more per square foot than most people's mortgages; the guest list was a compendium of names that appeared on financial news tickers; and the charitable mission, while genuine, was al

priate for the occasion, borrowed from the back of her own wardrobe rather than Maya's,

pinions abo

p up the black gown. "You own exactly one piece of clothing designed for a

is profe

u refusing to

n't want to

most photographed CEO in the city. You are going to be looked at wheth

he mirror. Then she pulled th

pretend to be in love with you

*

hat cost more than Elara's rent, and he looked up when she came do

k under the composure, and he

expensive,"

n gestured for her to get in first. O

got

*

at close range. She stood beside Rowan and matched his register, warm but not eager, present but not exposed, and managed three

ause her hands had a tendency to tighten when she was managing something diffic

cover of discussing the Foundation's environmental programs and had very smoothly pivoted to asking whether E

had simply materialised, with the awareness of someone who

ing a hand. "I wasn't aware you were covering the Harrington ev

pite himself. "Always expanding, Row

hout appearing to end it. His hand found Elara's, brief, light, at the wrist rather than the hand, a point of contact that read

e of two people who had somewhere to be that the

es away before she co

she said, und

ow you

en w

ing and you look like you're thirty seconds from saying something true to someone you shouldn

at him. "Did you just

eat. It's not th

without breaking eye contact with her

Ate it. It w

e said. "Th

ent and wasn't quite warmth but lived somewhere in between. "You're allowe

e soft gala lighting, with his guard dow

that thought be

d get back

a min

y in the space between them, not a dramatic thing, not something either of them named. Jus

id finally. "For ton

t than

hy

oment. "Because I didn't

ard the crowd befor

ten seconds, holding an empty cocktail

ger than it

*

nsified. Neither of th

aid. "He mentioned the most rece

has applied to expand the

was becoming complicated. Which meant the timeline was becoming comp

for telling

e found it by m

. Still. T

Get some sleep, Elara. You l

," she said

hat. But the silence felt, s