Balancing the tray of granola in one hand, I reached out to ring the doorbell. Zane stood beside me, holding a china set. He gave me a smile when I looked up at him. He was wearing a white collared shirt with his sleeves rolled up slightly. His muscles strained against his shirt when he moved but I wasn't complaining. 

Most of the items on Hannah's wedding wishlist were already crossed out now, except for a green china set. We spent the entire morning looking for one and managed to snag the last one at a local shop. 

Ravi and Hannah were holding their engagement party at a small estate located in Cambridge. There was a fountain at the front, surrounded by neatly cut hedges. The house overlooked a lake where ducks were slowly drifting through. I spent a few minutes marvelling at the pale limestone exterior of the house. 

"Are you sure we can't eat the granola?" Zane asked for a second time as we waited for someone to open the door. We managed to eat most of the snacks I packed for our trip. Zane was eyeing Hannah's tray for the last twenty minutes. 

"You can have some when we go inside," I suggested, shifting the tray away from him and giving him a serious look. 

"It's really good. Tastes better than the one we get from the store."

I didn't have a chance to respond because someone opened the door. Hannah and Ravi ushered us indoors with wide smiles. They were dressed in matching shades of white. My friend was wearing a lace dress that reached her knees and on her head was a flower crown. She looked stunning and so happy with her arms around her fiancé. 

"I'm so glad you could come." Her gaze fell to the tray and she titled her head. She could recognize the smell of granola a mile away. "Is that what I think it is?"

I nodded. She screeched and took the tray from me. "You're lucky that we didn't eat this on our way over here," I said with a laugh. 

"Some of the girls from uni are upstairs. We might have to help Jessica with her makeup," she declared. 

I managed to wave at Zane before Hannah whisked me up the mahogany stairs. My strappy heels made a clicking sound as I followed Hannah. A grand chandelier hung from the ceiling composed of tiny pieces of glass that looked like teardrops. 

I could feel Zane watching me as I ascended the stairs. When I reached the top, I turned around and our eyes met briefly. Straightening out the wrinkles on my black dress, I gave Zane another wave and tried to ignore the butterflies in my stomach. 

Hannah's friends had claimed an entire room for themselves upstairs. One girl was applying mascara, while another was adjusting her hijab. Jessica was sitting on the bed, examining a bottle of foundation, while tapping her foot. 

"Hey Jessica," I said, waving a hand at her. Jessica was the only girl in the room, other than Hannah, who I knew well. She was in the same program as me at Ryerson and we would occasionally study together. 

"Hey! I haven't talked to you in ages," she stated, holding up the foundation. Taking it from her, I grinned. It didn't long for us to fall into our familiar rhythm and talk about everything from school to boys. She mostly talked about boys while I listened, offering advice where I could. 

"I think we're in the same gothic lit class," someone said behind me. A familiar-looking girl wearing a pale blue dress came to stand beside me. 

"Anne, right?" I asked. She nodded, examining Jessica's makeup and approving it. 

"I saw the guy you came with. Is that your husband?" I froze and flicked my eyes to Hannah. Anne normally sat behind us in gothic lit and must have overheard me talking about Zane. 

Unlike me, Hannah had more friends, most likely a side effect of her kindness. She only met Anne this semester and here she was attending my best friend's engagement party. My loud mouth and temper made it difficult to form lasting friendships. 

"Yeah, that's the guy I married," I responded flatly, stepping back to study Jessica's makeup. 

"Did you marry him at gunpoint or something?" She laughed, tossing blonde hair behind her shoulder. A cold feeling spread down my back as I considered her words. I couldn't tell if Anne was joking or not. What gave her that impression?

Some of the girls gave Anne a mortified look. "No, he married me willingly."

"Lucky. He's a bit of your league." Anne must have registered the shock on my face because she started to backtrack. "Ah sorry. That was a bit rude. I sometimes say things without realizing." 

Hannah stepped in before things escalated between us. She offered everyone glasses of champagne to dissipate the tension. Everyone turned their attention towards Hannah and I breathed a sigh of relief. 

Anne's words shouldn't have bothered me but they did. They hung over me like a dark cloud as we made our way back downstairs. Some people sat at tables while others milled about, holding glasses of wine or champagne. 

Scanning the room, I found Zane talking animatedly with two men. One slapped his back and let out a hearty laugh. He didn't look like he hated being here with me. Hannah was dancing with Ravi and I didn't want to bother her. 

There was a door at the back that led to a patio. I decided to slip outside for some fresh air. I ran my fingers over my bare arms and stared across the dark lake. A swishing noise startled me. 

"It's you," I said as Zane joined me. 

"You okay?" He leaned down and placed his elbows on the railing surrounding the patio. 

"I'm okay. How are you?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he looked up at the night sky. The moon shone brightly tonight and its light made him look angelic. "I like the quiet here. It's normally so loud on my balcony at home." We fell into a familiar but now comfortable silence as we took in the brilliant night sky. 

Anne's statement was still bothering me. "Question for you," I said casually, turning around so I was facing the patio doors. "Say we didn't know each other and you ran into me at Walmart or something. Would you have thought I was...cool?" I had wanted to say attractive but chickened out last minute. 

He tipped his head to the side, raising an eyebrow. "Would this be assuming that we weren't seeing anyone?"

"Both of us are single in this made-up scenario," I added quickly. 

"Hm," he said, feigning a look of concentration. "Which aisle of Walmart would we be in?"

"Not important!"

"I need help visualizing it." Zane was smiling and obviously knew what I was asking. 

"Never mind," I huffed, hugging my arms to my chest. 

"I think you're absolutely gorgeous." His gaze focused on me and my heart rate spiked. "That would be my first thought if I ran into you at Walmart randomly."

I didn't say anything, fearing that I would just stumble over my words like a fool. Something flashed in his eyes as he stepped away from me. "One month," he said, expecting me to understand what that meant. 

"I don't know what you mean."

"Can you stay with me for one more month?" His voice was low and dripped with longing. It was difficult to tell if it was for me or not. "After that, we can end whatever this is," he finished while waving a hand between us. 

My chest tightened at the thought of leaving him. There was no denying that I felt something for Zane. Before I could tell him that, a man burst outside. He had been talking to Zane earlier in the hall. 

"Sorry to disturb you two," he said in a rush. The man's hair was thick and flopped over his eyes, reminding me of a puppy in need of a trim. "I was just wondering if I could speak with Zane for a few minutes inside. He mentioned that he was a lawyer. " 

"Sure," Zane responded, his eyes still on me. "If that's okay with you, Sarah?"

"Yeah, of course. I'm just going to stay outside for a little longer." He dipped his head down and brushed his lips against my cheek. Heat spread across my face and then down my neck. 

They disappeared inside as Mitch strode out to the patio. "If it isn't my favourite student," Mitch said, coming to stand beside me. Mitch was a good teacher but a horrible person. His tutoring sessions would usually require me to take breaks because he was just so damn irritating. The good news was that I only had to put up with him for a few more weeks. 

"How's it going?"

He took a swig from his glass before answering. "My much younger brother is getting married before me. You can imagine how it's going for me." 

"Well Ravi is pretty great," I declared, remembering how much Hannah would rave about him. Mitch chugged down his champagne and set the empty cup down on the railing. 

"Are you implying that I'm not great?" There was a hint of annoyance there, which made me step back from him. Squinting his eyes, he closed the distance between us. 

"I didn't say that," I mumbled.

"They're dancing inside," he said, trying not to slur his words. "Do you wanna dance?" 

"I don't really feel like dancing right now." This was Hannah's future brother in law and I wanted to remain civil with him, despite his awkward advances. 

His expression darkened and he gripped my shoulders. Alarm bells started to ring in my head. "Why not? You owe me." 

I tried to pull away from him but he held on firmly. "Let me go or else I'm going to rip you another one," I said through gritted teeth. 

He laughed at this and tightened his grip, which made my blood boil. "Let go." He didn't budge.

Forget being civil. Mitch didn't know who he was dealing with. I couldn't help myself and slammed my head against his. Pain blossomed across my forehead but at least Mitch had removed his greasy hands. 

"You little slut," he spat. Red rage flashed in his eyes. Just as I was about to pull the patio door open, he shoved me roughly to the side. I went barreling into the barbecue and scrapped my wrist against the metal. Suddenly, my vision blurred and I was seeing stars. 

A battle cry rose from my throat and I leaped onto him, pulling at his hair and yelling. People rushed outside after hearing the commotion, among them a concerned Zane. He pried me off Mitch who had managed to land a blow to my stomach. 

Ravi held back his brother while Zane carried me to the driveway. I was kicking and screaming all the way. It felt like someone had lit my insides on fire. "Put me down!" 

He finally set me down in front of his car. Crossing his arms, Zane stared down at me. The shadows of a large tree masked his expression, making it difficult to tell what he was thinking. I tried moving past him but he stood firm. I let out a string of profanities, most of them directed at Mitch. 

I couldn't help but feel irritated at Zane for not having my back. I let out a sigh and leaned against the car. "You're bleeding," he whispered, bringing my arm closer to his face for inspection. 

There was a tiny cut on my wrist from scrapping it against the barbecue. The rush of adrenaline had numbed the pain earlier but now I could feel my arm stinging. Zane found a band-aid in his car and applied it to my wrist. 

"Can I beat the shit out of Mitch now?" I said, curling my fingers into fists. 

He closed the distance between us and pushed down my hands. "I would love to see that but I also don't want you to get arrested," he said. 

A breeze ruffled the branches of the tree above us and caused a shiver to run down my spine. "And why would you care if I got arrested?" He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, moving his gaze across my face before settling on my lips. 

"It would be hard to do this then," Zane whispered as he brought his face closer. My heart thudded dangerously in my chest. He gently brushed his lips across mine and then started to pull away, a small smile dancing on his lips. 

Without giving it a second thought, I grabbed a fistful of Zane's shirt and tugged him toward me. His lips were soft and he tasted sweet, almost like chocolate. He moved his hands down to my hips as our kiss deepened. My entire body was buzzing with pleasure. Tipping my head back, I let Zane trail kisses down my neck.

A moan escaped my lips when his thumb brushed the inside of my bare thigh. "Please don't stop," I groaned and spread my legs slightly, pulling him closer. I could feel him smiling against my neck. 

Someone shined a bright flashlight on us. "What the hell is going on here?" A young woman, wearing a security uniform, stared on with a horrified look on her face. Zane stepped away from me, sporting rosy lips and a sheepish expression. I was practically laying on the car's hood. Scrambling up, I straightened my dress and hair. 

The woman turned Zane around and slammed him against the car's hood. Seeing Zane with his hands held behind his back caused another wave of pleasure to shoot through me. Panic flashed across Zane's eyes. 

Shaking my head, I stepped forward. "What are you doing?"

"Restraining this man," she replied curtly. "I was told there was a fight."

"My husband hasn't done anything wrong. The guy you're looking for is Mitch. The asshole is probably inside." The security officer raised an eyebrow but released Zane. 

There had been a minor misunderstanding. Apparently, the security officer was patrolling the venue grounds when she was told about a woman in black fighting with a man. She wasn't provided with more details beyond that. 

Once the officer went behind the house, Zane finally glanced down at me and gave me a look that could kill. My stomach twisted when I pictured his hands on my body. "I like it when you say my husband," he said in a low voice before opening the door for me. 

After I sent Hannah a quick text, we drove away from the venue. I sat on my hands and focused on the darkness outside but it was no use. "Pull over," I instructed and Zane didn't protest. 

Kicking off my heels, I climbed on top of Zane. Unlike him, my movements were rough and desperate. I ran my fingers through his hair, grabbing some and pulling his head back. He let out a moan and I kissed him again. 

"Let me take you home," he said when my fingers started to fiddle with his buttons. 

Nodding, I slid off him and returned to my seat. There was no going back now. Whatever line we crossed could never be drawn between us again.