(Mira)
The next morning started slower than the one before.
I woke up alone in bed and reached across the sheets before I was fully awake. Cold space met my hand.
For one second something old and ugly moved through me.
Then I remembered where I was.
Ridge never slipped out to disappear. If he left, he was somewhere in this building doing ten things at once and expecting to be back before I noticed.
I sat up carefully and looked around the room. His side of the bed was empty. The bathroom door stood open. No light under it. His boots were gone from where he’d left them the night before.
That was answer enough.
I got dressed in one of Ridge’s shirts first, then changed into my own clothes after deciding I should at least pretend to be functional.
When I stepped out into the hall, on
