Alix had never been happier to be wrong.

Behind her hung the dress she’d bought that afternoon in a half-hour break between meetings. It was silver, high in the neck, and fitted her perfectly. Not black. Not businesslike. But she had to admit that she loved it. It was even a little festive, and if you couldn’t sparkle in Manhattan in December, then when could you?

Sure that Christy would approve, she slid on the dress.

On impulse she snapped a selfie and typed a message to Christy.

Followed your advice. New dress. I’m going to look like something that fell off a Christmas tree.

She paused before she sent it, weighing up whether she should or not. There had been a time when she never would have asked herself that question. She and Christy had messaged each other multiple times a day in an almost nonstop conversation, but that had changed when Christy had married Seb. Christy’s messages had become less frequent. And that was to be expected, of course. Her friend was married. Busy. But it had made Alix self-conscious about the messages she sent, too. How many was too many? Especially after her phone call. Was she intruding? Unsure, Alix had tried to scale back her contact.

She pressed Send, feeling a little awkward at overthinking something so simple as messaging her friend over a dress. In all other parts of her life, including her work, she was decisive and confident.

Pathetic.

She picked up her purse, took one last glance at herself and headed out the room.

She didn’t care much about the dinner or the ceremony, but she was looking forward to seeing other members of her team. She never forgot that this was a team effort, and she worked with good people.

Lonely? No way.

She was sliding into the car that had been booked for her when she realized Christy hadn’t replied. But with a five-hour time difference, that probably wasn’t surprising. Her friend was probably already deeply asleep.

Remembering their conversation earlier that day, she squashed down the flicker of concern. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, but if that was the case then Christy would have told her. Maybe they didn’t share every single little thing that happened in their lives anymore or talk as often as they used to, but they still shared the big things.

She leaned back in her seat, enjoying the moment. Manhattan during the day was fun, interesting and exciting, but at night it was spectacular.

She didn’t quite understand why, but every time she landed in this city she felt as if she’d made it.

She’d survived her ice-cold childhood and built a life for herself. No one knew what lay behind her. No one cared.

Her phone beeped, and she checked it, expecting Christy, and saw a message from her mother.

Won’t be back in London for Christmas, but money wired to your account. Fiona.

Alix stared at the message and then rolled her eyes.