Chapter 2

The air on the rooftop terrace was thick, heavy with the scent of blooming jasmine and the sharper, electric tang of impending rain and expensive cologne. It was late July, the heat of the day finally surrendering to a humid twilight that clung to our skin like a second layer of silk. Below us, the city sprawled out in a grid of glittering gold and stark white, a testament to human ambition, but up here, in the private corner of the exclusive venue, the world had narrowed down to the space between us. I had spent the last twenty minutes in the designated ladies’ room, shedding the restrictive, formal attire I’d worn for the cocktail hour. The strapless navy blue dress I’d arrived in was now hanging over my shoulder, revealing the delicate lace of my slip underneath, though I hadn’t bothered to change fully. I just wanted to breathe. I wanted to feel less constrained by the expectations of the crowd. When I stepped back out onto the terrace, the noise of the mingling guests seemed to recede, muffled by the sudden intensity of his gaze. He was leaning against a marble pillar, a glass of amber whiskey in