I place my hand against my chest, feeling the locket that Arlo had given me years ago underneath the material of my dress, and it grounds me.
This man may have jarred loose the memory of the boy I once loved, but I have to shove it back down deep inside my mind where it belongs. It still hurts to have lost someone so important to me right after the death of my mother. I lost them both within a matter of months, and the cut is still deep and painful even to this day.
Damon’s cell phone rings softly, and he’s quick to pull it out of his jacket pocket. He frowns at the screen, but quickly schools his features into a cool mask when he glances up at me. “I need to go,” he tells me. “But I should get your number, so I can arrange our date.”
I’ve never given my number to a guy before, so this is all completely new to me. Growing up, I never even had so much as a boyfriend…or even a first kiss, as pathetic as that sounds now that I'm twenty-three years old. I was in an all-girls school in the middle of nowhere, so boys weren't really on my radar…or even in my vicinity half the time.
I spout off the digits as he punches them into his phone with his thick index finger.
"Are you free tomorrow night?" he asks, glancing up at me.
"Yeah, sure," I agree.
"Great. I'll be in touch. Goodnight, Victoria."
And with that, he walks away from me and back into the ballroom. I lose sight of him in the crowd.
Clutching the locket, I collapse against the large pillar behind me, letting out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding.
Between not being able to breathe and the butterflies threatening to take flight in my stomach every few seconds when I’m around Damon Romero, I might not make it through our first date without some much-needed medical attention.
There’s just something about him that makes my heart beat a little faster when he’s near.
I just hope he’s not too good to be true.
CHAPTER 6
DAMON
EVERYTHING WENT AS planned tonight.
Baz was able to secure me an invitation to the exclusive gala, and I was able to pretend all night like I belonged there with the rest of the elite. If they only knew there was a wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing walking amongst them.
Victoria fell for my act hook, line and sinker, just like I thought she would. After seeing how she reacted to me in the coffee shop and hooking her then, I knew it wouldn’t take much to reel her in at the gala.
I should have known her father would sign her up for the ridiculous auction. I wasn’t anticipating, however, so much competition. I thought maybe one person would try to outbid me, but I didn’t expect two to be fighting over her right out of the gate. Especially not the son of her father’s archenemy.
I guess I’ll need to keep a close eye on Brody Farrell and make sure he doesn’t fuck up my plans any more than he tried doing tonight.
Brody made a mess of things for me at the gala since I didn’t plan on spending so much money on a date with Victoria. I’m eighty grand poorer since I needed the shock and awe factor after his little spectacle.
But the whole thing was absolutely necessary in securing a date with the object of my obsession. The money doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things if it progresses me forward in our timeline. Instead of going to that crummy little coffee shop day after day and vying for her attention, now I have the upper hand. She’s obligated to go out with me now, and I plan on making it a night she’ll never forget.
After arriving back home and stripping out of my suit, I sit down in front of my computer. Clicking a few keys brings up several security camera feeds on the widescreen monitor. Each feed shows me a different room in Victoria’s apartment.
I had the cameras installed in her place before she even moved in. Her father had rented the place in his name, and I paid off the super of the building to allow me unfettered access for one hour.
One hour is all it took for the hidden surveillance equipment to be installed in the place. I thought maybe the old man would be bringing his mistresses here and that I could perhaps coerce one of them to get me closer to Giorgio Ciccone.
Little did I know that the apartment would be for Victoria once she moved back to the city.
Giorgio sent her away not long after the fire. I know she went to a boarding school in Colorado and then college. He kept her far, far away to keep her safe.
And now that he's brought her back, he must be feeling comfortable again on his throne.
But he has no idea what's coming for him.
Or should I say…who.
