The night air was cool on Desiree’s skin, brushing against her bare shoulders as she leaned against the balcony railing. The chatter and music from the hall drifted faintly through the glass doors, muffled as if from another world. Out here, she could breathe. Out here, she wasn’t her father’s perfect daughter, or some man’s pretty prize. She was just… her.

She shut her eyes, letting the silence calm the pounding in her chest. The dance with Parker still lingered uncomfortably on her ...