LITMIR.BIZ

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good number of guests had also reserved rooms at the hotel, which went a long way toward assuaging her concern, but there was still margin for error. Many guests had driven, and they needed a sober driver to make it home.

      “This one was a humdinger, Miss Richardson,” the hotel’s doorman boomed at her when she passed, his smile as bright as when she’d walked in at noon.

      “That it was, Carl. You keeping an eye on the departures for me?”

      “Always. Boss added two extra pairs of eyes on valet, too.”

      “Good.”

      She kept on toward the exit, the taxi stand housing only two waiting guests who’d obviously decided to skip the rush.

      “It was a wonderful evening,” a tottering woman gushed. “I want my son and his fiancée to call you. Do you have a card?”

      With a rueful smile for the woman’s husband, Violet pulled a card out of her suit jacket pocket. More than half their business came from satisfied guests who wanted a similar event for themselves, and Violet couldn’t stop the spear of pride at a job well done, despite the craziness that had descended on their lives in the past few weeks. “We’d be delighted to discuss your son’s event.”

      The woman’s husband deposited her in a cab as she still hollered about booking an appointment, and Violet could give herself only a moment to watch the proceedings as she waved them off.

      Damn, she loved her job.

      It was crazy and nuts and often stressful, but she loved it. And she knew she’d found a purpose for her life.

      Giggles echoed off the concave ceiling of the porte cochere, and she stepped back to let a tumble of two bridesmaids and three groomsmen hit the taxi line.

      “Fun time, Violet.” One of the bridesmaids, named Macy, tossed a pointed look at a groomsman she’d had her eye on all day before pulling Violet in for a big hug. “Fun time.”

      “Where are you off to?”

      “Uptown for a nightcap.”

      Violet suspected she knew what would come after the nightcap and simply waved them on, pleased they were still smart enough to keep the night going in taxis. The lack of a car now meant they’d need another cab for their return trip, which meant she could relax another notch.

      “Have fun.”

      Macy giggled in her ear, her whisper louder than the woman likely planned. “I mean to.”

      They all piled into a minivan cab and off to whatever came next, and Violet gave herself another moment, surprised at the hard clench that tightened her rib cage. The same melancholy that had come over her inside the wedding while hugging the bride hit her once more, the jab swift.

      Where had those days gone? The carefree ones that didn’t have an overarching tinge of disappointment or the fear time was marching on without her?

      When had thirty begun to feel ancient?

      Shaking off the melancholy, she moved out of the way of another couple as they approached the valet station. One glance at the wife—keys in hand—and Violet knew the woman had played the evening’s designated driver, so she kept moving, determined to leave the policing to the hotel staff. They had as vested an interest as she did in ensuring people left their establishment safely, and she’d leave them to it.

      An empty lobby stared back at her, indicating no one else was yet ready to depart, and she glanced at her watch before mentally calculating the time left until she needed to find the bride and groom and help see them off.

      Figuring she had a good five minutes, she stopped and gave herself one of them.

      Why was she so out of sorts?

      On a hard exhale, she drifted toward the end of the sidewalk that fronted the hotel before it dropped off toward the driveway to the service entrance. She was close enough to help out in a crisis but far enough away to avoid recognition.

      The moment of anonymity was all she needed to get her equilibrium back. Why it had chosen to abandon her during one of the largest events Elegance and Lace had ever put on was a mystery, but she’d worry about that later. For now, she was going to clear her mind, then march back inside and give Kimberly and Jordan an amazing send-off.

      In just a minute.

      The hot August night wrapped around her in a tight stranglehold, and she was tempted to remove her suit jacket. The cool air from the lobby had diffused some of the heat at the taxi line, but this far away from the door it was absolutely stifling.

      A minute was only a minute, though, and she’d already used up half of hers. Stripping was a waste of the time she had left.

      “Ever responsible and practical,” she muttered to herself before compromising and unbuttoning the top button of her blouse.

      The hot air coated her skin and with it, an image of Max filled her thoughts. A place he’d occupied far too often these last weeks.

      Heck, the past year, if she was truly being honest.

      She’d noticed him at the first community business meeting he’d attended in the Design District after opening his architectural firm, Dragon Designs. Since getting to know Max and Tucker better, she’d learned that Tucker had abdicated any interest in playing their firm’s business lead and had been more than willing to hand the role over to Max.

      Which had put Max and Violet firmly in each other’s orbit.

      Even without the pressure of Cassidy and Lilah’s ongoing interest in seeing the two of them get together, Violet could admit that Max did manage to push all her buttons. He was strong and solid. And if she were honest with herself, she liked that he was a bit surly. The man wasn’t a pushover, and it was a trait she admired.

      Maybe if they hadn’t gotten involved in the mystery of the jewels under the floor, and maybe if her best friend wasn’t marrying his best friend, things could be different.

      A fling, maybe?

      Thirty, remember? That small voice that kept her constant company rose up. Call it what it is. An affair.

      Violet turned the thought over in her mind. Like sophisticated women had been doing since the dawn of time, she could manage her life and this crazy attraction through a discreet affair in which both knew the score. No pressure for a happy-ever-after or expectations neither had any interest in fulfilling.

      She’d scratch the itch and move on.

      It would be perfect if it weren’t for the fact that her two best friends were also her daily colleagues. To say each of them missed nothing about the other two was an understatement. Lilah and Cassidy saw everything.

      As she did with them.

      Which took her right back to square one. Nothing could come of this odd little spark for Max.

      The heavy tread of feet interrupted her musings and she shifted her attention, mentally sighing that her minute was gone. It was time to get back to the wedding.

      Her gaze caught on a man moving with swift determination up the sidewalk. An odd spark of recognition lit in her gut. Was he a wedding guest?

      Or had she seen him somewhere else?

      It was only as he closed in on her, his large hands wrapping around her shoulders, that she registered the depth of the threat.

      And as a sharp prick hit her neck, she watched the bright lights of Dallas blur before the black took her over.

       Chapter 3

      Max scanned the various screens inside the security center before settling in with the computer operator, Jake. The man had seemed to light up with the unexpected excitement as he asked, “Do you know the rough time and

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