THE EMPTY CHAIR AT HER SISTER’S WEDDING WAS SUPPOSED TO PROVE HER FIANCÉ HAD LEFT HER—BUT WHEN A QUIET STRANGER SAT BESIDE HER, KORA NEVER IMAGINED HE OWNED THE HOTEL, OR THAT HIS FAMILY WAS ALREADY PLANNING THE MARRIAGE THAT COULD DESTROY THEM BOTH

that was neither toward her nor away from her.

Polite company.

Nothing more.

He did not introduce himself.

She did not ask.

And in a way she was not ready to examine, Kora liked that.

She liked that he had asked once and only once. She liked that he seemed content to sit there now, not because she had performed gratitude, not because he expected a reward,continue reading …