And just like that, the walls are up.
Reinforced and impenetrable.
Just like they should have been from the start.
21
HACK ATTACK
SAGE
It’s hard not to float through Callum Abernathy’s engagement party like a woman who just had semi-public sex with a tech billionaire against a stone balustrade—while overlooking a mountain lake and an open bar.
Everything about the night glows.
The Fairmont Olympic looks like it was dipped in champagne and then gift-wrapped by the ghost of Gatsby.Marble floors polished to a mirror shine, towering floral installations that smell like wealth, and enough gold trim to make Versailles feel insecure.
Crystal chandeliers flicker over a canopy of champagne-colored silk.String quartets play tasteful renditions of pop songs.And the flower arrangements?So aggressively luxurious they could bankrupt a small country.
There’s literal golden light spilling from antique lanterns lining the veranda.A harpist is playing in the middle of the damn hors d'oeuvre station.The ice sculpture in the foyer is of Callum and Karina in formalwear, waltzing.
It’s obscene.It’s over-the-top.
It’s beautiful.
And I can’t stop smiling.
Because somewhere between Luke’s mouth on mine, his hands under my dress, and the feel of him whispering filth against my neck while Seattle glittered behind us like a dream—I forgot every worry I’ve ever had.
He’s across the room now, talking to a cluster of men in suits that cost more than my entire inn renovation.But even from a distance, he keeps glancing my way.
And the look he gives me makes me want to drag him back to that terrace.
Or a coat closet.
Or honestly, the nearest horizontal surface.
“Someone’s glowing,” Mac says, appearing at my elbow with two champagne flutes and a knowing smirk.
“Just enjoying the party,” I say, pretending my lipstick isn’t actively betraying me.
“Right.”She hands me a flute.“So… the terrace was a productive venue, I take it?”
“I plead the fifth.”
“Uh-huh.Your lipstick's smudged, your hair’s doing this post-thrust halo thing, and you look like a woman who’s just been thoroughly compromised by a man who probably owns a compound in the Alps.”She winks.“I’ve been there.Alex and I once scandalized an entire wedding reception in a greenhouse.I don’t know what it is about formal wear and inappropriate locations, but it’s…it’s…”
“Hot?”I ask, grinning, and she grins back.
“Immensely.”
Nodding, I turn to reapply my lipstick, catching my reflection in the beveled mirror behind the bar.
I don’t even look like myself.
I look… euphoric.Reckless.Light.
Until Luke appears beside me.
