Secrets of Us A Forbidden Love Romance (Alina)

Chapter 67

Three

I regret looking at him almost immediately.

I'm suffocating. Heating up.

Zaid's dark eyes meet mine, smoldering with an intensity that makes my breath hitch. There's hunger there, a desire that wraps around me, tightening like a coil. It's so intense that I wonder if any other man on this earth ever truly found me beautiful.

None had ever looked at me the way he does.

"You look beautiful," Zaid murmurs, his voice low enough that only I can hear.

A flush creeps up my neck, and I struggle to steady my breathing. I lay my hand

on my

neck, where it meets my chest, but it does little to help.

"Thank you," I whisper, my chest rising and falling rapidly as I try to find something else

to focus on.

But Aiden is distracted with a conversation, and I am left to fend for myself.

The weight of Zaid's gaze pins me in place. His fingers brush lightly against my arm, sending a shiver skittering down my spine. The touch is gentle, almost absent-minded,

but it leaves a trail of fire in its wake.

Does he know how much this makes me feel?

talk about last night," Zaid says, his voice like velvet. The heat in my cheeks worsens. I can't breathe. I

bombarding my brain.

me. There's a wild, desperate edge to his expression, like he's fighting a losing battle with himself. I stop breathing, caught in the tension, my body leaning forward ever so slightly, when the first notes of the piano cut through the air, signaling

away, jaw clenching. His eyes lift to mine, like he's

was

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broken.

stand, and I use the distraction to pull myself together. My mother appears at the end of the aisle,

our relationship, my

her bouquet trembling ever so slightly in her hands, and

at her for long. The memories hit

photos of her and my dad, his hand around her waist, her glowing smile so full of hope. Her dress with puffy sleeves

every picture, she was smiling like the world

everything

and I swallow

Aiden is too busy watching my mother, Zaid reaches for my hand, his fingers curling around mine in a firm, comforting squeeze. The unexpected tenderness undoes me, and I blink rapidly, trying to keep

lips brushing against

touches.

different from the arrogance, the

sure I want to see, yet can't look away

weird watching my dad with someone else,

The pain in his eyes wouldn't be there

1. me.

wrap my fingers

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