“Ha!” He grinned wildly when he spotted me. “Still want to leave, Romeo?” he asked smugly.
“Hell no!” I shook my head decisively. “She asked me to wait for her. You were right to stay. And so right to come here. I owe you, man. But don’t say one fucking word to her about my father. Not. One. Word. I swear… I’ll kick your ass.”
“As tempting as it is to see you try,” Dyson chuckled, “we’ll do this your way. But you owe me.”
The lights shone down on the contestants as the music faded and the compère stepped forward to announce the winner.
He grinned as he opened the envelope. “And tonight’s winner of ten thousand dollars and a twelve-month contract to model for Adore Designs is… Ivy Lawrence.”
My smile broke wide as I joined the deafening applause. Ivy flashed me a look, ecstatic, her radiant smile filling me with warmth.
The compère draped a red sash across her shoulder and placed the crown on her head. After Ivy took a bow, the other girls presented her with an oversized bouquet before slipping backstage.
Dyson grabbed another drink for us, we clinked our glasses together in celebration of Ivy’s win as I tried to put into words what had happened when I’d been up there with her.
With a triumphant grin, Dyson listened gleefully until the red-haired woman he’d been talking to earlier appeared beside him. She slung her bag over her shoulder and tipped her head toward the exit, giving Dyson his cue to leave with her.
“See ya later, man.” He pressed his hand over his open mouth in mock surprise as he followed her.
With a shake of my head, I grinned at him.
But in that moment, I couldn’t have been more grateful to my oldest friend for dragging me out.
I wasn’t going anywhere.
4
DAWN TO DUSK
KARSON
The club had thinned to a handful of rowdy partiers. Ivy moved gracefully toward me from across the room, my senses heightening at the thought of meeting her offstage.
The fire I’d felt standing so close to her while we sang together had escalated into an inferno.
She stopped in front of me, her green eyes shining.
I rose slowly from the stool. “Congratulations, Ivy,” I said, unable to look away.
“Thank you so much!” she said. “You seriously saved me up there!” She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed tightly. “Thank you. For real.”
She let me go, we stepped back, looking at each other.
My gaze drifted over her, taking in every detail.
Her sheer, strapless dress stopped a little above mid-thigh, and tan cowboy-style boots reached mid-calf. She wore her hair in a messy bun, and every time she smiled, the small creases at the corners of her mouth pulled me deeper under her spell.
“You know, without your help, I would’ve been disqualified right? Instead, here I am looking forward to the best year ever.” Flecks of gold danced in her pupils as she studied me. “Winning this contract with Adore Designs is going to change my life. Honestly, I couldn’t have done it without a singing partner.”
“Well, you were clearly destined to win from the start, so we couldn’t let that happen.”
She smiled and lowered her gaze.
“You’re a complete goddess, Ivy.”
No. I did not just say that.
Kill me now.
