Chapter 2

I stayed on the terrace for a long moment after he left, letting the cool night air steady my breathing. The almost-kiss still tingled on my lips, a phantom sensation that made my skin ache. I pressed my fingers to my mouth and closed my eyes, trying to slow the frantic rhythm of my heart. When I finally stepped back inside, the party had shifted. The living room was quieter now, the remaining guests clustered in smaller groups. I spotted him across the room, deep in conversation with a silver-haired man in an expensive suit. He didn't look my way, but I felt his awareness of me like a physical thread. I drifted to the bar and ordered a glass of water, needing something to do with my hands. My mind was still on the terrace, on the way his hand had felt on my jaw, on the almost-taste of his lips. Ten minutes passed. Fifteen. I watched him from across the room, watched the way he commanded every conversation without seeming to try, the way people leaned toward him, eager for his approval. He was magnetic. He had always been magnetic. Then, finally, he excused himself. I watched him