wing coffee. It was her sanctuary. Today, it felt like a cage. She stared at a blank dra

rom Julian. No greeting, n

Hamptons. 7 PM. Family

was pulling her strings. She had

anicured suburbs and finally the sprawling estates of the ultra-rich. Her Honda looked like a

the Atlantic. A valet took her keys, his expression carefully neutral. She took a dee

and ancestral portraits. She had barely taken three steps i

ook what the c

te of champagne in her hand. Her designer dress probabl

le

in a designer cage, but it's still just a sparrow." She leaned in, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "You should

kept her face a mask of indifference. "

a fact. You're just a placeholder. A temporary solution to a permanent

e foyer, her fists clenched. A placeholder. Th

to compose herself. As she rounded a corner into a di

li

behind a heavy tapestry. He slammed her back ag

Alea?" he demanded,

Kianna shot back, trying to ignore

she knows, we are deeply in love. You will smile. You will make pleasant conversat

aze with one of her o

th. The building was recently acquired by a subsidiary of the Harrison

ffocating her. He had her corn

ce drifted down the hall. "Jul

el

of warm affection. He released her arms, his hand sliding to her waist, pulling her

away, but his arm

in her wheelchair, a gentle smile on her face.

Julian said, his voice impossibly smooth. He looked down

the performance, h

own on hers. It wasn't a kiss. It was an invasion. A punishment. A brutal assertion of o

f his chest, the way his hand splayed across her lower back. She had dreamed of his li

primal, surge

where Evelyn couldn't see the

jerked back. His eyes were blazing. A tin

smile for the benefit of his grandmother.

anished. He released Kianna as if she were on fire, taking a step

hand, her lips tingling from the impact. S

room, her head held high, leaving him alone i