Surprisingly—thankfully—the magical thread hasn’t suddenly yanked you back. In fact, you can’t see it at all. So maybe you can go further than you realized without Hot Book Guy.
That’s nice.
You hadn’t thought about it when you left him at home in a hurry, and now you’re grateful it isn’t a problem.
“So, uh, what’s your name?” You ask your date. Yep, you didn’t even get his name before agreeing to this.
It’s also a question you keep meaning to ask Mr. Hot Book Dude.
Wait, why are you thinking of him now? You should be thinking of your date.
Your very rich date.
You try to shove Hot Book Guy out of your mind, but you can’t stop picturing his handsome, shadowy face. He’s got the kind of piercing gaze that stares straight into your soul. Even through your memories.
“Alexander,” your date finally says after a suspiciously long pause.
So long that it takes you a moment to remember you’d asked his name.
Huh.
Weirdly, you glance out your window and notice the street you just passed was also named Alexander.
Strange coincidence.
There’s no reason this guy would have just given you a fake name, right?
A terrible fear shoots through your heart: What if you got in the wrong car?
What if this guy is about to abduct you?
You pull out your phone, considering messaging Corrine to ask what the date’s name is, but he’s glancing your way.
You don’t want to be rude, so you just smile and zip your purse shut.
He frowns, looking back to the road.
He doesn’t seem interested in small talk, and he already seems to know where he’s going, so you just settle quietly into the seat and stare awkwardly out the window.
Hoping you’re not being kidnapped.
Maybe rich billionaire types aren’t all the romance novels crack them up to be.
Or maybe he’s not the rich billionaire type at all. You still can’t shake the feeling that something is off about this, but you can’t place exactly what.
You rub your magical cuff anxiously all the way to the restaurant, where your date hands his keys to a fancy valet parking attendant.
At least he didn’t kidnap you to a creepy cabin in the woods.
Maybe he’s for real, after all.
There’s really no reason for you to be so suspicious of him. So why can’t you shake the bad feeling, even as you head inside?
It’s a good thing you dressed up, because the restaurant is one of those ones that definitely has a dress code. It’s a swanky place at the top of a skyscraper overlooking Diamond Park and the Bridgeborough city lights glimmering against the sunset sky beyond.Wow. The view is actually breathtaking.
Just oneweelittle problem: You’re massively afraid of heights. You can’t help it. Just looking down from up here givesyou vertigo. Your head spins, and the ground feels like it’s going to come up to meet you any second.
You step back from the towering windows, wobbling unsteadily in your stiletto heels—and toppling straight into your date.
