The loud, deep music from the club thumped through the hot, sticky night air like another heartbeat. Sofia gripped her glass tighter, the drink doing nothing to temper the heat building under her skin. She’d come here alone, something she never did, chasing the kind of trouble that might quiet the ache she’d carried for months. Work, routine, loneliness. Tonight, she wanted to feel alive.

She scanned the crowded rooftop bar in a black dress that hugged every curve. The city lights glittered below but her eyes kept drifting to him.

He stood at the railing, tall and commanding, broad shoulders filling out a black button-down shirt rolled up to...