Chapter 20

• The ballroom shimmered beneath the golden chandeliers, laughter and conversation humming softly beneath the music.
• It had only been moments since Dante watched Celeste disappear into the crowd to rejoin her family. He was still standing near the edge of the grand hall, glass in hand, trying to gather his thoughts after their quiet exchange.
• Her words echoed in his mind, gentle, understanding, and bittersweet. It was strange how grief and time had molded her into something even more graceful and warm than he remembered. But there wasn’t time to dwell on that.