His eyes drop to my lips. My hand rises on instinct, brushing the front of his shirt just as he leans in.
He’s so close I can feel the heat of his breath... and then the door swings open, snapping us back to reality. We jerk apart, turning toward the door in sync.
“Oh my God—Alexander, I didn’t realize you were in here.” A brunette woman stops dead in the doorway, clutching a folder to her chest. “I thought you hadn’t finished the tour. I just came to drop this off for you to sign later.”
Alexander steps farther from me, creating a polite distance between us as he takes the folder from her hands.
“It’s all right, Lilian. I can take a quick look at it now.”
The woman, Lilian, steps forward and offers her hand to me with a sincere smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Sterling. I’m Lillian, the CEO’s assistant, and Alexander’s, whenever he’s in the city.”
I match her smile as best I can, steadying my breath as I shake her hand.
“Nice to meet you, Lillian.”
Alexander calls her over, asking something about one of the contracts, and I can’t stop myself from taking her in.
She’s young, late twenties or maybe early thirties. Brown hair, elegant posture. Professional clothes that manage to flatter her figure.
I watch the way they interact. It looks strictly professional. Lilian stands close enough to point something out on the document, but not close enough to accidentally touch. Their movements are efficient, nothing suggestive in the slightest.
A bitter taste rises in my throat the moment I realize what I’m doing.
I reach for my bag on his desk and force my voice to sound normal. “Alexander, I should go. I just realized that if I don’t cross the bridge soon, I’ll be late for another appointment.”
He immediately sets the papers aside and turns fully toward me. “But what about our lunch?” he asks, disappointment and concern plain on his face.
“I’m sorry... I didn’t plan for traffic,” I say, and I hate myself a little for lying to him.
He looks at me for several seconds, searching, but doesn’t say a word.
“I’ll come back later to pick up the documents and—” Lillian starts, but I cut her off before I can overthink it.
“No, please. Go ahead. I’m already leaving.”
I turn to Alexander. “Thank you for showing me the company. It’ll definitely help with the article.” Then I give Lillian a small nod. “It was nice meeting you.”
I start walking toward the door when it hits me that I haven’t said goodbye. I stop, glance back over my shoulder.
“Goodbye, Alexander. We’ll talk later.”
“Goodbye, Cecilia,” he says, his tone cooler than before, but I can feel his eyes on me until I’m out of sight.
At the elevator, I swipe the card the receptionist gave me. The second the doors slide shut, my shoulders collapse.
I don’t want to think about what happened. Or what almost happened before Lillian walked in...
But one thing is painfully clear:
The ghosts of my past are still alive. Breathing and whispering, right here in my present.
I close the front door behind me and let my bag fall onto the couch as I head toward the kitchen. Before I get there, I hear shouting and laughter coming from the pool.
Through the window, I spot four of Ethan’s friends, two girls I don’t recognize, and Dalila—Ethan’s girlfriend. It feels strange to say that.
Ethan brought her over for lunch on Saturday and introduced her as his girlfriend. She seems like a good girl. When I mentioned her to Felicity, she recognized the last name and saidDalila’s father does business with Oliver, and that they’re good people.
If she makes my son happy, that’s all I want.
