CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX:AFTERSHOCKS
Arielle smoothed her hair with trembling fingers and steadied her breath as she stepped back into the restaurant. The plush carpet muffled her hesitant steps, but nothing could muffle the thunder of her heartbeat. She could still feel Damien’s voice echoing in her ears—low, raw, desperate—and his touch… that fleeting, maddeningly gentle touch that had ignited something deep and dangerous inside her. She wasn’t ready to face Ezra again, not with her thoughts scrambled and emotions still spinning. But she had to. She couldn’t fall apart. Not here. Not now. Ezra looked up the moment she approached the table. His sharp features softened into a gentleman’s expression as he rose. “Everything okay?” he asked, a half-smile on his lips, though his eyes searched her face carefully. Arielle hesitat
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