CHAPTER 49

“Cindy,” he murmured, and she jumped, nearly spilling the wine. She blinked up at him as if surprised to see him standing there. She self-consciously tucked an errant strand of brown hair behind her ear.

“Gerard , you startled me.” He sat down next to her and turned to face her.

“Sorry about that,” he apologized. “I just wanted to give you these.” He handed over half of the papers he was holding, and she put the glass onto a side table to take hold of the documents. She stared blankly down at the big, bold words at the top of the first sheet.

“That was fast,” she murmured. He reached over and angled her jaw upward, and she realized that he hadn’t been able to read her lips. She repeated the three words, keeping her face determinedly neutral.

“I had them drawn up last week. I gambled on the fact that I knew you well enough to guess which place you’d go for.”

“Why bother showing me the other places then?” she asked, and Gerard shrugged. Yes, he’d been confident she would go for the last