Haze

She reaches to where she'd placed her clutch on the table. The motion pulls the front of her dress taut, the fullness of her breasts visible beyond the low cut neckline.

I take a drink. I may need another.

"It was really good." She scrolls through the images on her phone. I catch glimpses of her next to a dark haired woman her age, a pigeon eating breadcrumbs from a sidewalk and then, a plate of pasta.

She pushes the phone towards me. "I took a few. You can see what I mean. It tastes as divine it looks."

Her exuberance is contagious. I can't help but smile when I watch her speak.

I drop my eyes from her face to her phone, resting on the table in front of me. I stare at the screen and the bowl of pasta she deemed worthy enough to capture it in a badly lit photograph.

"There are two more pictures." She leans closer, her hand brushing against mine. "Just swipe."

I do as told, running my finger over the screen.

"That's not it." She reaches forward to grab the phone but I'm too quick. I scoop her hand in mine to stop it.

I dip my chin towards the screen and the image of Isla in a blue dress. It's obvious she took the picture in a mirror. "This is one of our designs. You look stunning in this, Isla."

Her lips move slightly as her eyes search mine. "I just wanted to try it on. I went to Arilia one day before work."

"I had no idea the dress could look like this." I pick up the phone, tilting it slightly to the left to gain more light from the overhead fixture. "You belong in this dress."

She reaches forward to gently take the phone from my grasp. "The dresses in the Arilia store are all beautiful. The designers are really talented."

I don't press the issue when I see the server approaching. I wait as he asks her what she'd like to drink.

She smooths her hand over her hair, pushing the soft blond locks behind her left ear. "I think I should stick to a sparkling water. I'm trying to avoid alcohol right now."

"You are?" I ask with a grin. "This is your twenty-first birthday. You don't want a drink to celebrate?"

"No," she says assuredly. "I can't. I promised myself I wouldn't drink tonight. I want to remember every moment of my first birthday in Manhattan. Sometimes when I drink things get foggy."

I glance down at my watch. "There are still forty-five minutes of your birthday left. I'd like to make those memorable. "

Her lips curve. "What do have in mind?"

I pull myself up from the chair as I stand and extend my hand towards her. "Come with me, Isla. I'll make this a day you'll never forget."

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Isla

"You wouldn't stand close to the edge." I tap his chest lightly. "Does the world know that Gabriel Foster is scared of heights?"

He laughs deeply, the sound bouncing against the steel walls of the elevator. "I'm not scared of heights, Isla. I was watching you enjoy the view."

"Is that your story?" I giggle. "I can play along for the press if they ask."

His brows shoot up. "You would do that for me, Ms. Lane? You won't tell the media hounds that I took you up to the roof of the Foster Enterprises building so you could see the stars while I stood far away from the edge, trembling in my boots?"

"They're not boots." I point to his feet. "They're fancy Foster shoes."

"Fancy Foster shoes?" His hand jumps to my chin before he runs his fingertip over my bottom lip. "That just may be the hashtag we use on social media when we launch the new men's shoe collection."

I part my lips slightly, pushing my tongue out so it can touch his finger. "You're not in charge of marketing are you? If you are, you shouldn't be."

Tipping his chin, his eyes rake me slowly from head-to-toe just as the elevator chimes its arrival on the top floor. "You're certain you want to join me for a bottle of sparkling water?"

"Yes, sir, I'm sure."

His gaze meets mine and I see something shift. The playful parts of him have slipped into the background again. The intensity that is almost always there is present now.

The doors of the lift open. His head turns slightly towards the expansive space, complete with large windows that give an unobstructed view of the city. "I did promise to make this a day you'll never forget, Isla. Come with me."

***

The entire time that Gabriel and I were on the roof of the Foster Enterprises building I was completely aware of the way he was looking at me. Even when I was near the edge and he was ten feet behind me, I could feel his eyes trained on my back.