Chapter 7

Public Risk

Xavier’s car stopped in front of a building I had only seen in magazines.

The place didn’t have a big sign. It didn’t need one. Everyone who mattered in this city already knew the name. Dark glass. Warm light spilling out onto the sidewalk. Two men in black suits stood near the door like they owned the night.

My hands felt cold.

Xavier turned off the engine and looked at me. “Still sure?”

I nodded even though my stomach was tight. “Yes.”

He got out, walked around, and opened my door. When I stepped onto the sidewalk, his hand settled on the small of my back. The touch was light, but it felt like a claim. People near the entrance glanced over. I kept my eyes forward.

Inside, the air was cool and expensive. Low music. Soft conversations. The kind of place where deals were made and secrets were traded over drinks that cost more than most people’s rent. A hostess recognized Xavier immediately and led us to a corner table that gave a clear view of the room without putting us on full display.

Xavier pulled my chair out. When I sat, he leaned down so only I could hear him.

“The dress looks good on you,” he said. “But I like what’s underneath it more.”

Heat crawled up my neck. I had worn a black dress that showed the faint marks he had left. Exactly like he asked.

He sat across from me, completely at ease. One arm rested on the back of the chair beside him. His eyes moved over the room once, slow and assessing, before coming back to me.

“You’re nervous,” he said.

“Someone could see us.”

“That’s the point.”

A waiter arrived. Xavier ordered for both of us without asking. When the man left, the silence between us felt heavy.

“Talk to me,” he said.

I wrapped my fingers around the cold glass the waiter had set down. “What if someone from our circle walks in?”

“Then they walk in.”

“And if they tell Nathan? Or Lila?”

Xavier’s expression didn’t change. “Then the timeline moves faster. I’m ready for that. The question is whether you are.”

I looked down at the table. Part of me wanted to say yes immediately. Another part of me was still standing in that kitchen with Nathan, watching guilt move across his face. The two feelings didn’t cancel each other out. They just sat side by side and made everything louder.

“I don’t know,” I admitted.

Xavier watched me for a long moment. Then he reached across the table and took my hand. His thumb brushed over my knuckles.

“You don’t have to know everything tonight,” he said. “You just have to stay.”

The simplicity of it settled somewhere in my chest. I nodded once.

Our drinks arrived. Then food neither of us really touched. Xavier kept my hand most of the time. When he wasn’t holding it, his fingers rested on my knee under the table, warm and steady. Every now and then he leaned in and said something low that made my pulse jump.

“You’re thinking too much.”

“I can’t help it.”

“Then think about this instead.” His hand slid a little higher on my thigh. “In about an hour I’m going to take you home and remind you why you keep choosing this.”

My breath caught. I glanced around the room, half expecting someone to be watching. No one was. That almost made it worse.

Time moved strangely. Conversations rose and fell around us. Xavier asked me small questions about my day, about how I felt after the talk with Nathan, about whether I regretted walking out. I answered honestly. It felt strange to be this open with him in a public place, but it also felt necessary.

At some point he stood and held out his hand.

“Dance with me.”

“There’s no dance floor.”

“I don’t care.”

He led me toward a quieter section near the tall windows. A few other couples were standing close, talking in low voices. Xavier pulled me against him like we were alone. One hand settled on the back of my neck, thumb resting just over a mark he had left. The other arm locked around my waist.

“People are looking,” I whispered.

“Let them.”

He moved slowly. Not really dancing. Just holding me and shifting enough that it looked intentional. My body lined up with his. I could feel the heat of him through his shirt. My cheek brushed his jaw.

“You’re trembling,” he said against my hair.

“I know.”

“Is it fear or something else?”

I closed my eyes. “Both.”

His hand on my neck tightened just a little. “Good.”

We stayed like that longer than we should have. Every time I started to pull back, Xavier kept me close. The risk sat in my throat like a second heartbeat. Anyone could walk in. Anyone could recognize us. The thought made my skin feel too tight.

When he finally led me back to the table, my legs felt unsteady.

Xavier sat close this time, his chair angled toward mine. His hand returned to my thigh like it belonged there.

“Tell me what you’re afraid of,” he said.

I swallowed. “That once people know, I won’t be able to pretend anymore. Not even to myself.”

“And what would you be pretending?”

I looked at him. The truth sat right behind my teeth. That this had stopped being about revenge a long time ago. That I was starting to need him in ways that had nothing to do with Nathan or Lila. That the idea of losing this scared me more than being caught.

I didn’t say any of it.

Xavier’s eyes softened just a fraction, like he already knew.

“Drink,” he said quietly. “Then we’re leaving.”

I took a sip. The glass was almost empty when I felt it.

That strange shift in the air when someone is staring at you.

I lifted my head.

Across the room, near the bar, a woman in a deep green dress was watching us. She wasn’t even trying to hide it. Our eyes met. Recognition hit me like cold water.

I knew her.

She knew Nathan. She knew Lila. She had been at dinners and parties and one very long charity weekend last year. She was the kind of person who collected information and decided later how to use it.

Her gaze moved from my face to Xavier’s hand on my leg, then back to my neck. Something sharp and interested passed through her expression.

My blood turned to ice.

Xavier noticed the change in me immediately. “What is it?”

I couldn’t look away from the woman. “Someone who knows both of us is here.”

Xavier followed my stare. He didn’t tense. He didn’t pull his hand away. If anything, his fingers pressed a little more firmly into my thigh.

“Do you want to leave?” he asked, voice calm.

The woman raised her glass a fraction, almost like a greeting. Or a warning.

My heart was slamming so hard I could feel it in my throat.

“Aria,” Xavier said quietly. “Do you want to leave?”

I finally tore my eyes away from her and looked at him. The decision sat heavy between us. Staying meant the story could leave this table tonight. Leaving meant we were still hiding.

My voice came out thinner than I wanted.

“She’s already seen us.”

Xavier’s jaw flexed once. Then he leaned in, kissed the corner of my mouth like he had every right to, and stood up.

“Then we don’t run,” he said. “We finish our drink… and we let her look.”