Gone to pick up something in town.
Breakfast is on the table.
Gala starts at three.
I’ve been smiling all morning. I can’t stop thinking about you.
- Marcus
I smiled. Was he really thinking about me? Or was it all part of the act? I glanced up at the table to where a plate of fruit and croissants were laid out next to some juice. Nestled up behind the morning newspaper was a bag of Cheetos. I grinned as I crinkled the bag, but I was also slightly relieved that Marcus wasn’t here. After what happened yesterday on the beach…I had no earthly idea what I would say.
It was just a kiss. It never got any further. We never let it get any further. It was tender and passionate, and it took my breath away, but it was just a kiss.
Except…it was so much more.
In the land of Marcus and Rebecca, if two people kissed and no one was there to see it, did it really happen?
I grabbed the bag of Cheetos and headed back to my bedroom, shoving the question firmly from my mind. I didn’t know the answer. All I did know was that the gala was in just a few hours…and we both had a job to do.
As I crossed back down the hallway, I noticed a garment bag hanging from the front door. A paper tag strung to the front said my name.
Of course, I’d almost completely forgotten. Ever since Marcus and I first struck up this crazy arrangement, people on his staff had been working tirelessly on a hand-crafted, couture gown just for the occasion. They’d taken a million measurements and shown me a million different sketches, but I had no idea what they’d actually decided on in the end.
I snatched the hanger from the door and whisked off to the bathroom to shower. With the gala starting at three, I had just a little over four hours to get ready. And in this world of whimsical fancy, that meant I was already behind.
* * *
A soft knock on the door made my heart stop in my chest, and I stared up anxiously from the mirror. My hair had been piled gracefully on top of my head, held fast with a sparkling Swarovski barrette that latched onto the side. My makeup was carefully applied but minimal, with only a bit of mascara and shimmer above my eyes. That and a bit of gloss was supposed to carry me through the night. Whoever my stylists had been, I admired their confidence.
“Come in,” I called.
Marcus poked his head in but froze awkwardly in the doorway. “Are you…decent?”
I pulled my bathrobe tighter around me, suddenly self-conscious now that he’d asked the question. Not that it made any sense. I had certainly been wearing far less last night when we—
“Yeah, come on in.”
He slipped inside and shut the door carefully behind him. Even though the gala was still about
an hour off, he was already wearing an impeccably fitted tuxedo. It hugged nicely around his chest and gave him that intimidating, towering appearance that men seemed so fond of. I spotted the diamond cufflinks and shook my head.
“What?” he asked nervously. “Do I have something on my—”
“No, you’re just…you look fine.” It was then that I noticed he was carrying a small parcel in his hands. “What’s that?”
“What? Oh.” He glanced down at it, then crossed over to where I was sitting at the vanity. “It’s for you. It’s…to go with your dress.”
He offered it silently and I opened it with trembling fingers. Gosh—why did everything have to get so complicated right before our big event? Why did I even wade into the water when I knew that dusk was prime hunting time for sharks? Why—why did he use so much tape?
My brow crinkled as I tried to open it. Marcus pursed his lips, and for the first time in what felt like ages, the tension lifted to allow room to breathe.
“You need some help?”
I grinned. “No, I got it. I think.” I ripped off the tape in a single fluid motion. When I lifted the lid, I gasped.
My eyes widened as a thousand beautiful diamonds twinkled back at me. Diamonds cut in long splinters, jagged shards that seemed to make no sense or pattern until he lifted them, and I realized it was a necklace. A necklace fit for the Ice Queen herself. My face paled, and I reached up to graze it with my fingers as he stepped behind me and fastened it on.
“It’s gorgeous!” I whispered as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. “Thank you! Oh my gosh!”