at business; I excel at reading women. Can you deny that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I allowed myself a slight smile. \u201cIn this case, your reading is incorrect.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cImpossible! I\u2019m an expert at reading people. Her eyes have no calculation in them \u2013 she\u2019s genuinely good. Ridley, if you\u2019re not interested, I might-\u00a0<\/p>\n
The temperature of my gaze dropped several degrees, cutting him off mid\u2013sentence,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jack raised his hands in surrender. \u201cJust joking! Why so defensive?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I remained silent, watching Cedar across the room. Once could be coincidence. Twice, perhaps. But repeatedly appearing in my orbit\u2013at Nest Design, with my son\u2013suggested something more deliberate,\u00a0<\/p>\n
And the way Aiden had taken to her\u2026 that wasn\u2019t insignificant. The fact that he would personally select gifts for her, like those crystal shoes\u2026 that was highly unusual. And the accessories\u2013I\u2019d seen them in the news. They were treasures that had just been auctioned off a couple of days ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSeriously though, Jack continued, his voice uncharacteristically sincere, \u201cyou should consider your personal life. Irene has been gone for years. You\u2019ve honored her memory admirably, but you can\u2019t live alone forever, Maybe you can handle it, but what about your children? They\u2019re still so young. As they\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
4:01 pm\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 48\u00a0<\/p>\n
grow, they\u2019ll only feel the absence of a mother more acutely.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I tightened my grip on my glass, feeling the smooth crystal against my fingers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Men like me were destined to remain alone. Why else would Mother have arranged for the three children the way she did? My life was mapped out for\u00a0<\/p>\n
solitude.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even if Irene were still alive, we could never have had a future together.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Twenty minutes later, Cedar stepped out of the styling room, transformed in ways I hadn\u2019t anticipated. They\u2019d swept her hair into an elegant updo that showed off the graceful line of her neck, and the makeup enhanced her features without looking overdone. Professional yet striking\u2013exactly what the\u00a0<\/p>\n
evening called for.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As she slipped on the white heels I\u2019d chosen, I watched her stop in front of the mirror, her face showing genuine surprise at her own reflection. The stylists\u00a0<\/p>\n
had done excellent work, but really they\u2019d just brought out what was already there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I caught myself staring longer than I should have. Clearing my throat, I stood and walked over to her. \u201cGood. Time we left for the gala.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Sky Remembered the Touch of Our Uninished Goodbyes by Lysa Orion Rehn 48 Chapter 48\u00a0 Fortunately, Jack had barely […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-zero-stars-for-daddy-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30447\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}