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Emily suddenly appears in the hotel bathroom doorway, already dressed in a sleek black number that makes her look like a movie star. “Ready to be glammed up?”
I laugh, securing my robe. “I’m ready. Do your worst.”
For the next two hours, I’m transformed. My hair is swept up into an elegant twist, with a few strategic pieces left loose to soften the look. The makeup artist Emily brought in works magic, giving me smokey eyes and lips that somehow look both innocent and sinful.
“Now for the main event,” Emily declares, unzipping the garment bag.
The dress. I still can’t believe they convinced me to buy it. When Luke handed me his credit card with a casual “get something nice,” I don’t think he was expecting this. The price tag made me dizzy, but Emily and Kendrick were relentless.
“It’s perfect,” they’d insisted. “It’s you.”
And looking at it now, I have to agree. The deep, midnight blue silk hugs my body like it was made for me, with a plunging neckline that shows just enough cleavage to makeLuke lose his mind. The back... well, the back is basically nonexistent until the fabric gathers at the waist, flowing down into a sleek, floor-length silhouette. Tiny crystals catch the light with every movement, twinkling like stars. The finishing touch is a side slit running high up my thigh. It’s sexy but elegant and demands attention—the kind of dress that makes me feel like I belong with someone as famous as Luke Sterling.
“Lila,” Emily breathes as I step into it. “That dress—it’s perfect.”
Smiling, I put on my earrings. Long and sparkling, they dangle from my ears, catching the light every time I turn my head. And the shoes—mile-high stilettos that I pray I won’t break an ankle in—give me just enough height to press against Luke’s chest when we dance.
Because there will be dancing tonight.
A spritz of my favorite perfume, the one that makes Luke bury his face in my neck and growl...
“You look fantastic,” Emily says softly. “Like a goddess.”
The woman in the mirror doesn’t look like a chef who spends her days in a kitchen. She looks... Confident. Sensual. Like someone who belongs on a red carpet with a rockstar.
“Lila?” Luke’s voice carries from the main room of our suite. “Are you ready? The limo—“
He stops dead in the doorway, his mouth actually dropping open. He’s devastating in his tailored black suit. His hair artfully styled just enough to look effortlessly messy and sexy as hell. But it’s the look in his eyes that undo me.
Blue and dark with heat, his gaze sweeps over me slowly, thoroughly, like he’s committing every single inch of me to memory.
His jaw tics. His hands clench into fists at his sides.
“I’ll just join Sam in the next room.” Emily slips past him with a knowing smirk.
Luke hasn’t moved, hasn’t spoken. He just stares, his eyes traveling slowly from my heels up to my face in a way that makes heat pool in my stomach.
And when he finally speaks, his voice is hoarse, low, like he’s barely holding himself together.
“Jesus, Lila.”
I swallow hard, my pulse pounding in my ears. “You like it?”
He exhalessharply. “Like it?” He shakes his head, his eyes dragging down my body and then back up, lingering on the exposed curve of my thigh before landing on my red lips.
“Too much?” I ask, suddenly nervous.
He crosses the room in three strides. “You’re fucking beautiful,” he growls, and the raw desire in his voice makes me shiver.
“The dress—“
“Is stunning.” His lips find my neck, just below my ear. “But you’re what’s beautiful.”
A shiver races down my spine.
“I’m trying really hard,” he says, voice rough, dangerous, “to be a gentleman right now.”
I turn toward him, the slit of my dress parting just enough to reveal more skin. “Who said you have to be a gentleman?”