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I elbowed my way past the crush of people. Halfway through, someone slammed into me so hard my teeth actually rattled. I looked up, ready to rip the guy a new one.
Green eyes, brutally handsome face. He looked oddly familiar, enough so that it gave me pause, but he disappeared before I had the chance to say a single word.
It was just as well. I didn’t have time to get into it with a stranger, no matter how rude he’d been.
11:47 p.m.
I picked up my speed and nearly knocked over a woman in a white snowflake hat.
“Hey! Watch it, blondie!” she yelled.
I ignored her. Cars, people, and shop windows blurred until I finally,finallyreached the Empire State Building’s entrance.
11:55 p.m.
I sped through the security process and prayed the elevator here, at least, worked properly.
11:58 p.m.
The sleek glass lift whisked me up to the eighty-sixth floor. Up, up, up, so fast my ears popped, and then…
I was there.
Midnight.
I spilled onto the outdoor observation deck, my skin drenched in sweat and my heart pounding hard enough to break my ribs. Normally, I’d be self-conscious about the way I looked right now, but that wasn’t the most important thing.
The most important thing was finding Xavier.
I scanned the deck. It was nearly empty, and for good reason. The heaters were no match against the wind, which whipped against exposed skin with vicious ferocity, and the cold was so biting, it gnawed through layers of wool and cashmere to burrow deep within my bones.
My breaths formed tiny white puffs as I circled the outdoor space. My face was numb after one lap, but that didn’t compare to the ice trickling through my veins after the second check.
He wasn’t here.
He’d either left—or he’d never showed up at all.
I stopped somewhere between the exit and the edge and stood there, shivering. I was so tired I was surprised my legs still worked, and the blanket of city lights beneath me took on a surreal quality, like scattered stardust waiting for a wish.
If you don’t show up, I’ll know what your answer is.
I’d gotten here exactly at midnight. If Xavier had left after the hour, I would’ve seen him. Had he gotten held up or left early for an emergency?
No. If he said he’d be here, he would—unless he’d changed his mind.
I didn’t blame him. If I were him, I’d change my mind too because why would anyone…why would they…
A sob racked the air.
I’d never heard such a thing claw its way out of my throat, and it took me a minute to recognize the sound came from me.
Once the first one escaped, the rest followed, and I could no more stop them than a sand wall could stop a tsunami.
Sunday night, I’d cried silent tears, but there was nothing silent about these. They were guttural, chest-heaving sobs, the type that echoed across the deck and made the very air tremble with sympathy. They would’ve been humiliating had anyone seen me, but at this point, I didn’t care.
I’d fucked up my relationship with the only man I’d ever truly loved, and I had no one to blame but myself.
“Luna.”
