Isabella's pov

The drive back was quiet at first, the kind of quiet that isn’t awkward but heavy, like the air itself was charged with something I couldn’t name. The city lights blurred past the windows, but all I could see was him.

Julian had one hand on the steering wheel, the other resting casually on my thigh. It was innocent at first… or maybe it wasn’t. His thumb brushed gently against my skin in slow, absent circles, he didn’t even realize what he was doing.

Every stroke ...