Chapter 1
ELLIE
Spring was in full bloom with just a hint of chill in the air as I left the office after a whirlwind day. I cinched my jacket tighter as I waited for the metro. After six years in Denver, I was well versed with the change of seasons and that the weather could turn on a dime.
I’d been working against a deadline all week and was already looking forward to my date with a glass of wine, my paintbrush if the mood struck, and, more likely, a cheesy movie.
As though reading my mind, the incoming text from my best friend sought to sideline my plans.
Don’t even think about putting on your pajamas, we’re going out tonight!
I groaned. Lily was stubborn on her best day. Which meant I had little to no chance of getting out of whatever adventure she’d conjured up for the night.
Wrong number
I muffled a laugh at my response as the metro pulled up.
EllieJune Mitchell do not make me come pull you out of your house, you know I will
Figuring this could go on a while via text, I called her as I was getting off the metro and beginning the four-block walk to my loft.
“What’s the big deal about tonight?” I demanded by way of greeting.
“What? A girl can’t want to hang out with her best friend?” she returned innocently.
I snorted. “Spill it, Lil.”
She huffed. “All right, fine. I finally got an invitation to a party Ryan Colson is going to.”
It was a name I was familiar with. Lily had had a crush on him for the past year. He was some sort of football player. Which position, I had no idea.
“Lily…” I sighed. “You know those parties are so not my thing.”
As a PR manager who got invited to some of the flashiest parties, she’d dragged me to more than one.
“Please, El?” Her quiet plea was melting away my resolve.
As roommates in college, though polar opposites in many ways, we’d connected instantly. Lily was the most loyal, loving friend I’d ever had. “What’s the dress code?” I sighed in surrender.
I could practically hear her jumping up and down. “Cocktail attire.”
She’d be lucky if I showed up without paint on my clothes, and she knew it. “So, my jeans and a blouse.”
“Fine,” she grumbled.
I smiled. “Okay, I have to take Kodi on a walk. I can meet at your place by nine. Sound good?”
“Sounds good,” she agreed.
“And, Lil, if this night’s a disaster, you owe me one.”
“It won’t be,” she assured me.
* * *
This night was a disaster with a capitalDas I sat on a couch in the ridiculously ostentatious house we’d arrived at an hour before. The mansion, complete with a circular drive, fountain, and columns, was so pretentious I almost felt bad for it.
Lily had mentioned the owner, who was some football star, was out of town for the night but allowed his house to be used for entertaining now and again.
