“Oh…umm…I thought there were several other dresses I could pick from.” I tried not to sound snooty.

“I was told to bring this one and this box.”

“Oh,” I said, feeling like a dork. I hoped I didn’t offend him. “Then…you came from…?”

“I work for Mr. Knight.” He paced to the door, opened it, and turned to me. “Have a great time tonight, ma’am.” Then he closed the door behind him.

Glancing at the clock, I saw that I had half an hour to get ready….plenty of time. Gingerly, I unzipped the bag and…. No, it couldn’t be…could it? Taking it out of the bag…yup…it was. How? Surely it wasn’t exactly the same dress the model had worn. She was taller than me…unless they had spares. Silly thoughts ran through my mind as I stared at the box. Spares? For what? Who knew about these things? I could ask.

Without any further hesitation, since the box was for me, I opened it. Holy sweet Jesus…they sparkle like…diamonds. Crystal clear, shiny…can’t breathe…I’m holding a diamond necklace. Round-shaped diamonds were joined together to line up as one. I’d heard of tennis bracelets, but was there such thing as a tennis necklace? Was this real? I was sure it wasn’t a gift. Perhaps borrowed? Actresses did that all the time. I was sure it was borrowed. And if by some chance it wasn’t, I would return it to him. But…it was absolutely gorgeous, and it was going to look stunning with the dress.

**

Though it was freezing outside, the temperature was perfect inside the huge rented building, so I checked my coat. It was a stand-alone building, the type of building companies rented to have a party to accommodate all their employees. White lights hung throughout the room, making the place magical. Soft instrumental music filled the air, and the smell of appetizers churned my stomach. With all the excitement, I had forgotten to eat dinner.

Striding toward the reception room, I was cautious not to stumble on my dress. Thank goodness it covered my black heels, but at the same time I wished it was little bit off the ground, mostly because I knew the dress was borrowed and I didn’t want to dirty it.

Clutching my night purse tightly, I swayed across the room looking for Max or anyone from our company, but I found myself uncomfortably turning other people’s heads instead. They must think the dress or the necklace is beautiful too. With all the eyes on me, I mostly kept mine rooted to the floor, but sometimes I peered up so I wouldn’t run into anyone. That would be totally embarrassing. To be polite, I would return a quick smile when I accidentally gazed into a stranger’s eyes, but must they make it so obvious they were staring?

There were many groups of people mingling, smiling, laughing, talking, and truly enjoying themselves, but I felt alone at that moment as I stood there by myself…until my phone vibrated inside my purse. Though I was standing smack in the middle of the room with several eyes on me, I almost wished I hadn’t worn the dress. Opening my purse, I took out my cell phone. It was a text message from an unknown caller.

Hello, lady in red. You look breathtaking. I could just stare at you all night.

I blushed just as red as my dress. Who are you?

You don’t know? Shame on you!

Sorry!

You should put your hair up like that more often.

Why?

It would be easier for me to nibble on your ear.

Okay…you either know me well or…Shoot! I’d accidently pressed send.

If you want to know, look to your left.

Putting my phone back in place, I did as the messenger suggested. As if on cue, Jake turned around. His eyes fell from my hair down to my shoes. There was an awkward pause, then he beamed a huge smile and came toward me. “Jenna. You look absolutely beautiful. I mean, not that you don’t everyday, but….”

His compliment made me blush, but the flush deepened when he gave me a long tight squeeze and a kiss on the cheek. A part of me felt disappointed the text was from Jake. Who did I expect it to be from? The phone buzzed again, but I ignored it this time. “You look great too,” I replied.

He kept eyeing the dress…or was it me? “Is that the Gucci dress from the runway?”

“To tell you the truth, I’m not quite sure.” Before he could ask me tons of questions I couldn’t answer, I changed the subject. “So…is your team here?”

“Yes. We just got here. They headed directly to the bar,” he snorted. “And Megan is here somewhere.” He looked around, as if searching for her.

Ignoring the phone buzzing again, I placed my hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay…no need to find her. I’m sure I’ll catch her later…soon.” Soon would be too early. Ever since she was snooty to me, I wanted to avoid her much as I could.

“Jake, I’m so sorry. Can you excuse me? My phone keeps buzzing.”

“Sure, but don’t forget to save me a dance later.”

“There’s dancing?” I said under my breath as I reached in for my phone.

Not that left, the other left. And I hope you’re not disappointed it wasn’t Jake.

I scowled, knowing he was hiding there somewhere, toying with me. At least I could relax knowing the text wasn’t from Jake…not that he wasn’t attractive. And why was I even thinking this? Being far away from home, thoughts of Luke faded somewhat. But that wasn’t fair to him. Speaking of which, I had forgotten to text him back. I placed a mental reminder in my head, turning to the other left. What other left? I guessed he meant his left. It was confusing, so I just turned the opposite way from where I’d turned last time. There were crowds holding their cocktail drinks, but nobody approached me to let me know who it was.