The shoes were a half size too small, but the dress fit perfectly: the bustier tight but not confining, and the skirt riding high on my waist. My thigh holster was as subtle as dandelion fluff, completely unseen. Randy had styled my shorter hair up off my neck, binding it with thick gold wire and vintage beads into an elaborate coiffure that had taken the man twenty minutes of unending prattle to fix. But he was right. I felt completely unlike myself and expe-e-e-e-ensive.

This was the second limo I’d been in that week. Maybe it was a trend. If so, I could handle that. Jittery, I glanced at Trent staring out at the huge trees as we approached the gatehouse, their black trunks standing out against the snow. He seemed a thousand miles away, not even aware I was sitting next to him. “Takata’s car is nicer,” I said, breaking the silence.

Trent twitched, recovering smoothly. The reaction made him look as young as he was. “Mine’s not a rental,” he said.

I shrugged, foot jiggling as I looked out the smoked window.

“Warm enough?” he asked.

“What? Oh. Yes, thank you.”

Jonathan drove us past the guardhouse without slowing, the rising bar reaching its apex the second we passed under it. It closed equally fast. I fidgeted, checking my clutch purse for my charms, feeling for the press of my splat gun, and touching my hair. Trent was looking out the window again, lost in his own world, which had nothing to do with me.

“Hey, sorry about the window,” I said, not liking the silence.

“I’ll send you a bill if it can’t be fixed.” He turned to me. “You look nice.”

“Thank you.” I sent my eyes over his silk-lined wool suit. He wasn’t wearing an overcoat, and it was tailored to show off every inch of him. His boutonniere was a tiny black bud rose, and I wondered if he had grown it himself. “You wash up good yourself.”

He gave me one of his professional smiles, but there was a new glint to it, and I thought it might actually have a tinge of real warmth.

“The dress is beautiful,” I added, wondering how I was going to get through tonight without resorting to talk about the weather. I leaned to tug my nylons straight.

“That reminds me.” Trent twisted to dip a hand into a pocket. “These go with it.” He held out his hand, dropping a heavy set of earrings into my palm. “There’s a necklace, too.”

“Thanks.” I tilted my head to take out my simple hoops, dropping them into my clutch purse and snapping it closed. Trent’s earrings were a series of interlocking circles, and heavy enough to be real gold. I worked them into place, feeling their unfamiliar weight.