Chapter 9. Trust

Travis leaned against the mahogany bar, the polished wood cool beneath his palm as he slowly swirled the amber liquid in his glass. The whiskey caught the low light of the room, glinting gold and copper as it moved, the faint scent of oak and smoke curling upward. The bar itself buzzed with conversation—low laughter, clinking glasses, the muted thrum of music—but Travis found it easy to tune it all out.

His attention kept drifting back to Camila.

She stood across the room, surrounded by people drawn to her presence as if by gravity. Her laughter rang out like delicate chimes, light and musical, but Travis could tell it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She smiled easily, gracefully, yet there was a tension beneath it—something restrained, something held back.

When her gaze met his across the crowded space, the brightness in her expression dimmed. The laughter fade