Page 77 of Say You Remember Me
The words hit me with a force I wasn’t prepared for. After years of feeling like I was never enough, like I was always second-best, it was hard to accept that someone like Ian could see me like this.
Not as someone forgettable or disposable, like my mom and Jaxon had made me feel when they left me behind, but as someone who mattered.
And that terrified me. Because with every lingering look, every gentle touch, Ian Hastings was making it harder for me to believe that this wasn’t real.
By the end of our shopping spree, I wasn’t just walking away with two dresses—I had shoes, jewelry, and even a designer clutch to complete the look. I tried to argue that it was too much, but Ian just waved me off, grinning as he picked out a tie to match my red dress in less than a minute.
“You’re surprisingly decisive,” I said, watching him pay with the effortless swipe of his black Amex.
He shrugged, his eyes meeting mine. “I know what I want.”
And from the way he said it, the way his gaze lingered…it was impossible not to wonder if he was also referring to me.
Was it possible that I could be something he wanted?
26
IAN
The mixer buzzed around me,the clinking of glasses and low hum of conversation filling the room. I held a champagne flute loosely in one hand, nodding absently to a man who’d introduced himself as Mr. Butler, one of the conference’s sponsors. He was talking about his company’s expansion efforts, something I should’ve been engaged in, but my thoughts were elsewhere.
On Maddie.
I’d spent the earlier part of the evening at a dinner for presenters and conference organizers, but I couldn’t focus then, either. I’d decided to give Maddie the evening off from that part of the event. She deserved a break after how much time I’d monopolized her over the last few days.
From the summit’s events to our shopping trip earlier, I’d barely given her a moment to herself.
Still, as much as I wanted her to relax, I’d been anticipating seeing her all night.
We’d decided earlier she would wear the red dress for tonight’s mixer, and I’d matched her choice with the red tie I picked up during our shopping trip. I still couldn’t get over howstunning she’d looked trying it on. Heck, I couldn’t get over Maddie, period.
The afternoon had only cemented what I’d already begun to suspect—I was falling for her.
Hard.
But unlike the whirlwind infatuations I’d had before, this felt different.
Deeper.
Calmer.
It wasn’t about adrenaline or chasing the thrill; it was about her. The way she smiled. The way her laughter lit up a room. The way she didn’t try to impress me and still managed to leave me breathless.
It was maddening. And exhilarating. And terrifying.
Mr. Butler chuckled, apparently at something he’d said. I forced a polite smile, raising my glass in acknowledgment. But then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of deep red.
Her.
My breath hitched as I turned, and the world seemed to tilt on its axis. Maddie stood at the entrance, scanning the room, her cheeks tinged pink as if she were nervous to enter the room alone. The red dress hugged her curves perfectly, the neckline revealing enough of her cleavage to make my throat go dry. My eyes wanted to follow the fabric down, to take her all in, but I reminded myself to be a gentleman and forced my gaze to stay on her face instead.
I could think about how good she looked in that dress on my own time.
Her eyes found mine a second later and she smiled shyly, the room going still as my chest tightened.
She really had no idea what she was doing to me, did she? No idea how she’d completely upended my world.
“Excuse me,” I said to Mr. Butler. “My date just arrived.”
