Page 24 of Savage Little Lies

And thrilling.

“Sounds…fun,” I reply, still feeling a little uneasy. A night surrounded by mob bosses. Wonderful.

Oh shit. I should make sure that my father and none of his men are attending.

The side of Dmitri’s mouth curls up. “I understand if it’s not your thing. I’d just like you to come along with me.”

He wants me to come with him. Despite his explanation for my attendance, why does it feel like a date? My heartbeat quickens. No, that’s crazy.

“Is Annika going?” I ask him.

His smile drops as he nods. “Yes, she’ll be my date.”

I figured that much. A man like him doesn’t show up at an event without someone on his arm, and I didn’t expect it to be me, not with his supposed engagement in the works.

“I don’t think she’ll like me showing up too,” I tell him, able to picture the rage on Annika’s face when she sees me arrive.

“I don’t care. I’m doing what I want,” Dmitri replies as he leans forward a little with his arms crossed on the table. “And I want you to come.”

My heart hammers in my chest as I hold his gaze, seeing a hopeful glint in his blue eyes. Even a little playfulness based on the innuendo in his wording.

I would be stupid to say no, to avoid this chance of getting closer to him. Part of me is kind of curious to see how things go too. It could be an opportunity to drive my wedge deeper between him and Annika since I’ll be with them both.

“Okay. I’ll go,” I say as a smile forms on my lips. “Thank you for inviting me.”

Dmitri shrugs. “I don’t know if I can promise you fun. These things can be a bit stuffy. I’m sure it’ll be interesting. It’s for a good cause, after all. I believe the funds are for disabled veterans.”

“That’s…nice. What should I wear? How fancy?” I ask him as a sense of wariness looms over me. I have some decent clothes from various business events, but I’ve never been to a fancy gala before.

“Black tie formalwear,” Dmitri admits before waving his hand. “Don’t stress about it. I’ll help you with that.”

My eyes widen. “You’ll help me how?” I ask.

Before he can answer, the waiter comes back to drop off our drinks and take our orders. I was so distracted by the gala invitation that I didn’t even look at the menu. I stumble through my order, internally scrambling to gather myself.

I didn’t expect an invitation to spend time with him outside of work. I might’ve started something last night. The line between work and play is starting to get blurred. Which is a good thing. As long as my father’s not in attendance.

“If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to,” Dmitri tells me before tilting his head a little. “You don’t typically get…flustered like this.”

I need to pull myself together before he gets suspicious. Hopefully, it just looks like I’m bashful. “It’s because I don’t have a dress. Or even shoes. I’m just unprepared, and I don’t want to disappoint you.”

Dmitri shakes his head. “You won’t disappoint me. I’m going to take you shopping for a formal dress.”

“Why?” I blurt out before thinking. “Sorry, I just…that’s very generous, Mr. Ivanov. Too generous.”

“Dmitri,” he reminds me. “And it’s not a problem. I know what to look for,” he insists. “We’ll go tomorrow. The gala is on Friday night.”

The thought of him buying me a dress makes my face burn. It’s so unexpected, but I guess this means that I’m going in the right direction. His fiancée certainly won’t like the thought of him buying a dress for another woman.

He’s moving closer to me all on his own.

“I look forward to it,” I tell him with a fake smile.

“I’d like to see you in red,” Dmitri says as his eyes roam over my chest.

I lean forward a little, coaxing his gaze down to the teasingly low neckline of my work dress. “Yeah?” I’m guessing he wants me to wear something low-cut as well.

“Dark colors look good on you, but I think you could pull off something more striking,” Dmitri replies.