Page 84 of Alive At Night

He pushed forward, looking me up and down as he closed the distance between us. “The DJ is calling all couples onto the dance floor.”

“We’re not a couple, Julian.”

Suddenly, I wasn’t as eager to pretend. We’d put on enough of a show in front of Sofia earlier that I was sure it didn’t matter anymore.

“You told Sofia that you’d see her on the dance floor later,” he pointed out.

“I’m sure she’s forgotten all about it.”

Did I want to spend more time getting to know my sister? Of course I did. But Julian had already done enough for me, and all of it had been unnecessary. I never should have let him come with me this weekend. It wasn’t fair to make him do anything more. I was sure the last thing he wanted to do was dance with me.

Julian stared at me, searching my face for…well, I wasn’t sure what.

“It drives me nuts that I can’t read your mind sometimes,” he eventually muttered.

“It’s not that interesting,” I promised.

“I doubt that, Lily.” His low chuckle was dry and raspy. “Come on.”

He grabbed my hand, charging back through the ballroom to the atrium doors where the chairs had been cleared, and a dance floor took up most of the moonlit space.

“Julian,” I hissed. “What the hell are you—”

With one final tug, he launched me into his arms. They circled my waist, holding me close as we found a spot between dancing couples.

“I’m dancing with my girlfriend,” he muttered. His fingers ran down my spine, similar to how they did in our office that day. “Now, loosen up, will you? This is why we practiced.”

Julian didn’t get it, did he? It didn’t matter the amount of practice we had. When he touched me, the world spun faster on its axis. And I didn’t know how to slow it down.

Julian’s determined expression told me that all I could do was hope to get through this night without letting him see how much he could affect me.

But a second later, Julian squeezed my hip, and I heard the sharp gasp that flew out of my mouth. In response, Julian made a noise that sounded like a cross between a grunt and a groan. He murmured my name with a tone I didn’t fully understand.

The world spun faster.

Yeah, I definitely wasn’t going to make it through tonight.

ten years ago

Her lips parted in surprise when she saw me, which was ridiculous considering she knew I lived in this house, and she knew my bedroom was right next to Gemma’s.

And then, right on cue, her pretty features immediately transformed into a scowl.

She wiped at her tears, clearly not wanting me to see them.

I didn’t want to see them, either. I hated seeing them.

“Julian,” she said, the word clipped as it came from her lips.

“Daisy,” I murmured back.

Her mouth flattened into a straight line at her nickname.

I didn’t know what to say to her. I wanted to ask if she was okay.

I wanted to ask about Kennedy’s cheating ass and if I could kick it.

I wanted to say a whole lot of things, but Juniper was scowling at me like all she wanted was for me to disappear.

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