Page 77 of Best In Class

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My heart soars with hope.

CHAPTER 20

Luna

Dom takes the tiller, guiding us gently forward as the oars dip and rise in the still water.

The sun is throwing gold across the marsh.

The air smells like salt and summer.

Spanish moss hangs from the cypress trees like ribbons, swaying gently in the breeze.

Everything feels soft, suspended—like the world is holding its breath just for us.

It is the same asbeforebut different.

First and foremost, this isn’t the Steele Estate.

And then, more vitally, we aren’t children.

If Dom had not cheated on me, would we be together now? Already married with a couple of kids?

The thought bursts out of nowhere and steals my breath away.

“Moonbeam, we’re herenow,” I hear him say through the remembered pain in my heart.

How does he always know what I’m thinking?

I don’t reply. Can’t. My throat is locked with emotions.

It’s too much. Being close to him. Being with him. Wanting him.Having him.

He says he loves me so fucking easily. He says it like it’s true.

I catch Dom watching me, his eyes doing that thing they do—like I’m the only thing he sees.

Maybe he does love me?

No, maybe about it, Luna, you know what you know.

He left me, though. He could do it again.Thenit crushed me.Now, it’ll destroy me.

“You know, I was working on a project in Montreal a couple of years ago,” he starts without explanation.

I know he’s trying to change the air between us—trying to move me away from old ghosts and into the now.

I kick off my sandals and fold my legs beneath me on the bench. The wood is warm beneath my skin, the air cooler now as the sun leans low over the marsh.

He doesn’t look at me when he speaks. Just stares out at the water.

“It was a boutique hotel—eco-forward, private funding, big international push. I should’ve loved it.” He pauses, his voice dipping lower. “And I did. The design was clean. My team was sharp. But every time I presented a concept…I thought about you.”

That gets my attention.

I glance at him, and he meets my eyes.

“I wanted to reach out. Just to talk. Architect to architect.”

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