But she also knew Connor. She knew the satisfaction hiding beneath his concern. She knew he had brought Paige to make Harper feel discarded, small, and publicly unwanted.

Roman was offering her a door out of the trap.

Harper lifted her chin. “For ten seconds,” she said.

Roman’s hand moved slowly to the side of her neck, giving her every chance to step back. She did not. He leaned down and kissed her.

The kiss was not frantic. It was deliberate, controlled, and devastatingly public. A glass shattered somewhere behind them. Harper’s fingers closed around the front of Roman’s jacket.

For one suspended moment, the whispers and chandeliers and watching faces disappeared. There was only the warmth of his mouth, the strength of his hand, and the unexpected safety of being held by a man everyone else feared.