The room felt even smaller now, like the walls had inched closer while they weren't looking, trapping the air between them until it grew thick and heavy, hard to breathe.
Devon stood perfectly still for what felt like an eternity after Eleanor finished speaking, though it was probably only several long, drawn-out seconds. His face changed in an instant—subtle but unmistakable.
The calm, almost gentle lines that had softened around his eyes and mouth during the party's easy chatter hardened into something colder, more guarded.
His jaw tightened just enough that a muscle jumped visibly under the skin along his cheek.
He didn't blink right away.
He didn't speak. He simply stared at her, those dark eyes of his unreadable, bottomless, letting the silence stretch until it felt like a physical thing pressing against her chest, squeezing the air from her lungs.
