“Hey, gorgeous,” I greeted her. “You look stunning.”

“Really?” she asked anxiously. “Thanks. You don’t think this is a little much?”

“Not at all. It’s exactly the right amount of much for a first date.”

“This isn’t a date,” Cat said quickly, flushing.

“Sure it isn’t. Speaking of, where is Connor?”

“He got stuck on a call, but he’s on his way.” Her mouth trembled slightly, and she started to raise her hand to her mouth. “That’s what he said, at least. I went home to change.”

“Then we’ll see him soon. Listen, I wish I could stay and chat, but I promised my boss I would be on social media all night, so I have to get back to work. You’ll be all right until Connor gets here?”

Cat nodded the affirmative even as her expression said otherwise.

“You’ll be fine,” I assured her. “Have a drink. Meet some new people. Have fun!”

FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER, I could only hope Cat was having fun because I decidedly was not. Midway through a Live chat with the Director of Exhibitions, my phone had flashed a low-power warning. My stomach sank—I had plugged in my phone that afternoon; had the cord been bad? I wrapped the Live up as quickly as I could, and then rushed out of the gallery toward the office space.

Don’t be such a fucking amateur, Audrey, I thought angrily as I dug through my desk drawers in search of an external battery. I sorted through various ephemera—pens, paper clips, loose bobby pins, a mostly empty package of Orbit—my panic growing with each moment.

I know there’s a battery in here, I thought, and sent up a quick prayer to whichever body might be listening. Please, please let it be here.

I exhaled a sigh of relief as my fingers closed around it. Thank you. As I attached the battery to my phone, I heard someone enter the room behind me. My skin prickled, and I had the sudden thought that the creep whom Lawrence always jokingly called the president of my fan club had followed me in here. That was irrational, though. I hadn’t seen him all day, and certainly not that night.

I spun around and relaxed when I saw it was only Lawrence, looking dapper in a polka-dot bow tie and with his light hair carefully combed and gelled.

“You scared me!” I exclaimed with a relieved laugh.

“Sorry. That wasn’t my intention.”

He was smiling, but the intense way he held my eyes and the studiously casual way he was leaning against the doorframe sent a warning flare up my spine. Honestly, I was so paranoid these days that even Nick was giving me the creeps.

I shook it off and asked, “What are you doing in here?”

“I saw you come this way and didn’t know if you needed help with anything.”

“Nope,” I said, holding up the battery. “I was just looking for this. All good now, thanks.”

Lawrence straightened and licked his lips. “Audrey, now that we’re alone—”