He didn't stop in front of his family. Instead, he walked directly to the still, towering figure of Noah Sterling.
He then performed an act so audacious it excited a collective gasp from the audience and silenced even the most persistent paparazzi.
He reached out and confidently hooked his arm through Noah's, linking them together in a gesture that was both courtly and shockingly intimate.
He leaned into the alpha's torso, his smaller frame contrasting to Noah's solid wall of muscle.
The visual was electric. Noah's assistants, Ethan and Junior, looked on with stunned silence, their professional composure cracking.
It was Mrs. Quinn who recovered first, her maternal programming overriding her shock. The actress in her found a new role to play.
She pressed a trembling hand to her chest, voice cracking loud enough for every microphone to catch.
"Levi?!!" she cried, thick with sudden, desperate relief. "Oh, thank heavens you're alive! We thought you were dead!"
