I finally let out a quiet sigh of relief when I saw Tobias step out of the ballroom. Earlier, when I’d walked in, I had paused in front of him for just a second—long enough to taunt him. Meeting his eyes had been… electrifying. The kind of shock that travels straight down your spine. I’d smiled, slow and deliberate, then turned away without another word, though not before giving Gene my very best smile too.
After my speech, I was instantly swallowed by the crowd.
“Oh my goodness, Avril! You have to tell us everything!”
“Where have you been all these years?”
“So you’re not in Montreal anymore?”
The questions came from every direction, loud and endless, a thousand voices all at once. I answered what I could, laughed where it was expected, smiled when politeness demanded it.
But through
