22

His head tilted slightly. Through the layers of her starched and stiff clothing, she felt his stare move from the tips of her shoes to the top of her head. His lips curved up as his gaze locked with hers. “I’ll get back to you on that, Mrs Spencer.”

After Alaric left, Vanessa quickly gathered up a day or two’s worth of clothing and some personal stuff. She packed it up neatly and exited the apartment after calling for a cab. Paranoia kept causing her to look over her shoulder as she waited for the cab to arrive. She ended up checking into a hotel. She closed the door behind her, locked it, and rolled her suitcase to the bed. Looking around the room, the queen-size bed with square pillows, the desk and the TV, she let out a deep sigh. She plopped down on the bed, wishing she’d had the foresight to grab a carton of ice cream from her freezer. It felt like it was going to be one of those “look at your life, look at your choices” kinds of night, and she needed chocolate to deal with that