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       Chapter 1

      Serenity Williams looked up at the man across from her in the swanky restaurant. His mouth moved as furiously as his animated gestures. A smile. Hearty laughter. A wink. Hands tossed in the air. Serenity forced a half-cocked smile. It was the most she could manage having no idea what he’d just said. She’d zoned him out several minutes before, hearing the voice but no longer making out his words. His voice droned on. She was sure he was still talking about himself. Had he even asked about her? They had to have been at the table for at least an hour.

      Entertaining herself, Serenity allowed her thoughts to wander from her crazy work schedule to creating mini-stories about the people her eyes landed on in the restaurant. Still, she maintained some level of consistent eye contact with her rambling date. The shifts in his motions clued her in on when to tilt her head sideways to appear engaged or spread her lips into an attentive-looking grin.

      Serenity felt cynical, a feeling that didn’t sit with her well. She loved people. Never had she been so uninterested in what a person had to say. But this man in front of her, the self-absorbed Mark Stapleton, had trampled on her attention span and hadn’t bothered to notice when she disengaged.

      A lanky waiter with long blond hair pulled back into a low ponytail came to remove their plates. Her meal was only slightly touched. Serenity welcomed the interruption, smiling at the waiter as if she were happy to see him. Mark stopped talking long enough to allow the space for the young man to ask if she would like to take her meal home.

      “And the check, please.” Mark dismissed the man’s presence and went right back to speaking highly of himself. He paused again to take a sip of wine. Placing the glass on the table, he sighed and grinned, seemingly impressed with himself. “There’s a nice lounge down the street,” he said matter-of-factly.