Evangeline had no idea what was going through his head, but his position was terrifyingly precarious. Her palms grew damp with sweat. She wanted to call out to him but was afraid of startling him, of causing him to lose his bnce.


    Taking a deep, steadying breath, she softened her steps and began to creep toward him.


    She''d only taken two steps when he spoke, his voice calm and even, as if he''d had eyes in the back of his head.


    "Evangeline."


    She froze.


    He didn''t turn around, simply kept his gaze fixed on the horizon. "The sun''s about toe up," he said gently.


    Evangeline looked out at the skyline. Thest vestiges of night were fading, reced by the soft glow of dawn. A sliver of gold was just beginning to peek over the edge of the world, painting the cloudless, sapphire sky. It was breathtakingly beautiful, like the first stroke on a fresh canvas.


    A strange sense of peace washed over her. It had been so long since she''d watched a sunrise. Her mother used to take her hiking and to the beach to watch the sun rise and set. But in her five years of marriage, her mornings had been a whirlwind of chores and managing the vi. Sunrises had be a forgotten luxury.


    On an impulse she couldn''t exin, she walked toward Finn and, copying him, climbed onto the narrow ledge.


    The sudden drop made her vision swim, and her legs turned to jelly.


    "Careful," Finn said, his hand steadying her arm.


    She sat down next to him, her heart pounding with a strange mix of terror and exhrating freedom.


    "I used to hate this feeling," Finn said quietly.


    Evangeline blinked. "What feeling?"


    "The feeling of being about to lose control," he replied.


    It was the perfect description. That was exactly it. On the verge of losing control. Sitting there, the choice between life and death felt like it was bnced on a knife''s edge. One step forward, and she would plummet thirty-two stories. One step back, and she would be safe on the solid rooftop. But if she tried to step back and her foot slipped... all bets were off. The feeling was bizarrely intoxicating.


    She nced at Finn. He lookedpletely at ease, not just unafraid, but genuinely rxed.


    "And now?" she asked. "Do you like it now?"


    "No."


    He turned his head to look at her, his eyes intense. "I love it."


    "I''m even starting to wonder," he continued, his voice low, "what it would be like if I


    let everything spiralpletely out of control."


    Evangeline met his gaze.


    She blinked slowly. "You''d probably die a very messy death."


    She knew exactly what he was implying. The question she''d been wrestling withst night had just been answered. She saw it in his eyes-the restraint, the surrender, the fall.


    But she had learned her lesson with Soren. In matters of the heart, the first one to fall is the one who loses everything.


    This was a game best yed with detachment. A transaction of mutual benefit.


    Finn just smiled, saying nothing.


    The sun climbed higher, its light growing brighter and warmer.