No applause. No relief. Just a quiet shift in the air, like something irreversible has locked into place.
Manny exhales slowly.
Sasha gathers the papers.
Noah is already pulling out his phone.
I sit there, hands folded in my lap, heart racing, trying to understand what I’ve just done.
I haven’t married anyone yet.
But I’ve stepped onto that path.
And now there’s only one thing left that matters.
Whether Camden Drake will agree to meet me there.
Chapter eight
Cam
Brent paces from the kitchen island to the windows and back, phone in one hand, legal pad in the other.
Anxiety radiates off him. He mutters about league deadlines. Optics. Stability indicators. The wordtrajectorycomes up twice, like my career is a plane someone else is flying.
I don’t answer.
I drop onto the couch, elbows on my knees, and stare at the carpet. My shoulders ache from practice, but not the good kind.
Brent stops long enough to point his pen at me. “You’re not taking this seriously.”
“I’m sitting,” I say.
“That’s not the same thing.”
“I know.”
A knock freezes Brent mid-step. His eyes flick toward the door like his body recognizes the threat before his brain does.
Brent looks at me. I don’t move.
He peeks through the peephole, and his shoulders tense before he opens the door.
Evelyn Sterling stands on the other side. Tailored coat. Calm expression. Eyes sharp enough to cut through excuses. A slim leather portfolio rests under one arm, light as if it carries nothing more than notes.
She looks polite. Neutral. Controlled. “May I come in?”
Brent straightens immediately. “Ms. Sterling—yes, of course.”
I stand, mostly because something in me refuses to be seated for this.
“Of course,” I say.
Evelyn steps inside. She doesn’t glance around, doesn’t react to the space. My condo isn’t meant to impress. It’s private. It’s mine. She moves like none of that matters.
“When you and Ms. Hart left ERS the other day,” she says, “your situations didn’t stop moving.”
She crosses to the dining table and sets the portfolio down. The sound is soft but decisive. Paper becoming permanent.
