VALERIA

Why is Zane here?

I wondered, feeling as though I were sitting on pins and needles between him and Chris on the sofa.

Thinking back to a few minutes earlier—when he pulled me toward him and asked if I was okay in that unbearably soft, affectionate voice—my heart started racing all over again.

It had taken considerable willpower to pull away from him in that moment. If I had stayed even a second longer, I was afraid I might have melted into his embrace.

Clearly, I was still not immune to his voice.

Arriving at this conclusion, my heart twisted in a mix of bitterness and frustration.

I had...