STELLA
Galas exhausted me.
I’d gone to so many for work, they’d all blended together. I’d spend all night attempting conversation with executives so they’d remember me for that next big company-fixing assignment, and I’d posed in front of a wall of logos at the end of a fake red carpet.
But the Brooklyn Bats’ annual charity gala was different. Anxiety coiled in my gut while I stuffed my boobs into a strapless bra and pulled up what I hoped was a fancy-enough cocktail dress.
The entire team would be in attendance with all its management. Lee had mentioned some local celebrities would be there too and probably the mayor, but that wasn’t why I was nervous.
This would be the first time we went anywhere as a couple, other than our night at Coney Island. I’d met most of the Bats, and Lee had said they’d teased the hell out of him about me. Seeing me on his arm wouldn’t be a shocker for anyone.
Maybe getting so dressed up had upped the ante. Itseemed almost like prom. I’d spent my real prom with Finn, one of the few high school friends I still kept in touch with. He hadn’t been able to go to prom with the guy he’d been in love with and neither had I, so we’d joked about having the perfect lavender prom date. We’d had a blast that night, dancing and laughing with friends, but it had always felt like a hollow memory.
Looking back, most, if not all, of my relationships had seemed hollow too. Fine for presentation purposes, but nothing of value inside.
I was too old for prom and too young to look back on my life with so many heavy regrets.
“Hey, can I come in?” Lee knocked on my door. “I’m finished, but I can wait downstairs if you need more time.”
Debbie had come in for a weekend visit and was staying until Monday. She was staying with Bennie in the vacant basement apartment tonight after spending the day with Lee’s mother at the senior center. It was perfect timing since Lee had said the galas sometimes ran late and it would be hard to ask Taylor to stay until after midnight.
He’d brought Debbie and Bennie back to the house, gotten dressed, and I still wasn’t ready. The dress looked great, and my hair was curled in loose waves. I had a few hours before my strappy heels started killing my ankles.
My neck was bare since all my necklaces were gone.
They were just things, meaningless—other than the one. It could have been worse, and it still couldbeworse if Zach made bail, so a boring neckline was the least of my potential problems.
“As ready as I’ll ever be. Come in,” I said, fluffing my hair one last time and stuffing a few things into my tiny eveningpurse.
“Wow,” Lee said as I met his wide eyes in my dresser mirror. “You’re fucking stunning.”
“Thank you. You can never go wrong with a little black dress, I guess… Holy shit, Lee.”
Lee wore a simple black jacket and tie, and he was so gorgeous my mouth went dry. His jacket tapered to his broad chest, and I looked forward to what his ass looked like in dress pants. His beard was cropped enough to bring out his full lips, now stretched into a wide smile.
“I should have warned you I’d look hot tonight.”
As if I hadn’t already known. He’d been so achingly handsome at his wedding that I hadn’t been able to look directly at him for the entire night.
But I wouldn’t think about that tonight. This night was about us, not my parade of sad dates and mediocre men or anything in the past that made me doubt the present.
“So, two things. One, I got us a hotel room for tonight, so pack a little bag for the morning. I figured we didn’t have to rush home, so why not stay out all night?” He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me flush to his body. “I’m thinking room service and breakfast in bed would be nice.”
“Very nice,” I said, drifting my hand down the lapel of his jacket. “Give me ten minutes. I’ll be quick.”
“And the second thing,” he said, holding my gaze as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a long black velvet box. “This is for you.”
“This feels veryPretty Woman. Is it on loan?” I joked. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”
“You own it, so it’s not on loan. It’s not exact, but I’m hoping it’s close enough.”
I squinted at him while I took the box.
“The suspense is killing me—oh my God,” I breathed out, my eyes going cloudy when I realized what this was.
“I went by memory since you wore it all the time. The heart pendant is a little bigger, but I think I got the diamonds on the side right.”
I drifted my hand along the delicate white gold chain and the diamonds lining the right side of the heart pendant, an almost replica of the heart pendant my father had given me for the last birthday I’d spent with him and the one Zach had stolen and sold.
