Chapter 36

• She follows obediently, trying to quiet the doubt and noise in her mind, for it is actively chattering away now that his mouth is not on hers, blunting her ability to reason. They quickly make it to an elevator at the end of the hallway, and within seconds, they are stepping in. Nicholas pulls a key card out of his pocket and inserts it into the panel, effectively unlocking the top floor, the penthouse.
• He steps back toward her as the elevator lifts and places a hand on the small of her back. The silence between them is audible and only intensifies the butterflies that are churning in her stomach. "Why the change?" Nicholas asks as he tugs on her straightened hair, trying to ease her mounting anxiety.
• "Just trying to fit the mold," she quips reflexively, referring to the numerous pictures on the Internet of him with straight-haired women. His brow furrows at her comment, trying to figure out its meaning when she offers, "Sometimes change is good."