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I look away, my pulse racing. This isn’t how a woman is supposed to feel about a man who isn’t her fiancé. I’m not falling in love with him. It’s not one of those fairy-tale scenarios. I’m past believing in those.
But I can’t bring myself to look away. My eyes keep finding him in the reflection.
The elevator glides upward again. My heart races and I chide myself for feeling anything in the slightest.
We only have a few moments together. The elevators in this building are fast, and he’s only going up two floors. I try to make it seem like I’m not staring, but I am, and that’s how I notice when he looks at me.
His eyes linger on my body in the reflection, trailing down the dress Kevin bought for me.
Any thoughts of him are a mistake. I shut them down quickly, holding onto Kevin’s arm with both hands.
Because the moment I tear my eyes off the stranger, I become aware of Kevin watching both of us with a clenched jaw. Kevin dislodges my hold on his arm and puts his hand on the small of my back.
His possessiveness takes me by surprise but I lean into it. Staring straight ahead as if the man isn’t even here.
I do not want any part of being kissed or touched by a stranger in a nice suit who happens to have one of the most gorgeous faces I’ve ever seen.
My face gets hot at my imagined fantasy of this stranger kissing me in the way I wish Kevin would. That’s all it is—a fantasy. A short, unasked-for fantasy that’s only happening because of the champagne and the excitement of the evening.
That’s all. I clear my throat and shake the odd thoughts off, ignoring the prying eyes I swear I can still feel on me.
The elevator stops, and the man next to me shifts his weight to leave.
His elbow brushes against mine.
The fabric of his suit brushes against my bare elbow and it feels as sensual as a kiss, almost as intimate as one. He didn’t have to touch me—there’s room in the elevator for him to get in and out with zero contact—but he did, and it’s electric.
What’s going on with me? Electricity over a man’s suit?
He turns his head as he reaches the doors. “Good night.”
His voice matches his impeccable suit and his gorgeous face. It’s low and rich and somehow, deep in my bones, sounds familiar.
“Good night,” Kevin snaps.
The other man doesn’t seem to notice the bite in Kevin’s tone. As the doors begin to close, he turns to go down the hall and looks back in at me. His eyes are still locked on mine when the doors shut completely, cutting me off from him.
He was an attractive man, and I couldn’t help but notice. He doesn’t have anything to do with me and Kevin.
He doesn’t.
“What a prick,” Kevin mumbles under his breath.
I actually don’t think we can fault the man for using the same elevator, but I don’t say that. I slip my hand into Kevin’s instead.
“Don’t worry about him.” I smile up at my new fiancé. “Think about us. This is our big night.”
“You’re right about that.” He turns my hand in his and runs the pad of his thumb over my ring. “You’re mine now.”
“Now?” I joke. “Wasn’t I yours before? Or does it only count once we’ve made vows?”
Kevin frowns, not even giving me a courtesy laugh.
The elevator takes us up the remaining floors, and I step close to him and try to communicate that everything is normal. Better than normal. It’s the start of our forever.
There’s always a comedown when you do something special, right? The adrenaline fades. Soon we’ll be in bed together, and the guy in the elevator won’t matter at all.
I’m not going to think about him again.
