Olivia.
The entire space shrinks around me. She’s in yellow, the colour catching the light and turning everything else dull in comparison. The fabric glints under the rays, hugging her in ways that feel un-fucking-fair. Strong legs, toned arms, that ribbon of confidence she always carries, it’s all there. I swallow hard, trying to find air. She lifts her eyes, just for a beat, and it’s chaos.
The noise fades, the crowd disappears. It’s just her and me. A heartbeat, maybe two, passes before she looks away, and the spell is broken. I stare down at my shoes, forcing my shoulders to loosen.Focus. Ceremony. Anything but her.
The music is loud enough to rattle the glasses on the bar. I’m on my second whiskey on the rocks. No, third? Christ.Maybe I should slow down.
Kids dart between tables, little blurs of tulle and dress shoes. It guts me the way my mind goes straight to Teddy. He’s staying with my parents tonight—safe, happy, spoiled—yet my chest still aches like I left a piece of myself behind. Happens sometimes. Hell, more than sometimes. You’d think it’d get easier, but it never does. And the whiskey in my hand? Not doing a damn thing to help.
I rest an elbow on the bar, eyes scanning the crowd. Bradley has Amelia spinning across the dance floor. Zoe and Michael—Jesus Christ—need to get aroom. Then there’s Olivia. Seated at one of the round tables with Callie, Xavier and Isla’s little girl, perched on her lap.
“C’mon, Mitchell!” I hear Zoe call from the dance floor, waving her over. “Come dance with us!”
Olivia shakes her head, a smirk curving her mouth. “No thanks. His hands seem plenty full already.”
She’s not wrong. Michael hasn’t let go of Zoe since dinner ended. The chorus starts, and Imogen, Isla, and Amelia all callOlivia’s name at once. She rolls her eyes but gets to her feet anyway, swaying Callie on her hip as she makes her way toward the dance floor. I don’t catch what Xavier’s mum says as she steps in with a warm smile and lifts Callie from Olivia’s arms.
My feet move before my brain even registers it. Doesn’t matter who’s watching. Doesn’t matter what it means. If she’s going to dance with anyone tonight, it’s going to be me. I come up behind her, close enough to catch the quiet huff she lets out. “And dance with who?”
“With me, Little Mitchell.”
She whips around. Her brow arches, and that wicked glint lights up her eyes. “You? Since when do you know how to waltz?”
Oh, that attitude? Sexy as hell. She has no idea.
“Since always,” I say, offering my hand. “Don’t let the badge fool you, sweetheart.”
From across the dance floor, Bradley’s voice cuts through the music with perfect timing. “Better watch those hands, Daniels!”
The whole group cracks up, Olivia included. I don’t glance away from her as I lean in slightly to whisper, “No promises.”
She stills. Just for a second. But I catch the hitch in her breath, the flicker in her eyes. We keep just enough space between us to pretend we’re behaving, even as I draw her in. Her hand slips into mine, and I could lie to myself and say this is just a dance. That it’s harmless. But the second her eyes lift to mine, the rest of the world blurs, and I know better.
The song shifts to ‘Forever After All’by Luke Combs,of course, and more couples start to drift onto the dancefloor. Olivia glances up at me, just for a second, hesitantly, before she lets me draw her closer. My hand lands at the small of her back, where it’s meant to stay respectable, but I’ve been toeing that line all night.
The heat of her seeps through the silk of her dress. Slowly, deliberately, my palm slides lower until it rests just above thecurve of her ass. She stills, long enough for me to notice, then exhales, keeping up with the motion. Across the room, Michael catches my eye and shoots me a grin. Before I can shoot him a warning look, Zoe drags him away.Thank Christ.
Olivia’s fingers shift slightly against my shoulder, subtle and unsure. I dip my head until my words brush against her ear.
“You’re tense.”
Her mouth curves. “Maybe because you’re not exactly keeping things… professional.”
“I’m being a gentleman.”
“Oh, I’m well aware.”
I let out a low laugh and lean in again, voice lower now. “Good. Because if you’re not on duty tonight, I don’t see why I should be either.”
Her head tilts back enough to meet my gaze, and damn, those ocean blue eyes—so wide, so blue, so unfiltered. “Who are you, and what have you done with Sebastian?”
“When I’m around you…” The words leave me before I can think. “I forget who I’m supposed to be.”
Her breath hitches.
“And who exactly do you want to be?” she asks.
Yours.
