Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23
CHARLOTTE
“This is the plan for tonight,” Eric says. He’s already sent me an itinerary, but now he’s walking through it with me. Just as if I’m Aiden.
I’m a tired mess. I’ve tried to stay sharp for every back-to-back meeting Aiden has had. He’s stayed true to his word and included me in everything. More than he had to.
“All right,” I say. “And this premiere is for… Echoes . Right?”
“Yes,” Eric says. His small frown makes it clear that I’m not paying enough attention. Aiden is on the other side of the table, being briefed simultaneously, but his eyes are on me.
“ Echoes is the sequel to the blockbuster sci-fi movie that came out two years ago,” Aiden adds. “The World Premiere is today.”
I remember the first film. My parents loved it. I thought it was fun, but too long. This event is an absolutely enormous deal. “How did you get tickets on such short notice?”
“I’ve had them for a while.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You planned on this when you suggested today be the day I live like you.”
He lifts an eyebrow. “Doesn’t sound like me.”
“It sounds exactly like you.”
Eric looks between us a few times and then sighs. It’s a very elegant, annoyed little sound. “Mr. Hartman will leave his car here to be taken back to his house. Joe will transport both of you tonight. First to Rodeo Drive, where I’ve set up two appointments for Ms. Gray?—”
“Rodeo Drive ?”
Aiden crosses his arms over his chest. “Yes. We’re getting you a dress.”
“I have a dre?—”
“You said that last time,” he says.
A fierce flush climbs up my cheeks. The zipper. Yes, I had said that last time, and it hadn’t gotten me very far.
“Fine. We’ll go to get a dress.”
Aiden’s lip curves. “And shoes.”
“I didn’t know you were such a shopaholic,” I say. Then I realize Eric is here, and my words could come across as rude. Or ungrateful. There’s just something about Aiden that gets to me. “Sorry. Thank you, that’s very kind of you.”
Aiden’s smile just widens, like he knows I’m saying it for the audience. “You’re very welcome, Charlotte.”
Across the table, Eric looks back down at his notes. “Right. The salon next door has also been booked. I’ve scheduled a phone meeting for you at the same time. You wanted an update on your sister’s security.”
He nods. “Good.”
“Then the car will take you to the Dolby Theatre. I’ve made it clear that neither of you will walk the red carpet.”
The words are so outlandish that I almost want to laugh. Except, that’s his life, isn’t it? He goes to things like that. Because in his field, being seen is important.
I’ve spent so many years trying not to be noticed.
“We won’t stay long,” Aiden says. As if reading my thoughts. “We’ll see the movie, talk to some famous people, and then head out. I just need to make an appearance.”
“No, no, that sounds…” Amazing. Unreal. Something that happens to other people. “Fun.”
His lips quirk again. “Good.”
The stores on Rodeo Drive are legendary. So are their prices. Which is why I’ve never bought a single thing from any of the designers whose names grace the street and its surrounding neighborhood.
We’re in the middle of Beverly Hills, and the people who pass us are either drop-dead-gorgeous or tourists. There seems to be no in-between. No normies just out for a little walk. No regular person popping into a luxury boutique for an afternoon purchase.
The palms that line the street are huge and so straight that it all feels like a feat of engineering.
Joe finds a parking spot outside a store I recognize far too well. It’s a brand I’ve known all my life. A household name. It’s just not for normal people.
“Here?” I ask. My voice comes out high. “We’re going there to shop for a dress?”
Aiden shuts the car door behind me. “Yes. Or would you rather go somewhere else?”
As if it wasn’t good enough. Not up to my standards.
“No,” I say faintly. “This will… do.”
“Great,” he says.
“This is not something you’d normally do during your day.” But then I think about it, my step faltering. Eric had made the reservations awfully fast. “Or maybe it is. Did you… Do you often bring dates here before heading out?” He’d be able to impress half the country with these kinds of tactics.
He pulls the heavy glass door open for me. “Are you wondering about my dating habits again, Chaos?”
“No.”
“Yes, you are.” He comes up beside me, dips his head until his mouth is right by my ear. “I have done things like this before.”
My stomach sinks, and the glamorous setting around us feels just a bit off. Oh. This is routine, then. A small sigh escapes me before I can stop it.
His voice drops. “With my mother, when I was too young to escape. Sometimes with Mandy, when she drags me along. No one else, Chaos.”
I look up at him. He’s watching me closely. He has seen my disappointment, the flare of jealousy. Saw all of it.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Aiden…”
“Mr. Hartman and Ms. Gray!” A beautifully clad woman comes toward us. Behind her are two other attendants; one carrying a tray of champagne and water. “Welcome, welcome. Let’s start the fitting—movie premiere at short notice. Is that correct?”
Aiden puts a hand on my lower back. “Yes. I doubt you have anything as beautiful as Charlotte, but I’d like you to try.”
Fifteen minutes later, there’s a dazzling array of dresses hung on a clothing rack by the elaborate dressing rooms. “I only need one,” I say, but my hand is gliding over the fabrics. Some are soft as silk, others are elaborately woven gems.
Aiden is sitting on a plush sofa right by the changing rooms.
“How much time do we have?” I ask him.
“Don’t worry about it.” He’s got a glass of champagne in his hand, and his long legs are spread out in front of him. Suit pants. Brown shows. I look at his outfit with a faint frown. “You’re still in your suit from work.”
“Indeed I am.”
The attendant pulls the curtain aside to the dressing room behind me, and I step inside. “Will you wear it later?” I call.
“No.” There’s an amused lilt to his voice. “I’ll go home and change when you go to the place next door.”
“What place next door?” I wriggle out of my cardigan and the dress I’d worn today. Even the lighting is amazing in this store. I look good in the floor-length mirror, and I rarely do in fitting rooms.
My hair is a mess, brushed back into a low ponytail. Maybe I can throw it up into a ballerina bun?
“It’s a salon. They’ll do your hair and makeup, Chaos.” There’s a brief pause. “If you want it. God knows you don’t fucking need it.”
“Oh.” I step into a dress. It’s a slinky, sexy thing, with a fully open back. It doesn’t feel like me in the least. But the attendant had insisted I try it on.
There’s no price tag on it.
There’s no price tag on any of the other dresses, either.
I recall the game I’d played with his house and start a similar one here. Two thousand dollars? Three? Maybe four , I think when I see the built-in hidden zipper.
A salon. Despite the nerves, excitement swells within me at the thought. I’ve never been to a movie premiere. There’ll be a ton of people there, and while they’re all industry figures, there’s one guarantee—every single one of them is more famous than my brief fifteen minutes in the spotlight.
“Chaos.” His voice is closer, right by the edge of the curtain.
“Yes?”
“Do you want my opinion on these dresses? If not, I’ll run back home to get a tux right away. Beat the traffic. The store already has my card—I’ve told them to put anything you want on it.”
I pull back the curtain. “No, that’s smart. I can choose one of these. Meet you outside the salon later?”
His gaze drifts over my body. There’s a widening of his eyes. I look down, too.
Oh. Right. This dress has the skimpiest of top parts, a deep V-neck that disappears between my tits. It’s worth a fortune, but is hardly more than a drape of expensive silk, leaving me bare on the top and pooling on the ground.
“I don’t think this one is a winner,” I say.
Aiden shakes his head slowly. “No, neither do I,” he mutters. “Because I won’t be able to concentrate if you’re on my arm looking like that.”
“On your arm?” I ask. “I’m meant to be shadowing you.”
His lips curve, and there’s a sinful look there that makes my stomach drop. “Yes, Chaos. Be my shadow. As long as you stay close to me, I’ll be happy.”
I reach for the curtain. My heart is beating too fast, and I like it far too much. “Come back when I’m finished.”
“Not even LA traffic could stop me.”
I settle on a long, amber-colored dress and a pair of strappy heels. The dress is asymmetrical at the top—draping over one shoulder and leaving my other bare.
I stress-test the zipper twice in the dressing room. It holds.
The attendants are very, very nice. The kind of nice you might only encounter when you’re spending an outrageous amount of money. They add a small purse to the pile, saying that Mr. Hartman had insisted.
A tiny part of me is whispering that all this is too much.
The larger part lets me be swept up in the fantasy. That just for tonight, maybe I can have this experience. One I’ll remember forever.
Similarly, the salon next door takes good care of me. My hair is washed and blowdried until it’s long and gleaming. And when the makeup artist asks me what I’d like, I look at my bare face in the mirror and think of my fear of being recognized.
“Make me look different,” I tell her. “A lot of dark eye shadow, maybe?”
She leans back and assesses me. “We could do a smokey look. Dark red lip and exaggerated smokiness. I think that would look really good on you.”
“Let’s do it.”
When I’m done, I barely recognize my reflection—smokey eyes and soft gleaming hair. I look taller than I truly am, thanks to the heels, and have a dress that makes me feel like a goddess. The salon had given me a glass of champagne, my second already, and I’m feeling like Nighttime Charlotte again. Stepping into a different version of myself.
Aiden is waiting outside the salon. He’s leaning against the car in a tux, talking to someone on the phone. He looks tall, handsome, and rich.
And then he sees me.
He stops talking, and slowly lowers his phone from his ear. His eyes look me over, and I bathe in his languid gaze, in the way it lingers. For the first time since I met him, I feel like I match him. Like, I could stand beside him while he’s in his tux and it would look like we belong together.
“Holy shit,” he says.