LITMIR.BIZ

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you can begin right now,” she said. It wasn’t too late to make something more of herself. The problem was, she wasn’t sure that she was qualified to be anything more than Eden Ross, international party girl.

      Eden backed the car out of the garage, then pushed the remote for the garage door. She slowly navigated the curving driveway and when she reached the main gate she punched in the code. A minute later she was on Ocean Avenue, heading into Newport.

      As Eden steered toward the Newport Bridge, she noticed a sign for the local discount store. Though she’d never shopped there, she understood that the store had everything a regular person could possibly need to live comfortably. Sarah, their housekeeper, had been quite excited when the store opened seven years before. And it was supposed to be cheap. Since Eden had arrived in the States, she’d lived off the cash in her wallet because she didn’t want her credit cards traced.

      The parking lot was packed, and Eden pulled the Mercedes into a distant row, then covered her hair with a baseball cap and slipped on her sunglasses. “You can do this,” she said. “Just act like a regular person.”

      She slipped out of the car and locked the door behind her, then strolled up to the front entrance. Grabbing a shopping cart, she figured it would serve as a good weapon in case she was recognized. But to her surprise, she was able to stroll the aisles with barely a curious glance from other shoppers.

      The variety of merchandise astounded her. She could buy a television, nacho chips and diamond earrings in the very same store. She grabbed some pretty pastel skirts and a few T-shirts and two pairs of sandals before discovering the beauty aisles.

      Eden suddenly felt rather proud of herself. She was just a regular person wandering the aisles. If only Marcus could—She stopped the thought before she had a chance to finish it. Every experience she’d had over the past five days had involved him, and without even realizing it, she’d let him become a part of her life.

      She’d been swept away by a man she hadn’t even known a week ago. He had restored some order and serenity to her life and now it felt as if she couldn’t exist without him. She wanted him here by her side, sharing this simple experience with her. She needed to hear his voice and hold his hand.

      A lump of emotion clogged her throat and she swallowed it back. God, this was ridiculous! The pattern had become so familiar it was a wonder she couldn’t recognize it. He’d shown her simple affection and undeniable passion and suddenly he’d become the focus of her life.

      Eden shook her head, pushing aside all thoughts of Marcus Quinn. It was time to move on with her life, and this time she would be in control … not Marcus and not her father.

      As Eden passed the hair color, she paused, then picked up a box and studied the photo on the front. If she really wanted to blend in, then it was time for a drastic course of action. She’d dye her hair. If she wasn’t a blonde anymore, then no one would recognize her. And how difficult could it be if everything she needed came in the little box?

      “I’m not a complete idiot,” she murmured as she read the directions. “Regular people do this all the time.”

      A medium brown came as close to her natural color as possible, so she tossed the box into the cart and then looked for a pair of scissors. She’d cut her hair, as well, just to make sure.

      Satisfied that her first experience at a discount store had been a great success, Eden headed toward the checkout counters. But as she waited in line she noticed the racks of tabloids standing in her way. She winced as she saw her name splashed on the covers of Gossip Weekly, The National Inquisitor and WOW!

      Thankfully they’d blurred out the indecent parts in the photos. And though the lighting wasn’t the best, her body didn’t look that bad. She’d been twenty-three when the tape was made and a bit thinner than she was now. Her hair had been cropped short back then. As she looked at the picture, she tried to recall everything that had happened that night, but her mind was blank.

      She couldn’t imagine forgetting any of the details of her time with Marcus. She’d always remember how smooth and warm his skin was and how she could follow a thin line of hair from just above his navel to his waistband and beyond. And how his voice sounded when he said her name, and how the dimple in his right cheek would appear when he smiled. She would remember how he’d kissed her that first time, passionately at first and then, before drawing away, giving her one short and sweet kiss for good measure.

      And how he’d seduced her with his lips and his tongue, how he’d drawn out her desire until it had become an orgasm more powerful than she’d ever felt before. A dull ache settled inside her, a longing that would have to go unsatisfied.

      Though she had multiple regrets about past lovers, she only had one with Marcus—they hadn’t had sex. They’d done everything but. It would have been nice to experience that one last thing with him, to have that memory to tuck away with the others.

      No doubt there’d be other men in her life. But Eden couldn’t imagine wanting a man more than she had wanted Marcus. For the entire time she’d been on board Victorious, she’d found herself in a perpetual state of anticipation. He’d barely have to look at her and her mind would wander off into strange fantasies involving the two of them, naked and aroused.

      “Ma’am? You’ll have to remove your merchandise from the basket before I can check you out.”

      Eden glanced up and found the checker staring at her expectantly. “Right,” she said.

      She set the hair dye and the scissors on the conveyor belt, then grabbed the latest issues of The National Inquisitor, Gossip Weekly and WOW! The checker glanced at the magazines, then looked up at her. Eden held her breath, hoping the baseball cap and dark glasses were enough to hide her identity.

      Eden set the clothes and shoes on the belt. “Can you believe that Eden Ross?” she said to the checker. “What was that girl thinking?”

      “Girls with her kind of money don’t need to think,” the checker said.

      “No, probably not.”

      “That’ll be thirty-six forty-seven.”

      “That’s all?” Eden pulled two twenties out of her wallet and handed them to the cashier. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d walked out of a store for less than a thousand dollars!

      The checker slipped the magazines into a plastic bag, then counted out Eden’s change. “You know, you look a lot like her.”

      Eden forced a smile. If she didn’t play it completely cool, she’d be found out in a matter of seconds. “I know. I asked my hairdresser to do my hair just like hers. But after seeing this, I’ve decided to go back to my natural color. What girl would ever want to be like her?”

      “I wouldn’t mind the money,” the checker said. “She’s got it made.”

      “Maybe,” Eden replied. “Or maybe it just seems that way.” She grabbed her bags and hurried to the door. When she reached the parking lot, she breathed a long sigh of relief. Leading a regular life might not be as difficult as she thought.

      It would be a way to prove to her father that she wasn’t just some useless party girl. She could find a job, rent an apartment, make a life for herself away from polo players and society parties and friends she couldn’t trust. Away from the tabloid press.

      Eden steered the car toward the Newport Bridge and headed west toward Jamestown. She was a smart girl. Once she established herself, she would go to her father, apologize for all the trouble she’d caused and ask him to give her a second chance. After a time, he’d have to forgive her. The sun was beginning to set, and she flipped down the visor and turned on the radio.

      As she drove, her thoughts returned to the last words she’d said to Marcus. It really hadn’t been fair to walk away from him as she had. It wasn’t his fault she’d made a mess of her life, and she hadn’t meant to blame him for anything. But Marcus’s opinion was the one that truly mattered to her, and when he’d turned on her, her

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