Chapter 290

I checked my reflection one last time in the compact mirror, snapped it shut, and slipped it back into my clutch. Lipstick intact, hair behaving itself. I took a steadying breath and stepped into the grand hall. The chandeliers overhead gleamed like frozen fireworks. The clink of glasses and the rise and fall of conversation filled the air. This was one of those chamber of commerce charity dinners where a plate of rubbery steak cost a five-figure ‘donation’. Normally, I would have found an excuse to skip it. I hated these events, the false laughter, the posturing, the air thick with perfume and self-importance. But tonight was different. Lea’s words still rang in my head. She had said she would do anything for Ashton. Anything. That poisonous little boast had lodged under my skin. It made me ask myself the question I had been avoiding: what about me? I knew Ashton was buried in problems at LGH. Turning up at his office demanding to know where we stood, distracting him with relationship