by Joanne Fluke
Why hadn’t she stopped at the store to buy some designer shorts and tops? Eve frowned as she surveyed the contents of her closet. She finally settled for a pair of tan slacks that had been especially tailored for her, and a forest green silk shell that hugged her figure and almost matched the color of her eyes.
Eve chose a pair of hand-sewn moccasins and slipped them on her feet. She looked casual, but elegant, and that was fine with her. Let the rest of them wear jeans, and shorts, and wrinkled tank tops. She had her standards and even if Angela Adams was dressed to the teeth, Eve knew she could stand her own.
She was about to leave her room when she heard a creaking sound. Eve stopped, her hand on the doorknob, and shivered slightly. It sounded as if someone were walking softly, on the floor above her. But that was impossible. The fourth floor was deserted and they weren’t supposed to be up there.
Old houses creaked. Eve knew that. It was probably nothing but a floorboard expanding in the heat, or a cat or a squirrel running across the roof. Eve glanced up, her heart pounding hard, but there was no way she wanted to go up there and look for the source of the noise. She just pulled open the door and hurried out, into the hallway.
The third floor was deserted and Eve shivered. It gave her a slightly creepy feeling to be up here alone and she felt like glancing around to make sure no one was following her as she rushed to the door that led to the stairs.
Eve arrived at the library, breathless. But no one noticed that she was out of breath. Everyone in the library was gathered around the newcomer. Angela Adams had arrived.
Angela was gorgeous, with long blond hair and a peaches and cream complexion. Her lips were full, her teeth were even and white, and her smile was perfectly lovely. She was holding court in the center of the room and she was dressed in immaculate white shorts and a lavender-colored stretch top that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. She was tanned to perfection and her legs and arms were golden from hours in the sun. Angela Adams looked like a model for a designer line of expensive beachwear.
Eve watched intently as Angela spoke. She was too far away to hear what Angela was saying, but everyone else was paying rapt attention. She was telling a story with such graceful gestures, she looked almost as if she were dancing.
As Eve stood there staring, Angela laughed. It was a full-throated laugh, an infectious, happy laugh. Within the space of a second, she had everyone else laughing with her.
That was when Eve saw something that made her frown.
Angela reached out and put her hand on Ryan’s arm. It was a possessive gesture, intimate and warm, and Eve felt her temper flare. Instead of pulling away, as Eve expected Ryan to do, he just smiled at Angela and put his hand over hers.
Eve clamped her lips shut tightly and stood there glaring, unable to tear her eyes away. Ryan was gazing at Angela with an expression that Eve knew well. It was a deeply personal, private look that she’d thought was for her alone. Ryan was gazing at Angela the same way he gazed at Eve, right before he kissed her good night . . .
The lines were drawn. The battle was on. Eve glared at her rival with undisguised malice. No one tried to steal Eve Carrington’s boyfriend and lived to tell about it. It just wasn’t done. Angela Adams was her enemy and Eve would make her pay . . .
To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.
KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 1996 by Joanne Fluke
Previously published under the pseudonym Chris Hunter. The original year of publication was July 1996.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
Kensington and the K logo Reg. U. S. Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-0-7582-9110-3
First Kensington Mass Market Edition: May 2016
eISBN-13: 978-0-7582-9111-0
eISBN-10: 0-7582-9111-6
First Kensington Electronic Edition: May 2016
