“That’s fortunate. I’m not dressed for one.”
“Liar. You could start a war in that dress.”
I stare at him.
He blinks, maybe realizing he said that out loud.
Then one side of his mouth kicks up. “Sorry. That one got away from me.”
“Yes,” I say. “Much like every useful impulse you’ve ever had.”
Dax—because I heard someone call him that earlier—materializes at Bron’s shoulder with a fresh drink in hand and a grin he is making almost no effort to hide.
“Well,” he says to the room at large, “this is electric.”
Bron doesn’t look away from me. “Dax, go be social somewhere else.”
Dax raises both hands. “I’m just saying, if this is how you greet old friends, I need better stories.”
“We are not friends,” I say.
Dax’s brows go up. “Noted.”
Another contestant edges closer—Sonya, I think, the woman from across my hall. Her gaze flicks between Bron and me with frank professional interest.
She says to me, “You want a rescue?”
Before I can answer, Bron says, “That depends. Is the rescue from me or for me?”
Sonya snorts. “I haven’t decided.”
“I’m fine,” I say, even though my pulse is trying to punch through my sternum. “Thank you.”
“Mm.” Sonya takes a sip of her drink. “You don’t look fine. You look like you might set his tie on fire and call it a learning experience.”
Bron’s mouth twitches.
I do not smile. “That would imply his tie is worth the effort.”
“Cruel,” Bron murmurs.
“Accurate,” Sonya says.
The worst part is that he seems delighted.
Not by my anger exactly—he’s not stupid enough for that—but by the fact that I’m here, in front of him, real and breathing and speaking in full sentences. There’s an energy in him I recognize with bone-deep clarity. He’s thrilled. Shaken, yes. But thrilled too, and that makes me want to throw him through one of the Solarium windows just on principle.
Because of course he would find this exciting.
A reunion. Tension. Heat. Sharp words. History pressing up under the present like a bruise.
To Bron, disaster has always had a little glitter on it.
He lowers his voice. “Can we talk?”
“We are talking.”
“You know what I mean.”
