“What? What is it?” He slowed and raised an eyebrow.
“You took me to a ball,” she finally whispered accusingly, eyes wide while she looked down at her dress, her shoes, the necklace. “This is your version of aball.”
“And?” The other eyebrow followed the first, but there was an amused, expectant tilt to his lips paired with it now.
“The only thing I’m missing is a tiara, isn’t it? And it’s only because your family doesn’t own one.”
“Yet.” He held up a finger. “We don’t own oneyet. But I could rectify that if you wanted me to, princess.” Theo’s smile widened in deep satisfaction.
Audrey was still stunned. “This isn’tPretty Womanlike Violet thought. We didn’thaveto come to this—you just wanted me to…” Audrey bit her lip. “You wanted to let me be Anastasia.”
Theo tilted his head back and forth as if weighing the accusation. “Well, I do try to come to these at least once a year. I was due.” He tugged her closer and held her tightly against his chest, tucking her head beneath his chin and running his hand soothingly along her back while they continued to sway. “But I also thought it might be fun.”
He placed his lips next to her ear and chuckled, low and strong. “I had an opportunity and I took it,” he whispered. “I watched your face during that part of the movie, you know. You were so focused on the screen that you didn’t know it, but I watched you light up, and I’m not sure I’d ever seen you look that dreamy before—at least, not then. Not yet.” His hand pressed more firmly into her back. “If you were that thrilled by the mere idea of going to a ball, did you really think I didn’t want to know for myself what it might be like if youlivedit, even just for an evening?”
Audrey stopped swaying. She cradled his right cheek with her hand, sweeping a thumb along the length of his scar with a bemused shake of her head.
“You are a ridiculous man with ridiculous notions, Theodore Sullivan.” It was her turn to huff a soft laugh. “I hardly know what to do with you sometimes.”
He caught her hand and brought it to his lips, his eyes molten and dark, amber warmth mixing and mottled with cool, forest moss.
“I’m a veryreasonableman with verypracticalnotions, Miss Adams,” he growled. Then he looked up at the heavens and sighed deeply before gazing back into her eyes with resignation. “And very little shame about how much I love you. So much so, I’ll even sacrifice my hard-won dignity at your altar if you want me to dance in public with you. I know that about myself.” Another raised eyebrow, and his grin was wolfish once more as he leaned down and murmured, “And I’m pretty sure you knowexactlywhat to do with me.”
“I do. And it’s move in with you.”
He stopped in his tracks. “What?” he breathed. Everyone else around them kept dancing. “Really? You mean it?”
“You’re not the only one who had surprises up their sleeve tonight.” Her smile widened. “I want to move in—with you. Before I start my new job. New year. New us.”
The band finished their song and the rest of the dancers stopped to applaud. But Theo didn’t move. He just stared at her, smiling softly, frozen in time and space, his eyes lined with tears and glimmering with wonder in the glittering lights of the ballroom.
Audrey didn’t applaud either. She was too lost in the gaze of the man standing before her, and she knew. She knew he was the only one for her, the only one who ever would orcouldbe for her, if only because she couldn’t fathom ever having eyes for anyone else.
She saw him.
And he saw her too.
He always had, even when she couldn’t see herself.
After dinner, theauction began.
Though the Redmond family usually sponsored a large table for this particular multi-charity event every year, Theo had opted to purchase a smaller, more intimate one for just the two of them—meaning they had the entire table to themselves for the night. Butdespite not having to entertain his family’s foundation’s donors, it didn’t stop people from approaching them.
Turned out Theo was fairly well-known in high society, which shouldn’t have surprised her. What did, however, was how none of them seemed to know he was an artist. A few asked him about his graphic design business, but most interrupted their dinner to give their condolences regarding his father or ask after his mother or inquire about Audrey. No one mentioned the wreck explicitly, but nearly everyone’s eyes immediately fell to his scar and rarely left.
Theo smiled and nodded politely and kept up appearances through gritted teeth, and it only became more genuine when he got to talk about Audrey, and how proud he was that she’d just graduated and accepted a job at a green energy startup. She blushed whenever he heaped praise upon her, and they both sighed in relief every time another person finally decided to leave them alone.
“Is it always like this?” she eventually asked.
Theo shook his head while he focused on cutting his steak. His hand was shaking a little more than it usually did these days, and she had to wonder how much of that was from stress—or nerves. “No,” he muttered. “Diego tried to keep things out of the papers and Dad’s obituary didn’t mention the accident, but word got out anyway. They’re coming around to gawk at me.”
“I hate that they are.” She placed her hand on his arm, and when he looked up at her, his face softened.
“It’s fine.” He shrugged. “I don’t really give a shit anymore. They can stare all they want. Only one person’s opinion about my appearance matters to me.” He lifted his fork to his mouth and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. His lips twitched, and she swore she saw the ghost of a crooked smile cross them, if only for a split second.
After dinner and during dessert, the lights dimmed and the auction began. Among other things, there were two dozen art pieces upfor grabs that the public knew about, and as soon as the auctioneer launched the sales, Theo leaned his elbows onto his knees and his expression shifted, growing stony and determined.
When everyone else followed suit, it became apparent:
