Page 24 of Burning Daylight

I balk, tapping my nails against my glass. “I told you not to let that give you a big head.”

He shrugs, slipping his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “Well, it has, unfortunately. It’s huge now. I’m almost impossible to be around.”

“So, you’re the same as before, then.”

Amanda’s voice slices through the tension. “Okay, I’m confused. Do you two know each other or not?”

“Not,” I say firmly. “It was so brief, I thought maybe I dreamed him up.”

“Do you dream of me often?” he asks, eyes glinting.

“That’snotwhat I meant.”

“Ry,” Amanda warns under her breath.

And it’s only then I realize that maybe they’re here together. Maybe he’shers.

“Like I said, we met once. It was nothing.”

“I wouldn’t saythat,” he says quietly.

Sighing, I face him again. “You know, you’re even more irritating now than you were back then.”

His grin turns magnetic, and I feel like I’m being sucked in by a vortex of gravity whereheis the center.

It’s weird, and I kind of think I hate it.

Amanda’s glare yanks me back to Earth. Regardless of who he is to her, I’m clearly trespassing on her territory.

“Well,” I begin, already stepping back. “This has been…a time.” I point vaguely over my shoulder. “I’m just gonna…yeah.”

And then I spin on my heel and walk away like my sanity depends on it. Because I’m pretty sure it does.

6

ROMAN

Her cheeks flush as she walks away, and I can’t help but watch her. Her spine is stiff, and her shoulders are tense, like she’s trying to ignore something.Or someone.

I should let her go. Keep things simple. But my mind is still whirling with the realization that she’shereof all places, and even though I’ve only met her one other time, she’s been the only thing that’s made me feel something other than the heaviness of my life in years.

She disappears into the crowd, and for a second, I lose her.

“Ryder,” Amanda snips.

I look at her and frown. “You could have been a little nicer.”

“And you could have acted like I was part of the conversation,” she hits back.

I wince, knowing she’s right, but it’s not like I came here with her. She’s not a date, she’s just a friend who showed up for extra credit. She doesn’t even know this ismyart on the walls.

“Yeah,” I say, but my eyes aren’t on her. They’re grazing over the crowd, searching. “Listen, I’ll be right back.”

And then I chase after my mystery girl.

I catch sight of her right before she pivots toward the glowing red exit sign at the back of the warehouse, and I’m after her without a second thought.

The moment I push through the door, the nighttime chill breaks over my skin like a fine mist, and the noise of the gallery fades behind me.