Page 126 of Midnight Confessions

My chest constricts, causing flutters of heartache to vibrate through me.

Tall, dark, formidable Aleck.

His ash-gray suit tailored perfectly to his granite body. The scruff covering his jaw now a little longer than it was a month ago, but it makes him look distinguished and so handsome I nearly close my eyes so it doesn’t hurt so badly to look at him. His pale blue eyes are clear even from this far away.

He hands Preston a bottle of champagne with a smile. Hissmile. The way the corners of his eyes wrinkle slightly when he smiles wide enough. His perfect straight, white teeth. The slight dimple in his right cheek that his scruff can’t quite hide all the way.

Then, as if he could feel me from across two rooms and through a glass slider door, his eyes lift to mine. He stills, and his smile falls. His lips part, hesitating, and he stops talking, mid-sentence. I don’t know what I’m doing with my face, but I can’t tear my eyes away from him as tears singe the back of my eyelids, threatening to spill over.

No.Not again.

I break eye contact, whipping my attention in Sondra’s direction. “I thought you said he wouldn’t be here,” I hiss.

Both Sondra and Keith turn to the door, seeing Aleck in conversation with Preston while his eyes are on me.

“Jesus Christ,” Keith spits. “What the fuck, Sondra?”

“This isnota setup, I swear!” She vehemently shakes her head. “He said he wasn’t coming.”

“Yeah, well, he lied.” Dread seeps into my tense muscles and climbs its way up my throat.

Aleck pats Preston on the shoulder, then turns and walks in our direction with purpose.

No.

“I can’t…” The panic in my voice as loud as a detonating bomb. “Shit, Sondra, get me out of here.”

Sondra grabs my elbow and pulls me toward the opposite end of the balcony to another glass sliding door. “C’mon, you can go through the bedroom. Your purse is in there, anyway.”

“I’ll take care of the asshole,” Keith says.

I smile at Keith before stepping through the doorway leading into Sondra and Preston’s bedroom, swiping my purse off the bed before giving Sondra a quick hug.

“I’m sorry. I just can’t stay… I can’t face him.”

“Don’t worry about it, honey. We’ll be fine. I’ll call you later.”

I force a smile, then slip through the bedroom door into the entryway. I glance through the living room, through the other glass sliding door, where Aleck and Keith are talking heatedly on the balcony.

Aleck lifts his eyes, catching a glimpse of me before I shut the front door behind me.

Hustling down the hallway to the elevator like the building has caught fire, I pull my phone from my purse to order an Uber.

“Winter…”

I stop at the sound of my name spoken with that familiar rasp. Invisible vines snake up my legs, holding me in place.

Dark male tenor… My name on his tongue…

Standing four feet from Aleck, I turn around and lift my eyes to his.

Pale blue… Tightening jaw… Square shoulders…

“You’re leaving…” he says, his gaze piercing mine.

He’s here. The last words he spoke to me were“You’re my girl, Winter.”

He lied. Then he left.

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