// Best YA Romance in the Romance Fiction Awards 2021//
Thrill Hawthorne, keeping up to his name, lives his life on the edge. Or so people think.
Ignatius Rookwood is the darling son and the sole male heir to a gigantic business corporation. Or so...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Thrill was bawling his eyes out, for the second time that evening, in Quinn's embrace. It was unfair, really, how she was the one who approached him when it should've been the other way around, how she was the one apologising when it should've been the other way around.
"You know, right, that I only want the best for you and this family?" Quinn hummed, running her fingers through Thrill's hair.
Thrill nodded. "I'm so sorry I yelled at you."
"It's okay." She patted his back. "Enough crying, now. The guests will be here any minute."
Thrill stepped back, wiping his face on the sleeves of his shirt. He then reached out to pick up the tie from the dresser and handed it to Quinn. The woman smiled and began tying it for him.
"You don't..." Thrill began, a little unsure of how to broach the topic. "You don't hate Ignatius, do you?"
"No, of course not. What I did wasn't personal, I hope you know that."
Thrill looked at his feet and said nothing. As much as he wanted to dislike Quinn for going behind his back and against his words, he knew she did it for him. She was like a mother to him, and she was only looking out for him, the best she could.
"I actually quite like him," Quinn added. "He's growing on me."
Thrill smiled. "He has that effect on people, yeah."
Quinn shook her head fondly, before fixing the tie and cupping Thrill's cheek in her hand. "I'm really glad to see you happy."
Thrill wondered what he must've done in his past life to deserve all these amazing, amazing people. "Quinn. I'm sorry, really."
"Hush now, it's all in the past." She lightly slapped his cheek and stepped away. "I love you, you love me, so it's all settled."
Thrill indulged himself in another quick hug. "Thank you."
She huffed. "Okay, hero, I got it. Now go greet your guests. I believe a certain someone by the name of Adrisa is here."
It took Thrill a while to place the name in his memory. "Drayden's crush Adrisa?" he asked. Quinn shrugged, pretending she did not know what he was talking about. "What is she doing here?"
Turned out, Drayden's crush Adrisa was his lawyer's daughter. Talk about a small world.
Also turned out, Drayden's crush Adrisa was friends with Ignatius. Talk about a smaller world.
"What is going on?" Thrill whispered to Caspian as the two stood on the balcony, watching Ignatius converse with a girl on the lounge downstairs.
"That's Adrisa," Caspian whispered back.
"Wait, you know her as well?"
Caspian smirked. "Yeah. I even had dinner with her."
"You what now? Why does everyone know her except me?"
