It was Audrey’s turn to snort. “I never thought you could be bought so easily. All it took was a pair of shoes?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It was a pair ofLouboutins—don’t call themshoes—andall the times he’s bought me dinner. He knows how to treat a lady.” Violet buffed her nails idly against her sweater, completely nonplussed by the accusation. “He also promised to show me his studio after the gala.”
Audrey snapped her head up and tried to school her expression into submission. “Oh yeah?” She winced at how high her voice had suddenly pitched.
“Yeah, but he said I might have to sign some paperwork first. What the hell does he do that’s so secret, government-contracted art or some shit? Now I’mreallyintrigued.”
“Uh…” The panic was definitely creeping up now, but there was nothing she could do about it. If Theo wanted to tell Violet he was her favorite notorious reclusive artist and neon sculptor, that was his deal. “It’s, um. He’s just, uh…been working on something special lately, and he wants to stay tight-lipped about it.”
“Never heard of signing paperwork to view a studio before, but I’ve never been muchinvolvedin the art scene, I only follow it. Maybe it’s more common than I think it is?”
“I have no idea.”
“Just how loaded is he, anyway? What does his apartment looklike? No one with chump change just casually flashes around a black Amex like that.”
Panic. Full panic and deflection mode now. Audrey glanced around for the salesperson they’d been working with and waved her over. “I think we’re done here. Do we have to do anything else to leave, or…?”
The night of the gala, Audrey wriggled into her new dress and shoes, closed her eyes and tried not to wrinkle her nose while Violet applied her makeup, complained loudly and repeatedly as her roommate swore when she attempted to curl Audrey’s hair (it was only being mildly cooperative), and crammed a tube of lipstick and her phone in a tiny metallic-gold clutch before there was a knock at the door. As soon as she heard it, Violet threw the makeup brush onto the vanity and made a beeline for the bathroom.
“Hey, where are you going?!” Audrey shrieked, twisting indignantly in the chair at the sudden abandonment.
“I’m out!” Violet shouted through a crack in the door. “Trust me: you’ll want privacy.” She slammed it shut and the sound of the pipes knocking and the shower roaring to life filled the apartment.
Audrey rolled her eyes and pressed up from the chair, trying her best not to topple over like a baby giraffe on her new designer heels while she answered the door. When she pulled it open, she gasped.
She knew Theo would be wearing a tux. It was a black-tie charity gala.
She hadn’t been prepared for him to lookthatincredible in it.
He always looked good, he always smelled clean and warm and woodsy and citrusy, even when he was simply wearing sweatpants. But tonight, he wasresplendent. He stood tall and straight in his tuxedo, the cut of it perfectly tailored for his broad shoulders and trim waist. It fit him like a glove.
Everything about him oozed wealth, right down to the Piguet watch she’d never seen before and the gold cuff links glinting fromhis wrists. His shoes were so shiny and pristine, they flashed in the light when he shifted on his feet, and he must have gotten a haircut. His hair was slightly shorter than it was yesterday and had been expertly styled with some sort of texturizing wax, the dark, shadowy waves tumbling perfectly to frame his bare face.
No mask tonight. He was going to the party as himself, scar and all.
She’d never be tired of such unobstructed views of him.
Without the mask, he looked like a prince, not her shy, introverted artist boyfriend. Everything about him sparkled today, down to his perfectly manicured nails and fingertips, no longer stained black with ink from sketching like they so often were.
“Oh my god,” she whispered, breathless. “Theo, you look amazing.” He was so handsome, she had to brace a hand against the doorframe to hold herself up. Suddenly, she felt so hot, she didn’t really need the coat she was clutching, and she sucked in a sharp breath to try to calm the rapidly growing heat simmering in her core.
But Theo hadn’t moved. He hadn’t even blinked.
He stood frozen in place, staring at her with his mouth agape—until he shook his head and swallowed.
“I—” He gulped again, and his right hand wandered near the edge of his jacket, stalling just short of plunging inside at the last second. He lifted it instead, fully trembling now, and ran it over his freshly shaven face. “Holy shit, Audrey.Holy shit,” he whispered through his fingers, suddenly doubling over and bracing his other hand on his leg to keep upright. His breathing was heavy and labored, and he sounded on the verge of hyperventilating. “Thisis what Violet chose?” he wheezed. “Is she trying to kill me?!”
It seemed she wasn’t the only one left breathless.
“Do you like it?”
“Do I like it?!” There was an odd, desperate growl tingeing the edge of his voice, and when he tried—and failed—to draw in a deep,calming breath, he glanced up at her. His pupils were blown black and wide, the swirling amber-green of his eyes reduced to a thin ring of color around them. “It’s taking everything I have not to tear that dress off of your bodyimmediately,” he croaked. “You’re the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Violet had chosen an off-the-shoulder designer dress. It was made of a thickly knit, scuba-like fabric, constructed in wide strips crisscrossing in layers that tightly hugged the meager curves of Audrey’s body, the length barely grazing the tops of her stilettos. Tiny cutouts at her waist and hips showed tasteful glimpses of golden, freckled skin, teasing at what lay beneath—though the long slit running nearly to the top of her left thigh left far less to the imagination.
Violet had gone for maximum sex appeal while still being black-tie appropriate. And while she was plenty covered, Audrey did feel like she was walking temptation, in part because of the color. The dress was dyed a deep scarlet red, and she would be wearing a lip to match.
Audrey wondered if her roommate knew red was Theo’s favorite color.
