I don’t get in my car right away, though my driver, Nicholas, is ready.
Instead, I stand here for a moment longer than necessary, hands shoved into my pockets, trying to untangle the feeling coiled tight in my chest.
She’s just someone I work with.
Someone familiar.
Someone I don’t have time to think about.
I repeat that as I finally open the door and hop into the car, as if saying it enough times might make it true.
But even as the car pulls away from the curb, one thought lingers, unwanted and unresolved.
I know her from somewhere.
And sooner or later, I’m going to remember where.
Chapter Seven
Melissa
The music is loud, the people are beginning to cram in as the night continues, and my body is still tense from the day. Long shifts will do that to you. Thankfully, I have tomorrow off.
Kayla and I are seated at a high-top table against a railing while we enjoy our wine. She decided she needed to get out of the apartment after a long day of writing. I can’t wait to go home and read what she wrote today. Her wit shines through so effortlessly in her writing. She isn’t sure, but I know she’ll make it big someday.
Tingles crawl up the back of my spine, making me sit up straight. At first, I think it’s the crowd—too many bodies, too close. But the sensation sharpens. It begins to move up the back of my neck, like a warning I don’t quite understand. My shoulders tighten instinctively.
I begin to scan the room without meaning to. I don’t see anything out of place, yet my pulse is erratic as my skin hums with awareness. I know this feeling. I’ve felt it before.
That slow, unsettling certainty that someone is watching me—not casually, not accidentally.
I shift on my stool, trying to shake it off, but the sensation only deepens. Presses closer.
Finally, I give in and turn my head.
That’s when I see him. In the opposite corner of the bar, lounging back on a large sofa chair, surrounded by a group of men. A group of very attractive men. I expect him to look away, like he does at the hospital.
But this time, his gaze doesn’t flicker or retract. It holds mine with intention.
I take a small sip of my wine but find it impossible to break the connection for a brief moment until it feels too intense. Even after I focus back on Kayla, I can feel my heart pounding against my chest.
I don’t understand my body’s reaction to his attention. And why is he looking at me like that? It feels … intense. No one has ever looked at me like that before. Honestly, I can’t tell whether it’s anger or something else. Something I can’t quite put my finger on. Either way, it’s disconcerting.
Kayla is talking about a scene in her book that she’s stuck on. I nod at the right moments, even laugh once, but my thoughts lag behind.
I don’t look across the room again. I already know what I would find.
And for reasons I don’t understand yet, that knowledge unsettles me more than the attention itself.
“Mel.” Kayla’s voice pulls me from my thoughts.
“Yeah?” I ask as I take another sip of my wine.
“You’ve been looking off into space for, like, an entire minute,” she replies.
“I have not,” I say automatically.
She smiles and leans back in her chair. “You absolutely have. What was I saying?”
