Prior to Sadie leaving, Stone had her prepare cinnamon-glazed tarts, gouda-stuffed mushrooms, and an artichoke and chives dip to partner with pumpernickel bread. He chilled the Verdi and rearranged the stack of Robert Riley paperbacks next to the appetizer table. By six-fifteen, he felt ready for the club’s members to arrive. Exhausted and needing a nap, he decided to enjoy two shots of vodka with Sprite and a slice of lime in the sitting room, exactly where the members would be seated and enjoying a conversation about Riley’s A Winter Affair.
Before temporarily retiring to the sitting room with his drink, he decided to snatch up one of the paperbacks stacked on the appetizer table. Windmill Lane struck his fancy, a harrowing love story between a husband and wife that ended in blood-thirs
