Patrick read Clara’s jacket and saw a woman beneath his hotel.

Clara read Patrick’s contempt and saw, accurately and completely, a man beneath her company.

Only one of them was actually looking.

Chapter 3 — I Have a Reservation

“I have a reservation,” Clara said, keeping her voice at a careful whisper for Lily’s sake.

“Under Clara Vance.”

The receptionist, an impeccably groomed man whose gold nametag read Patrick, scanned her once more from head to toe before, with visible reluctance, tapping at his computer.

Beside him, a second front-desk agent named Karl, in a crisp dark suit, crossed his arms and wore a cold, waiting smile.