Rina touches my hand. “Is everything okay?”
I force a nod and bolster my smile. “Yeah. Just a little nervous.”
Instead of pushing, she squeezes my arm as we head to the elevator. The ride is smooth and silent. It’s the kind of quiet that makes you feel like the walls are pressing in on you. I stare at the panel and watch the numbers climb.
When the elevator doors slide open, it feels less like arriving on another floor and more like stepping into a completely different world. Hugh’s penthouse makes Oliver’s place look like a standard hotel suite, which I didn’t think was possible. A polished hardwood floor stretches beneath our feet, leading to floor-to-ceiling windows that frame a sweeping view of the Chicago skyline, the city lights already beginning to flicker on as dusk settles in.
A black baby grand piano sits near the glass, perfectly positioned, as if someone might wander over and play at any moment. Low jazz drifts through hidden speakers, the music wrapping around the space and giving the gathering a sophisticated, intimate feel that’s warm instead of pretentious.
The air is scented with turkey, butter, and cinnamon. It’s comfort and indulgence rolled into one, carrying me straight back to the holidays of my childhood. Laughter and conversation swirl together as deep male baritones weave with lighter feminine voices. It’s loud and soft at the same time, cozy yet somehow overwhelming. It feels like walking onto a movie set mid-scene, where everyone else knows their lines while I flip through the script, frantically trying to find my place.
“Look who finally arrived,” a familiar voice says.
Evelyn appears in the entryway, effortlessly chic in a navy blouse and tailored trousers, her lipstick perfect. Her gaze sweeps over the three of us before landing on me.
“Kia,” she greets. “Don’t you look lovely. Cream is absolutely your color.”
“Thank you. Your place is…” I glance around, searching for the right word. “Incredible.”
Even though she smiles, a hard glint flickers in her eyes before disappearing. “Actually, it’s Hugh’s,” she says lightly, as if the distinction matters, before stepping aside. “Come in, all of you. Make yourselves at home. There’s food everywhere. And more still to come.”
Oliver pats his stomach as he glances at me. “This is your reminder to pace yourself.”
A joke about elastic waistbands sits perched on the tip of my tongue when a high-pitched squeal cuts through the noise.
“Kia!”
I barely have time to brace before a small body launches itself at me. Elody hits with a surprising amount of force for someone so little. Her arms wind around my hips as she stares up at me with a grin so big that the tension within me has no other choice but to dissolve.
With a laugh, I smooth a hand over her hair. “Hi! Long time no see.”
“You came!” she says, eyes filled with excitement. “I told Daddy you would!”
For a second, everything narrows to this little girl and her absolute certainty that I’d attend the celebration.
“How could I miss Thanksgiving?”
She beams as her small hand slides into mine. “Come on,” she says with a tug. “Daddy’s over here.”
I glance at Rina and find her shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
Elody drags me through the guests, weaving between players, partners, and flower arrangements. I catch glimpses as we go. Steele with his arm around Lilah, murmuring in her ear. River talking to Callie, who’s balancing Nora on her hip. Knox and Jax trading jabs.
And then I see him standing near the window, a tumbler in one hand and the other tucked into his pants pocket, a charcoal sweater stretched over broad shoulders. His hair looks like he’s raked his fingers through it too many times to count. Even from across the room, the shadows beneath his eyes are obvious.
Laiken Lennox looks like a man holding himself together by sheer force of will. Every muscle is tight, every movement controlled, like if he relaxes even a fraction, something inside him might finally crack.
As if sensing my appraisal, his gaze lifts and fastens on mine.
For one suspended heartbeat, the chatter around us, the clink of glasses, the music drifting through the room, fades until there’s nothing left but the weight of his stare holding me in place.
This isn’t attraction in the easy, superficial sense. It’s heavier. More unsettling. A connection that has no business existing between two people who barely know each other. His focus feels almost searching, like he’s trying to look past every careful layer I’ve built around myself to what lies beneath it all.
Heat spreads under my skin, and suddenly I’m hyperaware of the space between us and how impossible looking away feels.
Elody squeals again, and the moment snaps. “Daddy! Daddy, look who came! It’s Kia!”
A few more steps bring us close enough for his height to make me feel small in a way that has nothing to do with inches.
