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NINE

EMERY

The fashion show afterparty was held in a swanky lounge, and the cost to reserve a table near the dancefloor was thirty thousand euros a night I shouldn’t have been surprised Vance had booked one It was for charity and a tax-write off for HBHC, he’d said

Soht Becca Rosso was an heiress to the Rosso Media fortune, and it sounded like they’d hung out at so many of these events over the years, she was faer and drummer from the band Joven that had performed at the conclusion of the runway show

The lounge was bathed in aht with accents of purple and blue, and wasn’t like any of the clubs I was used to back home in the States The ‘tables’ wereoversized chairs were arranged in cubes around the low, black tables Several bottles of cha as the centerpieces

I didn’t kno Vance was going to top this night, but I’d thought that every day since we’d arrived As the sun had set, atched the elegant parade of dresses and suits on beautiful people, and noe hung out with movie stars, musicians, and royalty like ere all old friends None of it felt real

Well, except for fluttering feeling in my stomach when Vance touched me

That felt incredibly real

I didn’t want this week to end, didn’t want to go back to my sad apartment decorated with practice locks and tools, and the reality of as left to be done I’d been so focused on what I wanted I’d stopped seeing the forest for the trees, and I was beginning to question if a life dedicated to revenge orth it Lambert had robbed e robmy life too?

There was another reason I didn’t want this week to end, and it was sitting besidecoht was torturous, and there was nothing I could do to alleviate the ache I couldn’t h I usually had no proble so and desperately wanted to He had to do it because I’d promised not to tempt him

I was nervous our relationship would evaporate once ere free fro the scent of his sexy cologne, and decided to enjoy his company while I still could

We danced on the dancefloor to the music the celebrity DJ performed, and I was happy to have the excuse to putdoor of conversations with the fane than I intended to

I grabbed ht by his ear so he’d hearbeats of the music “I’ll be back in a minute”

He nodded and straightened so I could duck past him toward the restroom

When I finished washing my hands at the sink, I dabbed on so I still looked like I belonged at the table with hi in common with the one-percenters They were supposed to be snobs, and while some of them were, I’d been pleasantly surprised by Vance He was polite and grateful with everyone, regardless of status

Outside of the restroo chair perched in front of a steering wheel and a wraparound screen The colorful i It was probably the buzz frone, but I walked toward the sied people to get in the driver’s seat and test their skills on Monaco’s de track

No one aiting to use it, and since the simulator was tucked in a quieter corner of the chaured, why not? I droppedon the side table next to it and put my hand on the back of the seat to steady myself as I climbed in

“May I offer some advice?”

The unfamiliar male voice made me startle, and I whirled around to face it

Niko Leitner wore a dark gray suit with no tie, and the top few buttons of his white shirt were undone Was this one of the suits he’d aze wandered over etting his fill, the corner of his estive smile