Chapter 1: Introduction
The grand hotel suite loomed over the cityscape. Crystal chandeliers dangled above cream furnishings. The amber backdrop of dusk was beginning to overtake the view through the floor-length windows. The world outside started to flicker the way power lines sometimes do just before an outage, and the aroma of fresh linen whispered through the high ceiling.
A crowd gathered in the central part of the suite, the clean canvas of persimmon spread over the living room's plush carpet.
The air was thick with tension and the faint smell of cologne and perfume, a heady mix of old and new memories. Ellie stood in the midst of it all, her heart pounding like a bass drum. She could feel the weight of all their gazes, each one sparking a different memory, good or bad.
Ryan, her first love, leaned against the marble fireplace, his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes, hazel and familiar, held a hint of the resentment he'd been nursing since their breakup. Matt was perched on the arm of an upholstered chair, his smirk as wide as the city skyline outside.