Kieran's POV
"Don't worry, they'll be here soon," I said, my voice dropping low. "I just wanted a little more private time with you first."
I could feel the nervous energy radiating from her, a live wire wrapped in silk. She took another long drink of her spritzer, the glass trembling just slightly in her hand. It was adorable.
Why did I call her here? The answer was simple. I just wanted to be near her. Of course, I could have just walked up to her at the estate as Kieran, but she'd have flinched away, her walls slamming up. Here, in the shadows and the masks, she was different. More open. More here with me.
I'd accepted it the moment Kayden had signed it with such certainty—she was ours. Scarlet was the confusing variable, the glitch in the system. But Eleanor... she felt right. And seeing her in this outfit, the cream fabric hugging every curve she usually hid... it was a gift. A temptation I was determined to enjoy without rushing.
