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It always should have been like this.
CHAPTER 28
PAIGE
Gertrude tightened her grip on the knife handle, hoping to quell the shaking in her fingers as she knelt behind the tractor. Her breath turned white in the air, so she lowered her head, knowing that the cool wisps would give away her location.
The barn door opened. The thick sound of boots thumped across the cold ground. He was drawing close.
Tears streamed down Gertrude’s face.
She knew she was about to die.
I wince as I shove the bookmark between the pages and slam the book closed.
Nope.
Nope nope nope.
I thought the book would be less scary if I read it out in public in broad daylight. I was very, very wrong. Not even the bustling Saturday afternoon foot traffic across the hotel lobby could tone down the ghastly imagery on each page. And I mean each page. Holwood really, really wanted to freak people out in this one, I think. Or maybe he was just going through something. Or maybe I’m just a huge wimp. I don’t know.
I’ll pick it back up later.
I glance around the hotel lobby as I reach for the soda bottle on the table beside my seat. There’s always something going on at a Botsford Plaza. You just have to know where to look. My eyes bounce from business suits to sundresses to fancy coats to smiling staff. On the surface, nearly every Botsford Plaza looks the same. Dig a little deeper, and...
I sigh. I’m really going to miss this.
A new Plaza every day. A new city. A new lobby to watch people in. A new way to pretend that my life is anything but?—
Oliver?
He steps off the golden elevator in front of me. I snatch the book and open it, quickly using it to shield my face as he wanders by. Just a random guest sitting in the lobby, reading a book. Nothing to see here...
The knife teased her flesh as it twisted?—
No, don’t actually read it!
I peek over the top. It doesn’t look like Oliver noticed me sitting here. He walks right past me toward the front desk in a pair of casual slacks and a thin, blue sweater. Sleeves rolled up. Hair styled down to scratch his eyebrows.
Damn, he’s handsome.
Too bad that train has railed.
It’s for the best, I tell myself.
We’re through. Finished. And I’m pretty sure I can forget about that job offer, too.
Angela emerges from her office behind the desk and Oliver instantly grins, thrilled to see her. As she joins him in the lobby, the two walk together side-by-side, chatting back and forth and laughing all the way into the restaurant.
I raise a curious brow.
It’s Saturday.
Oliver had no meetings with Angela scheduled for Saturday.
He had nothing scheduled at all for Saturday.
I drop the book into my lap.
