“It means I should be very afraid,” I mutter, twisting my damp hair into waves.
When I finally step out, she’s holding the dress up in front of her like she’s on the runway. The fabric glows red, liquid silk catching the light. My stomach flips. It’s bold. Too bold. Andway too feminine for someone who spends half her life in a stiff uniform.
I hesitate, but Maya is already thrusting it at me. “Try. It. On.”
The zipper slides up too easily, as if the dress was molded for me. I freeze when I catch myself in the mirror. The plunging neckline, the fitted waist, the way the skirt flows when I move—it makes me look like someone else entirely. Someone dangerous. Someone he might want to devour.
Maya whistles low. “Oh, honey. You look like sin served on a silver platter. He’s going to lose his mind.”
“Don’t say that.” My voice comes out thinner than I want.
But it’s true. I can’t stop staring. The dress makes me look…breathtaking. Terrifyingly so.
Then Maya digs deeper into the box and pulls out a velvet case. My heart sinks when I open it. A necklace and earrings set, ruby-red stones surrounded by tiny sparkling crystals. I run my fingers over them, afraid they’re diamonds. Afraid they’re real.
“Holy hell, Sasha, put them on!” Maya says, already unclasping the necklace.
“No.” I snap the box shut, shaking my head. “If they’re real, I’m not keeping them. I don’t care if he’s Lev Rusnak. I’m not wearing another man’s wealth around my neck like a price tag.”
I look at myself again in the mirror. Red silk. Bare shoulders. Loose waves falling just right. For one dizzying second, I don’t recognize the woman staring back.
And I can’t decide if that terrifies me—or excites me.
Maya is relentless. “Just try the necklace, Sasha. What’s the worst that could happen? If it’s real, you give it back. But tonight? You wear it.”
Before I can protest again, she’s already unclasping it and draping the cool weight across my collarbone. The rubies glowagainst my skin, scandalous and rich. I catch my reflection and swallow hard. I look like I belong in another world entirely.
The box also held shoes, of course. Strappy, black, impossibly high. Maya kneels like it’s some royal coronation, buckling them onto my feet with a grin. “There. Now you’re unstoppable.”
A sharp knock rattles the hotel door. My heart rockets into my throat. I dart to open it and find a staff member holding another note.
I tear it open, my pulse hammering:
Driver is downstairs in the garage. Don’t be late.
Maya squeaks. “Oh my God, this is literally a movie.” She spins toward me, eyes wide, vibrating with secondhand excitement. “Okay, listen. Phone fully charged, location on. Text me updates. Every thirty minutes minimum. If you feel off, you leave. Got it?”
I nod, a laugh breaking through my nerves. “Yes, Mom.”
She squeezes my shoulders and kisses my cheek. “Now go knock him dead. Or better yet, make him work for it.”
I grab my clutch and hurry out, heart pounding in my ears.
The garage smells faintly of oil and concrete. A sleek black car waits, polished so sharp it reflects the fluorescent lights. The driver is already outside, holding the rear door open for me with a professional smile.
“Ms. Marino,” he says, as if I’ve been expected all my life.
I lower myself into the car, the dress whispering around my legs, the necklace cool at my throat. The door shuts with a solidthunk, and suddenly I’m cocooned in leather and silence.
And the realization hits me—
I’m really doing this.
Almost thirty minutes later, the car glides to a stop in front of a sleek glass tower that rises like it owns the skyline. Mythroat goes dry. This is not dinner. This is a setup for something I have no business stepping into.
The driver steps out, opens my door, and gestures toward a polished marble lobby. “Private elevator to the penthouse,” he says. Just like that. As if it’s normal.
My heels click too loudly as I cross the floor. I press the button, the doors slide open, and the elevator swallows me whole. My reflection stares back from the mirrored walls—red dress, diamonds I don’t deserve, nerves written all over my face.
