She looked like someone else’s again. Her gaze flicked to my phone vibrating across the nightstand.
“Dynasty wants you back,” she murmured. “Your world misses its enforcer.”
I looked at her. “What about my world needsyouin it?”
She smiled but didn’t answer. I took her hand again. “What’s on your schedule?”
“Two deals to finalize. One’s a regional bond split, the other’s a commodity transfer. And a ballet recital.”
“A ballet recital?”
“Not mine,” she added quickly. “I sponsor the company. I’m obligated to go.”
She was already sliding back into the world where I didn’t belong. Her eyes dropped. “I’ll be discreet. No one will know I was with you these last two days.”
And there it was.The thing that dug deepest. She was trying to protect me. Trying to preservemyname. Because she didn’t think hers was worth keeping.
She took a breath, bracing herself. “It’s better if it stays quiet. You don’t need the heat from my side. And I can’t afford another strike against my status. Not now.”
I reached for her hand and curled my fingers around hers. “This isn’t about being ashamed of you.”
“I know that.”
“Good.”
She paused.
I got up and followed her as she got dressed. Only to catch her waist, pulling her close to me.
She smiled up at me. That same soft, knowing smile. The kind you give when you’ve accepted something so deeply it doesn’t even bruise anymore.
“I’m not ashamed of you,” I said again.
“I believe you.”
So I traced my fingers down her side, brought her hand to my chest, and flattened it over my heartbeat.
“You were mine before you stepped in that gallery,” I said. “And you’ll be mine when you walk out of here. Whether they see it or not.”
She was quiet. But she didn’t argue. I kissed her forehead. Then her temple. I sighed, couldn’t prolong it any longer, “Come on. I’ll walk you down.”
We didn’t speak as we moved through the suite.
She straightened her dress, fixed her lipstick in the mirror. Slid her phone into her clutch.
I pulled a black T-shirt over my head and keyed the elevator.
The doors opened. We stepped inside.
She stood beside me, eyes forward, expression unreadable. But I watched her hand twitch once at her side, like she wanted to reach for mine but didn’t.
“You’re going to have a busy day.” She stood beside me, eyes forward, with an expression I couldn’t read. “You’ve got messages from Luca. Rome. Bastion. And someone named Bishop?”
“Security Chief.”
“Is he nice?”
I smiled faintly. “Not really.”
