Chapter 2

Adrian

I hated beach parties. The sand got everywhere, the music was too loud, and every person here looked like they had forgotten they would have to wake up tomorrow with a hangover. I could have stayed home and baked cupcakes for the children's charity event tomorrow morning, but instead I was standing near the drinks counter watching Clara Bennett disappear into the crowd with her friends. Coming here had been one of the worst decisions I had made this month, and yet I couldn't bring myself to regret it.

I had wanted to meet Clara for a long time. Not because she was beautiful, though she certainly was, but because she was impossible to ignore. As one of the most sought-after architects in the city, her name appeared everywhere. Business magazines loved her. Clients adored her. Charity organizations constantly invited her to events. Even when she wasn't trying, she somehow managed to become the center of attention. Tonight was no different.

The yellow dress certainly wasn't helping.

She looked like a sunflower surrounded by weeds.

The nickname had escaped before I could stop it.

My phone vibrated in my pocket before I could continue thinking about her. Pulling it out, I found three missed calls from Nathan.

Wonderful.

I answered before he could call a fourth time.

"Finally," he said. "I was beginning to think you drowned."

"Unfortunately not."

"Where are you?"

"At the beach."

There was a pause.

"The party?"

"Yes."

"The party you said you absolutely wouldn't attend because you hate people?"

I glanced toward the crowd where Clara had disappeared.

"I changed my mind."

Nathan laughed. "Of course you did."

"I don't like that tone."

"You shouldn't. It usually means I'm right."

I rolled my eyes and walked a little farther from the speakers. The music was loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage.

"Why were you calling?"

"The board dinner."

Immediately, my mood worsened.

Saturday.

The annual Sinclair board dinner.

Four hours of listening to investors discuss profits while pretending they cared about one another.

"What about it?"

"They need confirmation tonight."

I watched the waves crash against the shore as Clara's laughter floated across the beach. Somehow, despite the music and noise, I recognized it immediately.

Declining the dinner should have been an easy decision.

It wasn't.

My father would be annoyed.

My siblings would use my absence against me.

The board would start asking questions.

Yet the thought of spending Saturday evening discussing financial reports instead of meeting Clara sounded even worse.

"Cancel it."

Nathan went silent.

"Excuse me?"

"Cancel it."

"Adrian, that dinner has been scheduled for months."

"I know."

"Your father will lose his mind."

"I know."

"Your siblings are going to enjoy this."

"I know."

Another pause followed.

Then Nathan sighed. "This has something to do with the architect, doesn't it?"

I smiled despite myself.

"Send my apologies."

"That wasn't an answer."

"It's the only one you're getting."

"Unbelievable."

I ended the call before he could continue.

Across the beach, Clara reappeared between groups of people, her yellow dress impossible to miss beneath the fading sunset. For a moment, I watched her laugh at something her friend said, completely unaware of the chaos she had already caused in my schedule.

The board dinner had survived three years without me. It could survive one more.

After all, opportunities came and went.

Clara Bennett had spent years slipping through my fingers.