Hearing that nickname, Madeline froze entirely, her body stiffening as she slowly lifted her gaze toward him.

Sebastian, unhurried, was cracking nuts—one after another, cracking, eating, cracking again. The midday sunlight poured in from behind him, wrapping his silhouette in a warm, almost ethereal glow.

She remembered now, vividly, why she’d fallen for him in the first place—drawn, as if helplessly, to the vibrant, incandescent energy radiating from him. He ...