Olivia

We sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the stars. His proximity was distracting; I could smell his cologne mixed with the saltwater scent still clinging to his skin from our earlier swim.

"What's that one?" I asked, pointing to a particularly bright star.

Alexander followed my gesture. "That's Venus, actually. A planet, not a star."

"The goddess of love," I murmured without thinking.

"And beauty," he added, his voice dropping ...