I knew he would perform here. I did not expect him to walk toward me at this very moment.
“Annabelle.”
His voice is smooth. Too smooth.
“You look incredible. I was hoping we could talk.”
Before I can respond, movement shifts around me.
Dex appears. Then Colby. Then Gabriel.
Like a wall. A ridiculous, oversized, accidentally-intimidating human wall.
Mark blinks. “Oh. Wow. Security detail?”
Dex smiles at him with the sweetness of a shark. “Nah. Just standing here. Being tall.”
Colby passes me a hot cocoa. “Here, Belle. Try this one. It’s better than whatever he’s selling.”
Mark’s jaw twitches.
And then Bryce arrives.
Not loud. Not dramatic. Just closer than anyone else.
Like gravity chose sides.
He just watches Mark. Quiet. Unblinking. Dangerous.
Mark clears his throat. “Anyway. Could we talk alone?”
“No,” Colby answers.
“I didn’t ask you.”
“You didn’t have to,” Dex says. “We answered anyway.”
My cheeks burn. “Guys, please…”
Bryce finally speaks.
“If she wanted to talk to you, she would have by now.”
Mark freezes.
The air is suddenly colder.
I force my voice steady. “Good luck with your set, Mark. We’re done.”
His mouth tightens before he walks away. Not defeated. But mad.
Whew! Glad that encounter is over.
I step away from the crowd, heading toward the lantern tunnel.
The lights glow pink, gold, and blue. They're soft and dreamlike. A giant illuminated phoenix stretches across the archway.
Families wander past.
