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He blinked a few times, trying to place me. The moment it hit, his eyes widened. “Honey? I mean, Shay Honeycutt?”

We exchanged one of those faux hugs and air kisses.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, as if seeing me in a place like this went against the natural order.

“She’s with me,” Nessa said.

His gaze lit upon her, and a strange understanding flashed in his eyes, a sort of Oh, that makes sense look, before he air-kissed her as well. “Mrs. Shepherd. How are you?”

They exchanged pleasantries, but I was still stuck on that look. What was that?

He turned back to me. “So what are you up to now, Shay?”

“Oh, I’m helping short-term at the Henley distillery—” My words faltered when Nessa subtly nudged my elbow. “But I’m also beginning work with a startup foundation.”

A deeper interest sparked in his face. “Oh yeah? What’s its mission?”

Alarm shot through me.

He raised his hands to indicate all that surrounded us, and gave a teasing smile. “Looking to cure incurable diseases?”

I laughed, racking my brain. If it was a made-up foundation, then I could be inventive, right? I opened my mouth and spewed forth my fantasy job, the one I’d invented as a hungry eight-year-old, sleeping beneath six blankets in a cold trailer, waiting for my mom to come home from the late shift at the diner. “Not quite. We’re hoping to set up centers for women in need, to give them resources not just to get them out of bad homes, but also to keep them safe and help them establish new, more stable lives.”

His eyebrows rose. “That sounds pretty great.”

“Sometimes it feels like a pipe dream,” I said. “But it’s something that’s dear to my heart. We’re just getting started, but very hopeful.”

“What’s the name of this foundation?”

“The Shepherd Foundation,” Nessa said at once.

I glanced at her, surprised.

He smiled. “Well, I’d be happy to support such a noble cause. Let me know where to send the check.”

“That’s quite generous of you, dear,” Nessa said, clinking her glass against his. “We’ll be in touch.”

“It was great to see you again, Shay. Tell Cam I said hi.”

“Okay,” I said before the strangeness of that request settled, and it occurred he might have the wrong idea. “Oh, wait, I⁠—”

“Have a good evening, Oliver.” Nessa directed me away from him.

“But he⁠—”

“Never correct assumptions when they are working in your favor, darling. Intrigue is a powerful lure.”

I met her pure blue eyes. “We aren’t together, Cam and I. You know that, right? We only work together.”

As if that detail were of little consequence, she waved a hand. Her expression softened as her husband caught her attention from across the room. His eyes found hers, and a fire caught behind them, undisguised. I’d never met a couple with such a palpable connection.

“He’s always been like that,” Nessa murmured, still staring at her husband. “Since the moment I first saw him. His father was the same way with his mother.”

“That’s lovely.” I said, unsure how else to respond.

She took my hand and patted it. “You’ll see. The Shepherd men have their faults, my dear, but devotion to their women isn’t one of them.”

Thirty-Seven