Normal Emma would have laughed at the situation. She would have made some silly joke about how Julian looked at her like she was made of stars, like she really shone. But this wasn’t Normal Emma.

Normal Emma would have stepped back, whispering, “You make my heart feel like a silly child at a party.”

But she wasn’t that Emma anymore. She was an Emma who no longer knew where she ended and Julian began. A different Julian, looking at her like she was the beginning and the end of everything.

She felt a warmth grow in her chest, his gaze locked on hers, so clear it seemed like flames. The world around them seemed to freeze — only that moment existed.

“You never look at me like that,” she whispered.

He stayed silent.

It was like everything inside him was trembling, his eyes dark and too intense to be just desire. The air between them vibrated, ready to explode. He moved closer, just an inch or maybe two — and her heart raced like it was about to leap out of her body.

He touched her.

One hand slid around her waist, careful, like silently asking for permission. The other brushed the fabric of her dress, light, almost a whisper. A shiver ran down Emma’s spine, up to the nape of her neck, and down to her toes.

She closed her eyes.

Everything screamed silently. It was wrong. It was dangerous. It was forbidden.

But it was Julian.

And Julian was pulling her closer.

She pressed her face against his chest, feeling his heart pounding so loud it seemed to fill the whole world. The light around them vanished. There was only the two of them.

In the moment his eyes filled with silent tears, Emma knew:

Nothing else mattered.