Chapter 32

She held back the cough rising in her throat. Covering her mouth, she turned and bolted. Julian was just about to push Tessa away when he caught the muffled sound of footsteps behind him. The carpet was thick—usually muted any sound—but if you ran on it, no matter how plush, it would still make noise. He turned to look. There was no one there anymore. “Julian!” Tessa, clearly drunk, cupped his face with both hands. His expression stayed cold as ever. Grabbing her wrists, he yanked her arms down and dumped her onto the couch. “Tessa, if you don’t cut it out, I’ll toss you overboard.” He rubbed his chin where she’d nearly kissed him. “I get it. You gave up on me because of Liam. But he’s the one who likes me—how is that my fault? You just handed me off to him without even asking me what I wanted,” she mumbled, slumped on the couch. Julian sat across from her, face calm, voice low and firm. “We’ve been through this a million times. I thought you understood by now. You can’t have everythin