He drank more than he ever told me he did. He stayed out later than he’d ever mentioned before we moved in with one another. His mother told me he was overwhelmed with his new work commitments and the upcoming move to California, which I understood. I’d only wished he would’ve told me if he felt that way—not his mother.

Before I could reply to his rude comments, he looked past me. “You haven’t met my business partner yet. Connor, come here,” Jason said, waving someone over.

I looked up to see who he was calling out to, and my heart skipped before crashing to a full-blown stop as I met the bluest eyes I’d ever witnessed in my life.

Captain America.

In a suit.

My breaths evaporated the second our eyes locked. For a moment, I thought his eyes widened with realization, too, but when he blinked, it disappeared. His gaze softened, and he extended his hand toward me.

“Hi, Aaliyah, is it? I’m Connor. Nice to meet you.”

My chest ached as our hands shook one another. His eyes were still as blue as I remembered, yet his smile seemed a little more broken than it had been in the past.

I parted my lips to speak, but at first, no sounds came out…not until Jason awkwardly cleared his throat and nudged me.

I pushed out a smile. “Hi, yeah. It’s nice to meet you, Connor.”

Connor.

I loved that name a lot—even if it wasn’t Steve Rogers.

He looked like a Connor. Sweet, gentle, kind.

Jason downed his drink and gestured toward Connor. “It’s because of this guy that we’re off to California in a few weeks. Can you believe it? Me running my own real estate company.”

“Not exactly your own,” Connor said with a small smirk. “More of a team thing.”

“Yeah—for now, big boy. I’m pretty sure after you see how well I run it, you’ll be handing the business over to me in no time,” he joked. “Besides, you’re already busy with all of your other investments. I’d gladly take it off your hands.”

Connor laughed, but it felt cold. I hadn’t known his laughter could feel so chilled. “Roe Real Estate is my firstborn. I’d never give it away,” he said and it was clear he meant it.

I didn’t have a clue why Jason was even pushing the idea. He should’ve been grateful for the opportunity he’d been given, but then again, he had been drinking. Whenever Jason drank a lot, his personality shifted a bit. I loved him a little bit more when he was sober.

I couldn’t stop staring at Captain—Connor. It appeared the past two years had been good to him. He seemed even more built, his hair was groomed perfectly, and he had a very nice beard. He wore a designer suit ten times better than most of the individuals in attendance that night, and his eyes…

His eyes were still glued on me.

It appeared neither of us could look away, and I didn’t have a clue what to think about it at all.

My heart began to race, pounding against my rib cage, and I forced my stare away from Connor to avoid Jason picking up on any of my awkwardness. “Well, um, it was nice to meet you, Connor. But I was actually on my way to get a breath of fresh air. So if you’ll excuse me.”

I gave Jason a tight smile before hurrying off, tripping over my own feet and almost falling face-first in my high heels. Within seconds, a pair of arms caught me, and I looked up to see those blue eyes once more. Every hair on my body stood up straight as Connor stopped me from falling. I felt the heat in my cheeks as he held me.

“Sorry,” I muttered, still flustered like no other.

He pulled me up to a standing position and smiled. That one felt more real, the kind of smile I remembered from him in the past. “Not a problem.”

“She’s a bit clumsy sometimes,” Jason commented, walking over to us. “Just watch your step a bit more, will you, Aaliyah? I don’t want to have to make a trip to the emergency room,” he joked before turning to Connor. “How about I get you a drink, and we go over some details about a few things?”

That was my sign to keep walking away before Connor could see how humiliated I was.

Unfortunately for me, before I could make my way out of the room, I was ambushed by some associates of Jason, and I was cussing at myself for not keeping my head down more.

It was the first night I’d been around anyone who Jason knew on a work level, and they all overwhelmed me. I felt out of place, the black sheep in a way. They looked at me differently and spoke to me as if I were the most naïve person alive. Not only that but they also had a way of being catty with smiles plastered across their faces.