Amara's POV
The wedding reception was loud and joyful, but I barely heard any of it. My attention kept drifting to one person — Julian. She stood on the other side of the ballroom, trying to look composed, but I saw the tension in her shoulders every time our eyes met.
We hadn't had a moment alone the entire night.
Too many people.Too many eyes.Too many expectations.
So when she slipped quietly upstairs toward the staff hallway, my heart jumped. I waited a minute, then followed.
I knocked softly.
The door opened almost instantly, and the moment Julian saw me, something in her face melted. Relief. Want. Warmth.
"Finally," I whispered.
She pulled me inside and closed the door behind us. I barely had time to breathe before her lips were on mine — soft, hungry, familiar. I wrapped both arms around her neck, kissing her back with all the longing I'd held in.
"I missed you," I murmured between kisses.
Julian rested her forehead on mine, breath warm."I missed you too. More than you can imagine."
I smiled breathlessly. "How much did you miss me?"
Instead of answering, she gently guided me backward until I sat on the edge of the office desk, her hands wrapped around my waist, her voice low and soft.
"This much," she whispered as she brushed her lowers with mine and kissed me again with a depth that curled heat through my chest.
Everything else slipped away.The music downstairs.The chatter.The entire wedding.
For a long time, it was just us — quiet laughter, soft whispers, the kind of closeness we had been starved of all evening.
Hours passed without us noticing.
Eventually the intensity softened into warmth, and we found ourselves curled up together on the small office couch. A blanket was pulled over us up to our chests, the room dim and peaceful. Our breathing slow. Our hearts steady. Safe.
Julian held me close, her fingers brushing lazy circles on my arm.
"I'm happy for Jane and Henry," I said softly. "They look… perfect."
Julian nodded. "They really do."
I hesitated before speaking again. "Sometimes I wish we could have something like that. A wedding. A real one. With our families there."
Julian went still.
Her parents were strict — painfully strict.Traditional.Firm.Expecting their daughter to be quiet, feminine, obedient.
She was none of those things.
"I know what you're thinking," she said quietly, her voice tight. "My parents barely accept me for who I am. If I tell them I'm gay…" She let out a strained laugh. "They'll lose their minds."
My chest tightened. "I'm sorry."
She shook her head. "Don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong."
I looked up at her. "If your parents weren't like that… would you ever want a future with me? Like Jane and Henry?"
Julian cupped my cheek gently, her thumb warm.
"If the world was perfect," she whispered, "I'd marry you tomorrow."
My breath caught.
"But I don't want to force you to come out either," she continued. "I'd never put you through that. I'll wait for you — however long it takes."
My eyes stung."I love you," I whispered.
Julian smiled — that soft, private smile she only ever gave me."I love you more."
I curled deeper into her arms, listening to her heartbeat and wishing time would freeze. Neither of us knew then that our quiet, fragile happiness would soon be tangled in the storm rising in Jane's marriage.
But for that moment…it was just us.