Chapter 10 - The Horizon at Eighty-One
Evelyn looked at the long, elegant room surrounding them—the glass walls, the city stretching out below like a carpet of light and steel, and the man standing before her who had built a fortress to keep the dark away.
She took a slow, deep breath, feeling her lungs expand fully for the first time in weeks without pain from her taped ribs.
"I don't want to go to France," Evelyn said quietly.
Julian smiled faintly. "No?"
"And I don't want to hide in Vermont," she continued, stepping a inch closer to him until her shoes touched his. "I spent my whole life hiding in small rooms, waiting for bad men to come through the door."
She raised her hand, her fingers resting against the lapel of his black vest, feeling the steady, strong beat of his heart beneath her palm.
"I like it up here," she said, looking out at the endless horizon of Manhattan. "The air is clear. You can see everything coming from miles away."
Julian’s eyes darkened with a deep, quiet warmth. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her softly against his chest, careful not to press against her healing ribs.
"Then stay," Julian whispered into her dark hair. "Stay as long as you want."
May you like
Outside the high glass walls of the eighty-first floor, the rain had completely stopped. The morning clouds parted over Midtown, letting long beams of brilliant, unfiltered sunlight flood the penthouse in warmth and gold.
Down on the streets below, the city continued its loud, chaotic rush—full of danger, ambition, and noise. But up here, high above the shadows and the pain of the past, Evelyn Vale leaned her head against Julian Reed's shoulder, looked out over the world, and finally felt at home.
