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Being a foster kid had ue over-sensitive—to when people were asking questions out of a sense of obligation rather than any actual desire to hear the answer

What she didn’t understand hy she wasn’t consequently shutting the conversation doith her usual practised efficiency Why any part of her was actually considering opening up to Tak Basu, of all people It was madness

‘Who says I don’t already have so herself ‘If I need to, that is’

‘Maybe you do’ He shrugged ‘But I think you’re too pent-uptoo defensive As though you’re trying to deal with too irl comes complete with a wealth of complications Trust me—I know’

For a moment his eyes , as if they were stealing her very soul And it hurt simply to breathe

Effie didn’t understand as happening Not inside this car, and certainly not inside her She had the oddest sense ofconnection As if so them and she didn’t understand what it was

Then the vehicle stopped, and she realised they had arrived at the gala Plastering a bright saze away and injected an upbeat note into her voice ‘We’re here—shall we go in?’

He didn’t answer straight away, and the moment stretched out tautly between them until he finally inclined his head ‘As you wish’

And as the driver opened their doors to let them out Effie told herself that she was relieved

CHAPTER FOUR

TAK WAS GRATEFUL to be released froaze of hers The one which was flecked with shards of gold The one which shot right through hi and shattering all that it touched

At least he told hirateful He was pretty sure that what he actually felt was a daht closer to disappointed Yet that made no sense at all

Moving around the vehicle to walk Effie up the steps and into the i, he couldn’t help hi his hand at the small of her back, and the jolt of awareness at the contact both took him by surprise and, simultaneously, did not

It was a long, long time since any woman had sneaked under his skin the way this woman had If ever It was rather extraordinary It made a part of him want to whisk her away from here, from these people and the crowds, and take her soht actually be able to talk to her One on one

A preposterous notion