Elena's POV
"On that note," Damian said, rising smoothly from his chair, "I think it's time we let Elena breathe. This has been quite the evening for a first dinner."
A ripple of soft laughter moved through the table, the tension breaking just enough for conversation to resume its ordinary rhythm, though I could still feel eyes lingering on me as the plates were cleared and the evening wound toward its close. Damian's hand found the small of my back, steady and deliberate, guiding me through a round of polite goodbyes with the same practiced ease he brought to every difficult room.
"That went well," he said dryly, once we'd finally settled into the car, the estate's lit windows shrinking behind us through the rear window.
"Did it?"
"Compared to some of the alternatives I imagined on t
