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Jason studied her face. He released a breath, leaning back in his chair. "I am not mad, Lily," he murmured, offering a tight smile that did not reach his eyes. "Maybe a little disappointed, but I understand. Work comes first."

The distance in his gaze made her chest burn, but she could not bring herself to change her mind.

Jason stood up, offering his hand across the table. "Come on. One dance before we call it a night."

Lily took his hand, letting him lead her to the small dance floor near the stage.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest, moving to the rhythm of the saxophone.

She rested her cheek on his shoulder, closing her eyes and inhaling the intoxicating scent of cedar shavings and clean laundry detergent clinging to his skin.

The fierce, undeniable chemistry that had existed since the very first time their eyes met flared into life, rushing through her veins. Jason was striking—his jawline carved out of granite, his dark, mesmerizing eyes filled with an all-consuming devotion.

She slid her hands up his chest, tangling her fingers into the dark hair at the nape of his neck, pulling him closer until there was zero space separating them. He responded by tightening his grip on her waist, dipping his head to drag his lips along the shell of her ear.

The passion vibrating in the space they occupied was electric.

A powerful connection she could no longer live without.

He was being so incredibly understanding, offering her grace when she was handing him lies. The guilt ate at her insides, making her feel like the worst person in the world.

***

Saturday morning at Bennett & Mendoza felt desolate. Lily sat barefoot in her office, surrounded by discarded sketches and empty coffee cups. She was determined to finalize the Vanguard presentation and reclaim her life.

Footsteps sounded on the hardwood corridor. Ethan walked through the glass doors, carrying a leather messenger bag and two large coffees.

Lily sat up straight, her defenses snapping into place. "What are you doing here?"

"Truce, Lily," Ethan said, placing one of the cups on her desk. He kept his distance, his posture strictly professional. "We have a major deadline approaching, and the branding concept needs alignment. No past. No personal issues. Just the work."

Lily hesitated, assessing his guarded expression. She desperately needed to finish the project. "Just the work," she agreed.

They fell into a rhythm that terrified her. Ethan pulled up a chair on the opposite side of the desk, opening his laptop. Within minutes, the sterile office transformed into a high-stakes design studio.

"The client wants modern, Ethan, not traditional," Lily argued, pointing at his screen. "If we use a serif font for the header, it ages the entire campaign."

"Modern doesn't mean sterile," Ethan countered, his eyes flashing with that brilliant creative fire she used to admire so much. "If we pair the serif with the cerulean blue palette you created, it bridges the gap. It honors their legacy while pushing them into the current market. Look."

He shifted the laptop toward her, applying the changes. Lily stared at the screen, hating that he was right. It was flawless.

They passed sketches back and forth, eating takeout noodles from cardboard cartons.

"We need a dynamic transition here," Lily pointed at the tablet with her chopsticks. "Otherwise, the consumer loses interest before reaching the product catalog."

Ethan chewed for a second, swallowing before he leaned closer to the monitor. "What if we use the parallax scrolling effect we designed for the Sterling campaign in London? The one with the overlapping images. It kept the users engaged all the way to the checkout page."

Lily hesitated, waiting for the usual revulsion that accompanied any mention of their past. But it did not come. Instead, her mind raced with the creative possibilities. She actually liked the idea.

"The Sterling campaign," she murmured, a genuine smile touching her lips. "That scrolling effect was brilliant. It would frame Vanguard’s new titles perfectly."

Ethan's eyes brightened, reflecting a shared triumph as they seamlessly integrated the old concept into the new pitch. By late afternoon, the final proposal was spectacular.

But the seamless collaboration left Lily hollow. The guilt gnawed at her insides. Working alongside him had felt too natural, a stark reminder of why they had been such a formidable team in the first place. The undeniable connection they shared in the boardroom was the exact reason she had fallen in love with him in London.

It was late when Lily packed her bag, offering a brisk nod, and left her office. Ethan followed her out, stepping into the confined space of the elevator by her side.

As the metal doors slid shut, the atmosphere shifted into something incredibly fraught.