Page 57 of Arranged To Be Mine

A distraction, maybe. A good one. I closed the laptop and walked out onto my balcony, letting the ocean breeze wash over me. Maybe she wasn’t the only one who needed to change.

Darcy was the opposite of simple. She was complicated and challenging and infuriating in the best possible way. She didn’t let me get away with my usual charm offensive. That should have scared me. Instead, it made me want to know her better.

The masquerade ball was going to be interesting. A night of masks and mystery, where everyone pretended to be someone else. The irony wasn’t lost on me. Darcy and I had been wearing masks since the moment we met.

Maybe it was time to start taking some of them off.

Or maybe I was getting way too philosophical about a fake relationship with a woman who was paying me to pretend to be her boyfriend.

18

DARCY

The night of the masquerade ball came up fast. I’d been busting ass at work. No time to do anything except eat, sleep, and work. I hadn’t seen Beau since the kiss. I decided that was for the best. Things had gotten complicated in a hurry. A little break helped get my head straight again.

Lie. I lay in bed every night wondering what he was doing. Sometimes, we’d text nonsense stuff. But I left him alone. I had no desire to annoy him with a steady stream of ‘What are you doing?’ nonsense. I was a grown woman and he was a busy professional. We worked. That was what we both did.

I stepped out of the shower, rubbed on lotion, and dressed in the new red lace panties. The dress was red. May as well stick with the whole fire theme. Not that anyone would see them, but I’d know.

The red dress hugged my body like it had been painted on, the fabric catching the light with every breath I took. The plunging neckline was daring without being overly scandalous. I had proper tape and push-up cups. The dress was going nowhere. There was zero chance I would have a nip slip, but just in case, I covered those bad boys as well. I turned left, then right, watching the way the dress moved. It flared slightly at the hips before cascading to the floor. I felt like I was wrapped in liquid fire.

Cleo had been right. This dress didn’t whisper—it roared.

I turned slowly, watching the way the beaded details along the bodice caught the light from my vanity. Tiny crystals scattered across the fabric like embers, glowing against the deep red. The back dipped low, exposing the curve of my spine. More tape there as well.

My hair was down, styled in beachy waves that tumbled over my shoulders. The stylist I’d hired had worked magic, adding volume and movement that made me look softer. The makeup was dramatic but elegant. I went with a dark smoky eye, and a bold red lip that matched the dress. I had just enough highlighter to make my cheekbones catch the light.

And then there was the mask. I had splurged. Big time.

I lifted the mask from its velvet-lined box. Gold filigree curled across the delicate frame. Crimson feathers swept upward from one side, layered in shades of deep red and copper with pointed tips resembling flames. Tiny garnets glittered along the edges, catching the light like embers.

It was beautiful. And a little wicked.

I raised it to my face and secured the thin ribbon behind my head, then looked at my reflection. The woman staring back at me barely resembled the one who’d spent the afternoon arguing with herself over whether the dress was too much.

The mask framed my eyes in gold, emphasizing the smoky shadow I’d brushed across my lids. The garnet at the bridge of my nose glowed like a drop of blood. I tilted my head. The phoenix mask wasn’t delicate. It demanded to be seen. I reached up and adjusted one of the feathers, watching it spring back into place.

“Let’s see what kind of trouble you get me into.”

Tonight wasn’t just about looking good. It was about my transformation. I would show the world that the ice queen they’d created was nothing but a myth. I was fire, not frost.

My phone buzzed. A text from Beau.

Pulling up now.

My heart did a little flip. It was just nerves about the event. Nothing more.

I grabbed my glittering gold clutch, just big enough to hold my phone, lipstick, and not much else. I opened the front door to see a sleek black limousine waiting in my driveway.

Beau was standing next to the open back door. He wore a perfectly tailored black tuxedo that, as usual, made him look downright sinful. But it was the mask that stopped me in my tracks.

A fox.

It was exquisite. From the pointed ears to the subtle texture that made the fur look almost real. He’d chosen a fox. It was probably just a coincidence. Foxes were popular. He was cocky and would of course see himself clever as a fox.

It didn’t mean anything.

Beau’s eyes traveled slowly from my heels to my face. His lips parted slightly, and for a moment, he just stared.