Her heart lurched to her throat so quickly, she thought she was going to faint. She saw Philip around all the time, and he was always watching her —always waiting. This night, was dressed in a tuxedo, standing beside a woman in a red dress. They were looking at Amara, scrutinizing her as they exchanged words. Philip raised the champagne flute he held in his hand in a salute, and Amara could feel her knees slowly giving out beneath her.

“Mar, you’re scaring me, are you having dizzy spells again?” He stopped walking and faced her, holding both of her arms. Amara was still looking in Philip’s direction, and Colin’s eyes followed.

“You all right?” he asked again.

She could feel Colin’s eyes on her as she nodded, but she couldn’t break Philip’s icy blue gaze. “Yeah, everything’s fine,” she whispered. “Just fine.”