Page 81 of Ballad of Nightmares

Sam’s forehead met her temple. His inhale of her scent causing Ana to close her eyes slightly, the rest of the room melting away around them.

“Ahem,” came Millie’s voice.

Except Sam didn’t move immediately. His eyes closed tighter for the briefest of moments, his hand squeezing at her side, and then he straightened but left his arm around Ana’s waist.

“Something on your mind, Mills?” Sam asked.

Millie smiled at him. “No,” she answered before turning to Ana. “So, curator, what do you think of the art? He’s a new find. A few of his pieces are at the uptown gallery, but these were a little too risqué for them. Colin, the owner here, was nice enough to put on his show.”

“Who is the artist?” Ana asked Millie.

“He’s—“ Millie searched the other side of the room, and when she spotted him, she held out her elbow. “I’ll introduce you. My assistant said you admired his painting outside my office.”

“I love the lines,” Ana said. “They’re beautiful.”

Millie’s smile broadened. “Sam—“

Sam took a long sip of his drink as his eyes met Millie’s.

“I’ll be stealing Ms. Smith for a few minutes,” Millie continued. “Don’t worry. I’ll not tell her too many embarrassing stories about you.”

“None to tell,” Sam said.

“Oh, but aren’t there?” Millie teased with a tilt of her head.

Sam’s gaze held Millie’s for a moment longer than Ana knew how to consider, but she tried to ignore it as Sam looked at her instead.

“Don’t believe anything she says,” he said.

“That makes me want to believeallof it,” Ana smiled.

Sam watched Millie drag Ana across the room to meet the artist, and as he took another sip of his wine, Rolfe smacked him on the back again.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Better than earlier,” Sam replied, not looking away from Millie as she laughed with the artist and introduced Ana to him. A twinge of jealousy surged in his gut, but he just took another sip of his drink and tried to pay attention to his friend.

But, fuck, did Ana look amazing.

“How about you?” Sam forced himself to ask.

“Not bad. Today was good.” Rolfe’s gaze went across the room to Ana, who was now speaking with the artist by herself, as Millie was coming toward them again, and he shook his head. “She is…” He let out a low whistle.

“Yeah,” Sam agreed, and for some reason, every thought of the past few days went away. It warmed his chest and sent a comfort through him that only his home had been able to do in the past.

And when she looked his way…

Thorns wrapped his chest, his heart skipping at the play of amusement she gave him as she seemingly noticed the tick in his jaw.

Shit.

Rolfe chuckled under his breath and muttered a quick ’catch you later’ to Sam before leaving him to his lonesome. Sam watched Ana, watched the way the artist smiled and signaled the waiter for another drink. How he looked Ana over up and down when she spoke to someone else—

“You are… fascinated with her,” Millie said, nearly making Sam jump as she joined him at the standing table. “Toofascinated.” She propped herself against the table. “If I didn’t know you, I’d say you were falling in love with her.”

“It’s a good thing you know me then,” he growled.

Millie’s smile didn’t wane at his snap, and he hated her for seeing through him. Sam sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.