In Ariana's small apartment was a quiet atmosphere, the kind of quiet that made Ariana feel both safe and painfully aware of how loud her own thoughts could be. She dropped her bag by the door and tugged off her shoes, letting out a long, shaky breath. The day had been relentless: the fluorescent lights of Hospital del Sol, the shuffle of monitors, the hum of respirators, and most of all, Mateo.She leaned against the counter, letting her head fall into her hands. The memory of his presence stalked her still—the way he had hovered over her in the recovery wing, his voice low, intimate, commanding. She had told herself all day to focus on her job, to act professional, to bury that heat he ignited beneath a veneer of calm. But even now, in the solitude of her apartment, it clung to her skin like a second pulse.Her fingers unconsciously brushed the gold chain under her blouse, the one Mateo had insisted she keep. She stared at the glint of it in the dim light and whispered, “One day at
続きを読む
