Ava’s POV
“It was cool,” I said.
The words came out softer than I intended. Corren’s eyes remained on me through the rearview mirror for a moment longer before he looked back at the road. He did not ask further questions. The silence that followed was heavy but not empty; it carried the weight of everything he had not yet decided to say. I sat with my bag on my lap, the navy dress still neat from the day, and tried not to think about the young man in the cafeteria or the way my pulse had reacted to ordinary attention. The closer the car drew to the estate, the more those thoughts were replaced by the familiar tension that always arrived when Corren’s presence filled the space around me.
The gates opened. The car moved up the long drive and stopped at the front entrance. Corren stepped o
