Page 47 of Never Tell Secrets

“Yeah. Well,packages. I think that’s why Keira’s angry,” she whispered. Sure enough, sitting on the coffee table was not one, but three identical boxes withHarrodspainted across the lids. I opened the top one and found a card inside lying on a bed of tissue paper.

Trust me?

A.

I opened the tissue paper and found a rich, purple dress inside. Confused, I opened the second box and found another card.

Keira.

And in the third box the card read:

Maia.

“Uh, I guess these boxes are for you two.” They came over and peered inside, lifting almost identical lilac dresses out of the boxes. I pulled my phone out of my bag and texted Alfie.

No, I don’t trust you but now I’m curious.

A minute later, my phone buzzed in response.Saturday night. 8.00pm.

Okay. I guess we had a date. All four of us.

The week dragged by. Alfie was everywhere, hanging in the air like a dense fog I could barely see through. I struggled to concentrate. Where was he? What was he doing? Where was he taking me on Saturday night? I worried about my project, about Keira, about my sister, and after all of that, I had time to worry about me. Behind the fear, behind the mask I was getting better at painting onto my face everyday, I was excited to see Alfie this weekend. My excitement, however, was laced with trepidation. Alfie either got things deliriously right or woefully wrong. There was no middle ground.

By the time Saturday rolled around, I was humming with nerves. Keira admired herself in the mirror. The lilac dress plunged deep at her cleavage and hugged her lush curves beautifully, but of course, she had modified it. She had handsewn intricate beadwork along the hem and the waist, setting it apart from Maia’s identical gown.

In the past week I couldn’t say Keira had come around to the idea of Alfie and I spending time together, more that she had decided to deal with it the way she always dealt with everything that made her nervous–with sass and sarcasm.

“I feel like we’re going to be the main event at a virgin sacrifice,” she said, eyeing the pair of us in our gowns. My deep purple dress lifted my breasts and cinched my waist, and a thigh high split showed a generous amount of leg, but the full skirt moved so beautifully I didn’t feel gaudy.

“A virgin sacrifice? Us?” I laughed as I slipped my feet into my shoes.

“Well, maybe just Maia.”

“We aren’t going to be sacrificed, Keira.” I huffed and stood, trying out the shoes in which I’d spent every evening this week walking around the flat to break in.

“Maybe we are. You don’t know. Maybe Alfie is so rich because his Dad sold his soul to some money demon and now Alfie has to sacrifice sexy young things like us forever and ever. What if that’s why he’s so hot? All that demon magic?” She waved her hands in the air and I rolled my eyes at her.

“We aren’t going to be sacrificed.”

“Fine,” she turned back to the mirror to fix an errant lock of hair, “but if I find myself naked and strapped to a table surrounded by kinky-looking dudes I’m going to say?—”

“This feels familiar?” I quipped and the side eye she gave me had me choking back a laugh.

“No.I’ll say: I told you so.” She gave herself a final once over. “It would feel familiar though,” she muttered. I laughed just as the doorbell rang, promptly reigniting my nerves. I heard Maia answer the door and, a second later, everything south clenched as Alfie’s unmistakeable tones reached my ears. I caught Keira’s eyes in the mirror. She didn’t want him in our flat. Alright. It looked like I was on damage control.

I found Alfie in our living room, looking sorely out of place but deliciously handsome in a tuxedo. My mouth watered. His eyes found mine, that gaze raking my body. My skin grew hot.

“Alfie, I wasn’t expecting you to be…holy crap,Maia!” I took in my quiet-as-a-church-mouse room mate. “You look amazing!” I hadn’t known she’d been hiding those curves.

“Thank you.” She smiled, ducking her head. “You look very pretty too.”

“Thanks. Anyway, Alfie, maybe you should wait out—” I winced as I heard my bedroom door slam shut. I knew what was coming next.

“Hello, Moneybags. Steal anyone else’s birth control lately?” Yep. There it was. My best friend. Subtle as a freight train. Alfie, to his credit, didn’t even flinch, and surprisingly, neither did Maia despite just getting thrown head first into a drama she knew nothing about. I guess she had a really good poker face.

“Keira, good to see you again.”

“Uh huh. Remember that time I threatened to cut your dick off if you hurt my friend? Well that’s a debt that still needs to be paid. Unfortunately, Lola is fond of your dick so I have to leave it alone for now, but trust me, I’m gonna find another way to make you suffer.” A thick silence fell over the room. Her words were laced with humour but the threatening undertones were real. Keira hated Alfie and she was making sure he knew it.