Linda smiled.
It wasn't the polite smile she wore for family, or the shy, uncertain curve of her lips Alex remembered from quieter days.
This was different... radiant, secret, alive. It caught the light, softening the edge of her features, making her entire presence feel magnetic.
He hadn't realized, until that moment, how much power a single look could have. The way her eyes lingered on him... seeing, not just looking; inviting, not just hoping... left him momentarily breathless.
The room narrowed to the space between them, to that look she gave him... steady, unguarded, impossible to look away from.
His thoughts scattered, every instinct of self-control slipping through his fingers as he stood there, caught in her gravity.
He couldn't move, couldn't hide behind habit or hesitation. In that instant, Alex was utterly, helplessly entranced.
And that terrified him more than anything else.
