Tonia's POV
"Dear Lord!" Samantha's sharp intake of breath cut through the hotel lobby's ambient noise as her gaze fixed on something behind me. "What is he doing here?"
My throat constricted as the words registered. Every muscle in my body tensed before I slowly turned around, already knowing what I would find.
There he stood.
The sight of him after months of separation hit like a physical blow. My chest tightened as if someone had wrapped steel bands around my ribs and was steadily tightening them. Months. It had been months since I'd last seen Kermit, and now he stood mere yards away in this opulent hotel lobby.
His dark eyes swept the room before landing on mine. For a heartbeat, neither of us moved. His expression remained completely blank, as though his mind couldn't process what he was seeing. Then recognition dawned, and his features shifted into unmistakable shock.
