The draperies were open. Sunlight poured into the rooms, heating the space faster than the air-conditioning could cool it. Where was Vega? Panic threaded through his chest and settled like a stone in his gut. The weight sickened him. Folding slightly around the nausea rising inside him, he started through the rooms, looking for her but knowing it was too late. She wasn’t here. “Vega?” His voice sounded hollow in the empty space. Frantically, he cast his gaze around the living room, aware that the heap of black clothing he’d noticed upon leaving for the office that morning was gone. He strained to hear the sound of the shower or her stuttering snore. Nothing. What was he going to do if she’d left? They were just getting started. To cut off the fledgling relationship mid-flight would gut him. Scar his soul. “Are you here, baby?” He caught a whiff of her jasmine scent and his heart raced in sudden excitement. He grabbed the doorframe between the hall and the bedroom and steadied himself as he scoured the room for sight of her.
