The door clicked softly shut behind her.
Sofia leaned against it, her chest rising and falling in slow, measured breaths, as if exhaling too fast would unravel everything she'd barely held together.
Her room was dim, lit only by the warm amber glow of the bedside lamp. The fire in the corner hearth crackled low, like it had been waiting for her return. She kicked off her heels and sank onto the edge of the bed, her hands trembling in her lap.
She could still feel the heat of Adam's hand on her waist. The weight of his gaze. The ghost of his mouth so close to hers, it had stolen the air from the room.
She'd stood her ground. Said her piece. But now that she was alone, the ache inside her chest began to rise like a tide she couldn't stop.
She pressed a hand to her heart, as if that could calm the wild rhythm it had taken on the moment he let her go.
Why don't you say what you actually want?
Her voice still echoed in the back of her mind.
