“We don’t have to go tonight if you don’t want to,” she says finally.

My head snaps up. “Go where?”

“The gala…”

Oh fuck. I forgot about that stupid gala, and Hazel was insistent about it.

“I need to go,” I grumble. “Not that I fucking want to, but those assholes need to know my face, and they need to know that I’m not going away. They want to shut me down, and without Hazel to scare them away, I have to make an appearance.”

“Well, if anyone’s going to scare someone away,” Savannah says as she leans back to take a sip of her whiskey.

“Ha-ha,” I reply dryly.

She smiles at me with those full lips and round cheeks, and maybe it’s the whiskey, but the sight sends a flood of warmth to my chest.

The gold sequins dig into my flesh when I sit down. It would appear that Hazel was at least a size smaller than me when she wore this dress, but it does prove just how timeless her fashion is. I feel sexier than I’ve ever felt. My hips are hugged tightly in the fabric looking rounder and sexier than in a simple gown.

Murph is waiting downstairs, and he keeps yelling for me, so naturally I’m going to keep him waiting. Putting on the finishing touches of makeup and giving my hair another run through with the curling iron. When I look in the bright mirror of Hazel’s dressing room, I can't help but admire how I look. My eyes seem to shine when I really put the work into my makeup, and this sea air seems to be working wonders for my skin. Hugo would have never let me leave the house looking like this, even if I was going with him. Now I’m desperate to flaunt this body, just because I can.

Putting on my lipstick, I can’t help but think about how fucking sexy Murph looked on the patio today, staring at me like I was his next meal. If only he knew what was going on in my head, the things I wanted to do to him right there in broad daylight.

My heart skips a beat and my eyes nearly roll back in my head thinking about it.

Goddamn it, I need to get my head straight.

After slipping on the strappy heels, I walk down the carpeted stairs as slowly as possible just to piss Murph off even more. I won’t lie. I’m excited to see his reaction. I want to see his jaw drop when he gets a glimpse of my ass in this dress.

“The sooner we get there, the sooner we can lea—” he calls up at me, but his words are stolen when he sees me. His eyes drop immediately to my hips. There it is.

He’s sitting on the brick rise around the fireplace, scrolling through his phone when he glances up to see me. He has charcoal gray slacks and a jacket with a red button up, open at the collar revealing the tattoos peeking up from his chest. His hair is combed back with something keeping it in place, and it’s the vision of him that almost stops me on the stairs.