And when the party ended, I went upstairs alone.
Or so I thought.
Graham appeared near the third-floor landing.
“Renata. Wait.”
I was holding my stupid bee wings in one hand.
“Forget it,” I said. “I had wine. It was Halloween.”
“No.”
That stopped me.
He stepped closer.
“I heard what you said. And I don’t want to forget it.”
“Then why did you look like I’d asked you to donate a kidney?”
He gave a miserable little laugh.
“Because I’ve wanted to kiss you for a year, and I’m apparently terrible at receiving good news.”
That got my attention.
He asked if we could talk properly the next day.
I agreed.
But as I unlocked my apartment, my phone buzzed.
An email from Celia.
Subject: URGENT — Interpreter Certification Review
I opened it while my keys were still in the lock.
A hospital encounter from that evening had been certified under my employee credentials.
