But I stopped in front of a mannequin, taking in the dress on it. It could have been a gown meant for the red carpet, but it wasn’t. Pale blue silk dropped down in a long wave, pooling around the mannequin’s feet. The neckline was straight and low, held up by strings of pearls which draped over the shoulders and continued around the back where the silk dipped to expose miles of skin.

I couldn’t explain why I was drawn to it.

“You like it?”

Avery’s voice made me jump. He was standing close behind me, now the scent of spices wrapping around me a second before his arms did.

“It seems very impractical,” I said. “If it’s just for sleeping.”

His low laugh rumbled through me. “Very little of what we’re buying today is practical, baby girl.” That was true. “But saying it’s impractical doesn’t tell me if you like it.”

Nerves seized my gut. I did like it. I loved it. So why was I having a hard time saying so? Today had been all about what I wanted and only what I wanted. What was different about this?

Because it wasn’t me. Or rather, it wasn’t what anyone thought was me. Of the pair of twins, I was the one with the harder edge. Something like this flew in the face of everything anyone thought about me, and I wasn’t going to wear something only to be laughed at.

They’d made clear they didn’t care about any of what the press said, but nerves were swirling in my gut in a way they hadn’t with anything else. With a bedroom, it was something private. Only they would see it. This was clothing. No one but them would see it either, but it hit me differently.

It was all right. I could deal with whatever the hell this was later.

“I like it,” I hedged. “But I don’t need it.”

Avery turned me, guiding me back against the nearby wall. We were in the very corner of the store, so no one could see us. “Try that again, please,” he said gently. “This time without lying.”

“How the fuck do you do that?” I snapped. “You just know I’m lying and it’s annoying.” In the last bit of the heat he’d sensed it too.

Avery raised one eyebrow, and I sighed, relaxing back against the wall. “Sorry.”

“Hit a nerve, did I?” I glared at him, and he chuckled. “Tell me why.”

Those same nerves jangled along my skin. I didn’t want to lie to them—of course I didn’t—but I wasn’t used to anyone caring whether I did. Especially when it usually made things easier. I wanted to be here with them, but it was still soon. A heat and a few days wasn’t enough time for me to let go of all this.