Sasha froze.
Her sandals sank into the warm sand as if the beach itself had conspired to trap her. The laughter of kids running near the water, the splash of waves curling against the shore, the faint echo of a whistle from somewhere...it all seemed to fade into the background the moment her eyes collided with his.
Xavier.
Her chest tightened as though someone had locked invisible chains around her ribs. Stella hadn't said a word, not even a single hint that he would be here. That snake. Sasha's fingers twitched at her sides, clutching her towel as if it could shield her from the burning weight of his stare.
And it was a stare.
Not a casual glance. Not a simple accident of eyes meeting in the crowd. No. His gaze was sharp, deliberate, and unrelenting, like the waves crashing against t
