The sun was slipping low in the sky, casting long golden streaks across the glistening pool of the Hawthorn estate. The water, smooth and glassy, reflected the light like liquid gold—but it brought no peace to the girl perched at its edge. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, toes skimming the surface, eyes distant. She hadn’t expected anyone to find her here. Especially not him.

Enzo.

She didn’t need to look when the soft hiss of the sliding door broke the silence. The way his footsteps hesitated before continuing—she recognized that telltale pause of uncertainty. It tightened something inside her.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” Enzo’s voice came low and uncertain from behind.

Before she could respond, his hands brushed around her hips, featherlight but grounding—and the contact startled her enough that she gasped and launched herself into the pool. A splash echoed sharply into the warm dusk air.

Without hesitation, he dove in after her. Within seconds, his hands were on her again—arms sliding around her waist to gently pin her against the cool marble wall of the pool. The sudden cold pressed against her back while the heat of him settled at her front.

“You’re avoiding me,” he repeated, more firm this time, water dripping from his hair as it clung to his brow, eyes locked on hers.

“I am not avoiding you,” she shot back quickly, breath unsteady.

“Then what was last night?” he asked, voice low, roughened by something more than water. His eyes searched hers, watching every flicker of emotion as her hands came to rest against his chest—an instinctive, half-hearted attempt to push him away.

“Last night, I was drunk—” she began, but her voice faltered as his hands slid beneath the hem of her dress, lifting slowly until his palms found the curve of her waist beneath the fabric. The heat of his touch burned through the cool water, sending a wave of shivers down her spine.

She swallowed hard. The words she meant to say tangled in her throat as her body betrayed her—leaning in, not away.