Like he knows exactly what he wants.
Like he’s ready to make this marriage very, very real.
He crosses the dance floor, my hand firmly in his, and we walk out past the glittering tables and celebrity diners, down the hallway lined with gold fixtures.
And for the first time all night, I don’t question it.
I don’t hesitate.
I don’t look back.
I follow him.
Because his hand is warm around mine, because my heart is pounding like it’s trying to escape my chest, and because—God help me—I want whatever is coming next.
ChapterTwenty-Three
Nathan
My entire body is vibrating—heartpounding, blood rushing, nerves sparking like live wires.
And beneath it all, I feel it happening again.
The music.
That old, sacred thing I thought I’d lost forever.
It’s building inside me, swelling, rising—just like my desire, my passion, my need for this one woman.
Adrianna has always been the only person who can awaken that song inside me.
The only muse I’ve ever had.
The only woman whose existence turns my breath into melody.
How the hell have I lived without her?
The real answer?I haven’t.
I’ve been stumbling.Drifting.Pretending.
A man without a compass, wandering through noise and spotlight.
But not now.
Not when I guide her into the private elevator.
Not when her hand stays in mine the whole ride up.
Not when I lead her down the quiet hallway toward our suite.
Not when I unlock the door and step inside with her.
And not when I turn back and lock the door behind us.
Because right here, this moment?
This breath—this heartbeat—is the pivot point of my entire life.It’s everything I ever wanted, ever longed for.
