Esté had seen and heard all about the lavish fiascos that were Tony Stark's annual birthday celebrations, but that year had been the first time in fifteen years that she'd actually attended one of the infamous events.

She'd had doubts about going after the ruckus that Giovanni had stirred up in the press, but a calm and classy response from both herself and Brad in an interview a few weeks after the story broke managed to put the whole thing to bed. The pair said very little on the topic after being provoked by the interviewer, but insisted that they were, and always had been, just very good friends, and that the stories floating around the tabloids were nothing more than a work of vicious fiction.

The buzz soon faded and Estélla never really felt too much backlash from the media about the rumours, and as much as she had initially wanted to spill all the details about what had actually happened in her previous relationship, biting her tongue had proven the better option once again.

The press made quick work to turn on Giovanni and it wasn't long before another round of rumours about him began to fill pages in magazines, but Esté kept herself to herself and decided not to feed into the hands of the journalists, choosing instead to uphold her prestigious reputation that the world still adored.

She and Brad had cooled their short-lived fling to practically nothing, and although they'd both had to resist urges to spend the night together after sharing dinner with brands or having drinks in a hotel bar after an interview, they both knew that being friends was for the best.

Estella's career continued to flourish over the next handful of weeks with numerous shoots and more interviews, more contracts being signed and what seemed like an endless stream of meetings, though she found time to clear her schedule that Saturday evening in May and make her way to a cocktail bar in the Upper West Side with Alicia and Katy.

Truthfully, Esté hadn't a clue what to expect from Tony's party beyond what she'd seen in photographs from previous years, but her expectations were nothing short of met when she strolled down a red carpet with a blinding flash of lights from either side lighting her way inside the bar, a thumping of low music sending a shiver down her spine.

There were celebrities every which way and unsurprisingly, a whole host of familiar faces. It did make Esté wonder how she and Tony hadn't crossed paths sooner than when they had since it was evident that their circles overlapped a little more than they'd both thought, though Esté was quick to realise that perhaps most of these guests simply showed up rather than being invited.

Turning heads in a golden cocktail dress with a low, draped back, Esté held a dainty gift bag between her fingertips that swung with each step she took, echoes from her own high heels and the jaw-dropping walks from Katy and Alicia too being enough to grab the attention of the whole party once they walked in.

The bar wasn't decorated for a birthday celebration but it didn't need to be, gorgeous antique chandeliers and obscure artwork gave the place an atmosphere that didn't need adding to it. There was dance floor over on the far side of the room that overlooked Manhattan with a DJ playing that Esté recognised but couldn't name, a stream of curved velvet couches offering a respite from partying and a solitude for conversation under dim lights.

Esté wasn't shocked when she saw Tony sat rather clearly flirting with a girl she was sure was from a reality TV show, but once he noticed the girl had stopped paying attention to him, he was forced to stop speaking and find out exactly what, or rather who had stolen his thunder.

And of course, he too wasn't shocked to see that it was Estélla.

She looked breathtaking in her golden dress and white high heels, an expensive white clutch bag held by French manicured nails and her signature blown out curls made her unmistakeable from a mile away, though everybody was desperate to get much closer than that.

He rose to his feet after excusing himself, straightening his blazer before walking over to the three girls who were fighting their way through a dense crowd of men that quickly parted once they saw him coming.

"Evening ladies, so glad you could make it. You all look beautiful," Tony said with a nod and a grin, placing a hand on Katy's waist and kissing her cheek before doing the same to Alicia, "Help yourself to drinks, the bartenders can make literally anything you want so don't be shy to ask, though I do recommend the Iron Man, it's got a little bit of a kick to it."

Alicia and Katy laughed after greeting Tony and wishing him a happy birthday, telling Esté that they'd come and find her again a little later on before heading over to the bar hand in hand.

"You seriously got them to make a cocktail named after yourself?" Esté scoffed with a smile, hugging her friend tightly and sighing happily at the feeling of him kissing her cheek, his arms lingering on her waist as they pulled away.

"Of course, do you even know me at all?" He furrowed his brows and smirked, taking a moment to pull his eyes across her body and appreciate how beautiful she really did look, "You look unbelievable, by the way. Really scrubbed up for the main event of the year, haven't you?"

Esté just laughed again, rolling her blue eyes and giving him a light push in the chest, the gift bag grazing against his white shirt before he snatched it from her hand.

"That for me? You didn't have to get me anything."

She shrugged and tilted her head, "It's not really a gift, more of a gesture. In fact, it's kind of stupid now I think about it, why don't you just give it back and-"

"Ah!" Tony whisked the small bag away from her outstretched fingers, raising a brow at her, "It says my name on it, so it's mine."

Esté just sighed and folded her arms, starting to regret her decision more and more as she watched Tony tear open the tissue paper that had wrapped up the tiny gift.

He frowned for a moment, narrowing his eyes at the delicate thread of navy blue string that fell between his fingers. There were two white seashells threaded onto it and a single charm with the letter T engraved onto the silver.

"Wait, is this-"

"It's dumb, I know. I found it when I was unpacking all my boxes from moving and well, it brought back a lot of memories."

There was a sheepish smile that graced Esté's red lips and an embarrassed flush in her cheeks when she lifted up her arm and flashed an identical bracelet tied around her wrist, the only difference being her initial instead of his.

"Are you crazy? Spain when we were what, fourteen? That little town near Marbella when we shared that gigantic seafood paella and your dad let us order a cocktail for the first time?"

Estélla was shocked that Tony remembered where the bracelets were from, even more so that he remembered so much about the trip. She'd been struggling on what to give Tony for his birthday though while moving into her new house and finding homes for all her belongings, she fell down a rabbit hole of memories while sifting through endless souvenirs and keepsakes from her childhood, almost all of them being shared with Tony.

Giving him the bracelet seemed like a nice idea at the time though Esté began to feel more and more worried about it on the journey over to the bar that night, overthinking how embarasing it would be if he didn't remember the significance. Luckily, however, it seemed like Tony remembered everything.

"Would you do the honours?" He grinned and pulled up the sleeve of his blazer and shirt, turning his arm around for Esté to tie the bracelet around his wrist.

She let out a small sigh of relief and nodded, taking the bracelet and tying it securely across his skin, watching with a smile as he admired it for another long moment.

"I love it, thank you," he said, hugging her once more, "I have to go talk to some more people but I'll find you later for a dance, alright? And make sure you try an Iron Man or you'll ruin my birthday."

Tony left her with a gentle squeeze on her waist and a sincere smile, a lingering of tobacco aftershave in the air once he'd walked away. Esté did as she was told and reunited with Katy and Alicia over by the bar, both of them drinking Tony's signature cocktail with a third untouched glass waiting just for her.

The girls mingled with rockstars and dancers, businessmen and congressmen for the next three hours, making friends with strangers and catching up with old faces that they hadn't seen in a while. The atmosphere was electric and everybody was having a good time, the dance floor was full and drinks continued to flow as more and more kisses on cheeks were shared and conversations exchanged, a positive, social vibe that relaxed Estélla and allowed her to enjoy herself.

"Hey, I'm sorry to interrupt, are you the girl Tony knows from when you were kids?"

Estélla had been asked a million and one times if she was actually Estélla Goldwyn, but never once had she been asked if she was Tony's childhood friend. When she looked up and locked eyes with the man that had been frozen in time, however, the question began to make a lot more sense.

"That's me," she shrugged and smiled, "It's Steve, right? Or should I call you Captain?"

The superhero blushed and shook his head, nursing a beer in his left hand, "Steve is fine. It's great to meet you, Tony's been talking about you a lot recently, nice to put a face to a name."

It wasn't often that Estélla came across somebody that didn't know who she was or at least hadn't seen her face on some kind of advertisement, but she found the encounter with Steve Rogers incredibly refreshing, liking the fact that somebody knew her for something far deeper than being a pretty face.

She was quick to introduce him to her friends, not ignorant to the way his eyes widened when he was warmly embraced by Katy, a flattering stumble over his words when he told her just how pretty she looked. The four of them took up residency on a group of couches in a corner where Steve was joined by Bucky Barnes who, although more subtly than his friend, made it no secret that he was mesmerised by Alicia, slowly edging his way closer to her as conversation went on until his arm was comfortably laid across her shoulders.

The group laughed and drank together for what felt like days. It was a welcomed change to talk to men that weren't wanting to talk to them simply for who they were, but guys who were genuinely interested in getting to know them. They were funny and polite, kind and gentle and never left any of them with an empty drink for more than a few seconds before jumping to their feet to grab a fresh one.

An ungodly amount of alcohol later, Estélla returned from the bathroom and noticed through hazy eyes that the conversation had split off into two separate ones. Steve and Katy were talking deeply about something sat facing one another while Alicia was practically sat on Bucky's lap, his arm still around her shoulders while he nodded with narrowed eyes, listening intently to whatever it was she was saying.

Estélla didn't mind at all, feeling more than happy to leave her friends to it that night and find somebody else to talk to. She grabbed another drink and touched up her lipstick at the bar, chatting cheerfully to the bartender before having her attention turned to another old friend who joined her side in search of another drink.

Esté had been good friends with Sting since he'd performed at her parent's wedding anniversary a few years ago, bumping into him at event after event after that and building a friendship that bonded over a love for music and being two simply good-hearted people with a similar sense of humour.

The two of them caught up at the bar for a little while until Sting was pulled away by a group of women, smiling at her apologetically to which she told him it was fine, leaving a kiss of red lipstick on his cheek before he turned his back.

"You know Sting too? Is there any rockstar you don't know?"

Tony appeared a split second later, leaning on the bar with one arm and a short glass of whiskey in his hand. His blazer was gone though he still looked perfectly handsome in a custom-fit Tom Ford shirt with gold cuff links and a Cartier Santos on his left wrist, the navy bracelet still tied around his right.

"I know a lot of people," she smirked and thanked the bartender when he slid her martini across the bar, "Maybe even more than you."

"Impossible," he said after kissing his teeth, "Drink up, let's dance."

Esté groaned as Tony downed the rest of his whiskey and stared at her with narrowed eyes, waiting for her to do the same thing. Reluctantly, she did as she was told and polished off her fourth martini of the night, leaving her with a slightly dizzy head when she placed her empty glass back down and grabbed hold of Tony's hand.

He pulled her through the sea of people who all reached for handshakes or shouted their birthday wishes to Tony on their way past. Estélla heard her name being called from a host of different voices too, though Tony's grip on her hand didn't loosen and his steps didn't slow, leading her through the bar over to the dance floor.

"The girls enjoying themselves? Where are they?"

"With your colleagues as it goes. Steve and Bucky took a particular liking to them."

Tony laughed and shook his head, "I didn't have you down to be a fifth-wheel. Want me to wingman you?"

The dance floor was crowded but not as busy as the rest of the place by then, leaving Tony and Esté with a small space to dance together between other people that were far too intoxicated to even notice they were there.

Neither of them had ever been very good at dancing, but that had never stopped Esté from trying. She'd had to beg Tony to dance with her at every prom they attended together and although he hated doing it, he never once let her down, seeing the light glow in her blue eyes and realising just how much it meant to her.

That evening was no different. Tony didn't particularly want to dance but he knew Estélla would, and so he held her hand and twirled her around, spinning her beneath his arm as she laughed wildly, his enjoyment coming from seeing her enjoyment.

"No thank you," she shook her head with a muted laugh.

"Why not? Still hung up on Brad?"

"No," she tilted her head and spoke with a sarcastic tone, eyes narrowed slightly though a smile soon tugged on her cherry lips, "I'd just rather spend my night here with you."

Tony felt her squeeze his hand, at least he thought he did, the surge of alcohol in his veins throwing off most of his feelings and intuition by that point. Regardless, the way that Estélla looked at him while everybody else was looking at her made him feel untouchable. He was almost always one of the most important men in the room, but it was different to be her most important man, the feeling being reminiscent of their deep friendship as children and perhaps the brink of something else as teenagers, the look in her sparkling blue eyes pulling a feeling of lost time into his chest.

Sadness lingered for a painful moment and Tony quickly dismissed the intrusion, elation filtering through stronger than anything else as he watched the way Esté danced around with her fingertips laced through his own without a care in the world.

He twirled her around once more before tugging on her hand and pulling her into him, her arms landing on his chest as her hair fell over once shoulder, a breathless smile on her face though one that quickly faded when the tension of their proximity was realised.

There was but an inch between their faces, perhaps even less, but it was enough to make Estélla's heart stop beating and enough to make Tony's stop too. They looked at each other for a moment, Tony's hands firmly set on her waist as she let her eyes break away from his hazel gaze for a split second to steal a glance at his lips before looking back up at him, feeling overwhelmed at the urge inside of her heart to cross a line they'd never crossed before.

Tony felt it too, never being unaware of just how beautiful Esté was but in that moment, feeling it. There was a weight of something different than another person in his hands and a glimmer in her eyes that he hadn't seen before, at least not in fifteen years. The truth was, the feeling that almost paralysed Tony's soul wasn't new, it was the same one that had consumed him when he handed her the bunch of Juliet Roses before their high school prom and the same one that he felt when he watched her jump off the dock into the ocean in the summer. It wasn't new, no, but Tony had never figured out what exactly it was.

A rational instinct quickly kicked in and forced Estélla to take a harsh step backwards, pulling a flustered smile onto her face that Tony recognised as being fake. He didn't know what it was that had just happened and he also didn't know what it was he'd just felt, refusing to believe the way his heart had been set on fire by his best friend if only for a brief moment.

"Happy birthday, Tony," Esté said quietly with a nod before swallowing and gently letting go of his hand, smiling again before quickly turning on her heels and disappearing into the crowd.

an;;
I'm back!! Sorry for the delay in updating, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!! I'll be updating more regularly from now on, I'd love to know your thoughts on this book so far!! <33