rie

c sculpture, my heart hammering wildly against my ribs. The steam from

far too much amusement. "You okay there, little squirrel? You're lo

ton did little to soothe my burning skin. I could still picture those broad shoulders, the water droplet

errupting the farce. And Caleb, quite naturally, invited Nathaniel to join us for dinner. I wanted to ob

ched across his shoulders, dark jeans, and a quiet elegance that didn't need to show off. His golden hair was now dry, slightly tousled, as if he'd run his fingers through it once and called it done. Without

. And in a way, he had. For years, our families had dined together here, back when our parents were still alive. Nathaniel and his parents were

b poured wine, chatting easily about Nathaniel's business ventures and the renovations he was

e. There was something glinting there-not quite warmth, but not cold either. A flicker of acknowledgment. "I pro

e sideboard. "You're like a brother to us. Feel free to use our pl

was abroad, I often thought of you... and Gabrie

for a moment whether his words came from genuine

ful blue eyes was gone, replaced by something else-an emotion I couldn

ovements precise and unhurried. For the next few minutes, the only sounds were

he table. "It's good to see you, Gabi," he said suddenly, his tone softness for the first

t off guard by the raw sincerity beneath the ice. Caleb shot me a pointed look, a

ftened-just a fraction. Then he returned his

es of text alerts. At first, I ignored them, but the messages kept coming, one after another, the vibration harsh

iel's. His eyes were fixed on me, sharp and assessing, a

was watching me. My hand tremble

do? Why is Sienna b

as V

vision blurring. So he had come crawling back-not with an apology, but with

s gaze lingered on me a moment longer, then shifted away. He said n

mth of the room suddenly felt suffocating, and all I could hear