She turned when the door clicked shut, her eyes instantly locking onto my damp coat.

“There you two are,” my father said, his voice deep and demanding.

“I was beginning to think you’d run off, Nathan,” Caroline said, her voice light but sharp.

Then she looked at me, her smile fading into a look of cold satisfaction.

“Evelyn, you look like a drowned rat.”

“It’s raining,” I said, removing my coat and hanging it on the brass stand by the door.

“You’ve been out there a long time,” my father observed, not looking up from his glass.

“Nathan and I had some professional matters to discuss,” I said.

Caroline let out a sharp, mocking laugh that echoed in the high-ceilinged room.

“Professional matters?” she asked, stepping forward.

She held up her phone, her manicured thumb tapping the screen.

“You mean your pathetic attempt to ruin my fiancé’s career?”

Nathan stiffened beside me, his face turning pale under the warm chandelier light.

“Caroline, don’t,” Nathan muttered, reaching a hand toward her.

“No, Nathan, I’m not going to let her hide behind her little desk job anymore,” Caroline said, her voice rising.