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She smiled, remembering with a warm glow how he’d told her that her eyes sparkled like stars. She couldn’t remember any compliment giving her such joy before. It wasn’t just the sweetness of the sentiment but the intimacy of knowing that he saw the connection to her father. There’s another reason that his flattery brings me joy. And it’s called being in love. That thought caused the breath to catch in her throat.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, brushing his lips against hers.

She swallowed. “Nothing. Everything is amazing.”

He smiled. “It sure is.”

Nina listened to the partygoers outside. “You should probably get back down there.”

Cam groaned. “I want to stay here with you.” He buried his face in her neck.

She laughed. “We can’t. This is your party. You’ll be missed.”

He stayed where he was, trailing his mouth along her skin.

Nina stroked his hair. “I’ll come with you.”

He sighed and lifted his head. “Fine. But once I’ve delivered the preview of the song, I’m leaving Noah in charge and bringing you right back up here.”

Nina grinned. “Sounds great to me.”

He climbed off her and they both pulled on their clothing, stealing pulse-spiking glances at each other long the way. Cameron took her hand and they headed back downstairs and into the kitchen. Before Nina could say anything further, Cameron was grabbed by someone and led into a conversation with another group. He gestured for her to come with him, but she shook her head and smiled. She didn’t want to cramp his style when he had people to schmooze.

Nina moved over to the kitchen island where Noah and Isla were talking to a few others.

Isla leaned in. “Where’ve you been?”

“Nowhere,” Nina said, glancing across the room and meeting Cam’s eyes. He held her gaze with a smile playing at the corner of his mouth and Nina felt like she might collapse with desire.

Isla narrowed her eyes at her. “Why don’t I believe you?”

Nina shrugged. “Stop being so suspicious.” She lifted a bottle of beer and popped the top, taking a long drink so that Isla couldn’t question her further. She’d tell her about it later, just not now in a room full of people.

Nina listened to the conversation around her, unable to fully concentrate on what they were saying. She couldn’t stop glancing at Cameron as he made his way around the room and she was delighted to find that most of the time he was looking back at her. Eventually he came over to their group and she steeled herself to practise some self-restraint and not grab hold of him.

He drew level with her to address Noah, deliberately grazing her hand with his and stretching out his fingers so that they almost entwined with hers, their hands hidden between them.

Cameron nodded at Noah. “I’ve done my rounds. Time to showcase the track then I’m going upstairs to lie in a dark room while you host the party.” He squeezed Nina’s fingers as he spoke. She studied his profile, able to read what he was signalling.

Noah laughed. “Anything you say. Do you want me to introduce it?”

“No,” Cam said quickly. “Get everyone’s attention, then I’ll introduce it.”

Noah nodded. He turned to the room and clinked a spoon against his glass, with Cam turning down the music via his phone in order to get Noah heard.

“Thanks for coming, everyone,” Noah said. “Logan would like to give you all an exclusive preview of his track, featuring our very own Isla Starr.”

Everyone applauded and Isla did a little curtsey.

Noah nodded at Cam.

Cameron cleared his throat as he lined up the track on his phone. “Thanks, Noah. This is a real labour of love, so I appreciate you all coming to celebrate and listen. Here’s a snippet of the track.” He met Nina’s gaze. “It’s called Stars in Her Eyes.”

Nina’s heart thudded in her chest. Is the song about me? She hadn’t taken in the words before, due to a mix of stress about Isla and distractions like her audiobook and fetching and carrying food. Plus, she hadn’t realised at the time that he saw their bond as anything but platonic.

The music started, punctuated by applause and everyone in the room began moving to the melody. Nina stayed motionless, listening properly to the lyrics for the first time and unable to take her eyes off Cam’s. They were the only two people in the room standing still.

Dark hair like midnight skies,