Chapter 3

The air on the rooftop was thin, sharp with the bite of the city’s evening chill, a stark contrast to the humid, pressurized warmth of the ballroom below. We had escaped the main throng, finding a secluded corner near the edge of the terrace where the glass railing offered a dizzying, panoramic view of the skyline. The city sprawled out like a circuit board of gold and white, indifferent and majestic. I stood there, my back against the cool glass, watching the lights blink on in the skyscrapers, trying to steady the tremor that had taken up residence in my hands. He stood just behind me, close enough that I could feel the radiating heat of his body, a solid, grounding presence that made my skin prickle. Julian. He hadn’t said a word since we’d slipped away from the gala’s formal introductions, but his silence was louder than the string quartet playing softly in the distance. It was a heavy, expectant silence, the kind that demanded submission rather than dialogue. I turned, expecting to see him looking at the view, but his eyes were locked on my mouth. He was wearing the same tailored charcoal suit, the top button of