“I agree that she was trying to get us to underestimate her, let our guard down, but having someone like Leon as a cousin probably hasn’t helped her out much in our community.”
“I think she knew exactly who we were, and why we were out there.” Dante folds his arms over his chest and glares over at Ares. “I think she was trying to find out as much about us as she could, just like we were doing to her.”
Ares’s nostrils flare as he lets out a heavy sigh. “Well, if she wasn’t suspicious before, she will be now. Our parents made an announcement about our pairing. Invitations for the ceremony this weekend are already being sent out.”
I swallow a ball of nervous energy, which settles in my stomach, turning my chicken fingers and fries into lead. Everything is changing so fast.
“Speaking of the event,” Ollie clears his throat, “we should probably go shopping and get you a dress.”
I look to my left, making sure my face shows exactly how not excited I am aboutthe idea ofgoing shopping again. “What kind of dress?” If he says a white gown, I’m going to kick his ass, right here in this restaurant.
“Or not,” Milo offers, picking up on my thoughts. “You can wear whatever you want.” My heads slumps to the side so I can see him. He probably thinks he’s helping, but letting me wear whatever I want could be a worse idea. If I show up in jeans and everyone else is in gowns and suits, I’d stick out even more.
“Please tell me what to expect. What willeveryone else be wearing, and what does everyone expect me to wear?”
Dante leans in a little closer and wraps his arm over my shoulder. “It’s aprettybig deal—”
“Dante,” Ollie interrupts his friend with a warning in his tone. But he snaps his mouth closed and looks away when a feral light enters Dante’s eyes, the amber color turning more burnished.
“Like I was saying,” he continues, his voice a smooth deep timber. “It’s a big deal, the women all dress up, and the men do too. Even though it shouldn’t be the case, an Infinity’s standing in the communityis often related to the power of their abilities. All of us come fromverypowerful families, and our Infinity is no different, stronger maybe, but we’re not going to advertise that.”
I stare up at Dante, the pendulum light over the table highlighting his cheekbones and full lips. His eyes dart across the table but he returns his gazeto mequickly. “So, they’ll expect it to be a big affair, especially since Areswas marked so long ago.”
I bite the inside of my lip. “Okay.” I nod, accepting that I need to do this. I knew being with them meant losing my invisibility.
* * *
“I did not think you meant today.”My hipis cocked out to the side and I fold my arms under my chest.
“Might as well get it over with, besides, would you rather be at home training?” I roll my eyes. Ollie has a point.
“Fine, but I’m not trying on anything that makes me look like I belong in a music video.” I narrow my eyes at Ollie and he has the nerve to look sheepish.
“You made that dress look amazing.”
“Dress, it was more like two ace bandages,” I snap back, thinking about the tealbodycon dress he had me put on in the last store.
Ollie chuckles darkly. “Like I said, amazing.” He leans forward and tweaks the tip of my nose.
“Come one. Maybe we’ll find something in the next store.” Milo grabs my hand and tugs me away from Ollie.
“How come Ares didn’t have to come?” I pout, wondering what he’s doing that got him out of going shopping.
“Ares already has a tux, a few in fact. And he’s got a meetinghe already rescheduled so we could go fly out to Idaho,” Dante answers, opening the door into another store. The mall isopen air, only attached by storefronts and cute cobblestone paths. There are more trees and fountains than you’d expect to find in the middle of a city. It’sreallyupscale, notsomeplace I’m used to shopping.
A bubbly young sales associate greets us as soon as we enter. “Hi, can I help you find anything?”
Cheeky Ollie throws his arm over my shoulder and pulls me in tight to his side. “We need a dress.” I jab my elbow into his ribs, but smile at the girl in front of us.
“Great, wegot a few things in for the holiday season coming up, formal, casual?” she asks, her head tilting to the side as she looks me up and down.
I fight not to fidget. “Somewhere in the middle,” I answer before Ollie has a chance.
“What’s the event?” The salesgirl scans our group. We probably lookprettystrange, one girl and three guys looking for a dress.
“A ceremony,” Ollie replies.
“A party,” I correct.
