The morning rush at Lawson Cleaning Services was the usual chaos — ringing phones, overbooked schedules, and a very grumpy Lyra trying to juggle it all with one hand while holding her toddler's sippy cup in the other.
"Noah, please," she whispered, bouncing him on her hip. "Can we save the tantrum for later?"
Her son just stared at her with the exact same piercing gray eyes she had tried not to think about all night.
Zane Hogan's eyes.
She hadn't slept. After seeing him again — being that close, lying to his face — Lyra was a wreck. She kept replaying the look he gave her. Confused, curious, almost… familiar.
She shook the thought away. He didn't remember. That was all that mattered.
A loud honk outside broke her thoughts. The company van was ready.
She kissed Noah's forehead, handing him off to her friend and neighbor. "I'll be back by four. Call me if he doesn't eat again."
As she slid into the passenger seat, her phone buzzed.
New Job Assigned: Hogan Grand Hotel – Presidential Suite.
Her blood ran cold.
Not again.
She had specifically unassigned herself from that floor. But now, there it was — the same suite. The same room.
As they pulled into the hotel parking lot, Lyra adjusted her uniform and tried to steady her breathing. Just clean. Be invisible. Don't make eye contact.
But fate clearly had other plans.
Because the moment she opened the door to the suite, she froze.
Zane Hogan was standing there — shirtless, coffee mug in hand, and staring straight at her like she had just walked into his dream.
"You again?" he asked, voice lower than before.
Lyra's heart thundered.
This time, she didn't have an escape.