The neon glow of the bar sign cast a lurid blue hue across Kayla's face, highlighting the frown etched between her brows. She nursed a sickly sweet drink, the clinking of ice cubes a lonely counterpoint to the thrum of unfamiliar music. In this new city, every street felt alien, every face a stranger, and a wave of homesickness, thick and heavy, threatened to pull her under. She tried to lose herself in her phone, but the persistent hum of the bar, the predatory glances from men, kept dragging her back.

Just as she resolved to leave, a tumbler of Margarita, unsolicited, appeared before her. She scowled, ready to refuse, but the bartender pointed to a figure four stools down. Her gaze drifted, expecting another leering face, and then… stopped. He was a silhouette of broad shoulders and powerful arms against the dim light, but even from this distance, his presence was undeniable, radiating a raw, masculine allure that seized her breath. As her eyes lingered, he lifted his glass, a smirk playing on his lips, and winked. Heat rushed to Kayla’s cheeks. She snapped her gaze back to her phone, suddenly hyper-aware of her pounding heart.