“If he’s allowed to have feelings, am I not?” Her voice sharpened. “Over the past six years, I’ve had to swallow far more than he ever did. But apparently, I’m supposed to wait for him, and the moment he has to wait for me, it’s suddenly a tragedy?”

    The bodyguard mmed up at once.

    These two were terrifying enough when they were silent, but when they started arguing, it was like a standoff between titans.

    How Natalie survived this marriage was anyone’s guess.

    Evander clenched his jaw, then told the bodyguard to heat up his dinner.

    Without another word, the bodyguard grabbed the te and hurried off to

    the kitchen.

    Now only Charlotte and Evander were left, staring each other down in the living room. Maybe it was because she was so stubborn, but Evander rubbed his forehead, thumb and fingers syed. “I wasn’t that hungry earlier, that’s all…”

    “If iyou /istarve, that’s your problem, not mine.”

    Her totalck of sympathy made Evanderugh, unexpectedly.

    “What’s so funny?”

    He looked her straight in the eye. “You’re angry. That means you still care.”

    Charlotte hesitated, then scoffed, tugging at the corner of her mouth. “If anything happened to you, the Howard family would make my life hell. I just hate trouble, that’s all.”

    With that, she turned on her heel and disappeared into her room.

    Evander pressed his lips together, but the faintest smile lingered.

    12:46

    The next morning, just as Charlotte was finishing breakfast, a message from Gentry popped up: [Professor Carstairs has some pretty eclectic tastes!]

    Charlotte: [Like what?]

    Gentry: [For pets, he likes reptiles. When ites to food, it has to be spicy. His coffee? Freshly ground only, never instant.]

    Charlotte: […I’m asking what kind of gift I should get him.]

    Gentry: [You should have said so sooner. Get him a lighter!]

    She blinked.

    A lighter?

    Judd didn’t smoke, did he?

    Charlotte: [You’re not messing with me, are you?]

    Gentry: [Trust me–give him a lighter and he’ll be thrilled!]

    In the conference room, just as Gentry sent the message, Judd caught him using his phone.

    He confiscated it before Gentry could react.

    “Uh-” Gentry started to protest, and the doctors around the table all

    turned to look at him.

    Gentry gave a sheepish nod, not daring to meet Judd’s eyes.

    Judd scrolled through the messages with an unreadable expression, then handed the phone back a momentter. “Don’t let it happen again.”

    Gentry itook /ihis phone, grinning with relief.

    After the meeting, Gentry hurried along behind Judd. “Professor Carstairs, please–don’t tell Dr. Sterling she’s getting you a gift. Just pretend you don’t know. If she finds out I told you, she’ll kill me!”

    Judd frowned, ncing over his shoulder. “What’s with the lighter? I don’t

    even smoke.”

    12:46

    Gentry grinned. “You really don’t know what it means to give a man a lighter?”

    “What does it mean?”

    “It means a woman wants to light the fire of romance!”

    He waggled his eyebrows, making a show of it.

    Judd shot him a look and walked off without a word.

    Gentry was delighted–he wasn’t mad, didn’t yell, and didn’t deny a thing!

    Hah, and he ims he’s not interested in Dr. Sterling.

    Men. Never trust what they say.

    Meanwhile, Charlotte actually went out to buy a lighter. She didn’t know much about them, but thanks to Evander’s smoking, she’d seen some pretty high–end ones.

    The problem was, they were surprisingly hard to find in stores.

    Gentry had rmended this particr shop.

    Inside, it was more like a vintage store than anything else–old records, newspapers, antique watches, rare knickknacks of all kinds.

    Nothing came cheap.

    A retro–style metal lighter was going for thousands.

    Charlotte didn’t bother haggling. She bought it on the spot.

    Shopping bag in hand, she stepped out of the store–and froze.

    Evander was getting out of a sleek Spyker C8 right in front of her.

    She stopped in her tracks.

    The man straightened his coat and started walking toward her.