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His approval made me preen even as much as I didn’t want to.
“We should go,” I said, grabbing the bag I’d purchased from the kitchen counter. Ezra nodded and stepped away from the doorway.
“Be safe,” Julia yelled out. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
I shot her an incredulous look as I shut the door and locked up. She just smiled at me and popped an expensive chocolate in her mouth.
“Sorry about that,” I said to Ezra as I turned my attention back to him. His blue eyes were clear and dark, and as I looked at him, I felt myself falling into those fathomless pits. Ezra’s eyes were a dark blue, but I noticed flecks of gold in the iris, and darker inky blue around the pupil. His eyes were ones that you could get lost in if you aren’t careful.
“I have to say I was a little concerned when I hadn’t heard from my shopper,” he said, breaking the spell that he’d had over me.
“What? Why?”
Ezra held out his arm for me, and I gladly took it. Our building wasn’t modern, and we’d be taking the uneven steps down to Ezra’s car.
“I expected you to stubbornly refuse to use the card.”
My cheeks heated once more as I remembered that I hadn’t planned to use it. “You can thank Julia for that,” I said, honestly. “She was in the mood to shop.”
Ezra laughed. “Well, I’m going to have to thank her.”
I shrugged lightly. “You already did.”
Ezra’s brows knitted in confusion.
I laughed. “You bought her some expensive chocolates to thank her for picking out this dress.”
For a moment, I worried that Ezra was going to be pissed. He’s given me a credit card linked to his accounts with my name on it, but he’d never spent much time telling me what the hell I was supposed to use it for. If he’d wanted me to just get a new wardrobe, he could have given me cash.
But Ezra just laughed—the sound of it was warm and full, and I found myself once more thinking that he should laugh more often.
“I hope you both had fun,” he told me, as he led me to the car that was waiting. I shivered slightly in the chilly spring air and pressed the wrap closer to my body. This entire situation felt odd. Here I was walking to a luxury vehicle with a driver in a dress that cost more than my rent, and shoes that pinched my toes but looked incredible against the green silk of my gown.
Ezra opened the door for me, and I got into the car just as I’d been taught all those years ago.
I released a small squeak when I realized that there was already someone sitting inside. A tall man in a gray suit was sitting in the backseat looking at his phone with bored apathy. “Finally,” he muttered, as he put his phone back in his suit pocket. “I thought you’d gotten mugged in here.”
His words were obviously for Ezra, but I felt myself getting angry that this well-dressed stranger was dissing my home. “It’s a safe building,” I said. “Everyone minds their business.”
The man turned his eyes to me. They were dark like the ink that came out of a gel tip pen. They were devoid of emotion as they looked me up and down, and I wrapped my shawl even together against my body. This man made the small hairs on my arms stand on end.
“You must be Annie,” he said, his tone smooth. “I can see why Ezra is so enchanted with you.”
The compliment made bile rise in my throat. It reminded me of the way Nikolai had talked about other women. He’d always been looking at a way to use people to his own advantage, and something told me that this man was the same way.
“Knock it off,” Ezra said, as he slid next to me. “You are freaking her out.”
I wanted to argue with Ezra. But my mouth was bone dry, and fear was closing my esophagus. This man was dangerous, and I wondered who he was to Ezra.
“I’m Marcel,” the man said, reaching out his hand. “Ezra’s campaign manager.”
My good manners made it so that I couldn’t just ignore Marcel’s outstretched hand, so I reached out and shook it. His hand was cold and dry, and I realized that this was someone who I was never going to like.
“Are you coming with us tonight?” I asked when I finally found my voice to speak. “Isn’t that going to look a bit contrived?”
Marcel sat back against his seat in satisfaction. “She’s a smart one,” he said. I knew it was supposed to be a compliment, but I didn’t want a compliment from this man. I didn’t want there to be anything about me that he found appealing.
“Marcel’s mother is in charge of tonight’s charity,” Ezra said. “He’s also my best friend. No one is going to think too much about it when they see the three of us together. Plus, I thought it might be easier if there was a third wheel.”
