cool the fires burning in my palms.
“Hardly,” I state, turning around.
Typically, Kade isn’t following the dress code, opting for a steel grey suit instead of the required black, and forgoing the mask all together. I hold my breath as his gaze sweeps over me, admiring me from head to toe, and I lean against the railing. “Couldn’t find a mask in time?”
“I didn’t come for the party, Nine,” he rasps, sounding tired.
My tummy flips and crashes into my inflating heart. Nerves eat at me, inciting a tremble in my hands. To sate them, I run my palms over my hips, straightening the ruffles in my red gown.
“Nine? How do you know you have the right girl?” I ask, avoiding his eyes.
With one hand in his pocket, Kade steps closer, trapping my breath in my throat. He slides his free hand around my waist, spreading it against the small of my back. “I could pick you out of a room full of people blind and handless.”
With slight pressure, he pulls me against his body. I wonder if he can feel my heart slamming into his chest, or feel my nerves as they zip along the surface of my skin. I look up at him as he cranes his neck. The rest of the party falls away, fading into a blur that no longer matters. We’ve never been this close in public. The thought makes me dizzy.
Freeing his hand from his pocket, he reaches for my mask and grips the very edge in his fingers.
“Don’t hide your pretty face behind this mask.”
I attempt to turn away, but he catches my face in his hand, stilling me. He traces the soft tips of his fingers along the outline of my mask. His dark, beautiful eyes flick over my hidden face, down my neck and onto my chest. The briefest twitch pulls at his bottom lip before he flicks his stare back to my face. Kade lifts the mask, pulling it off over my head, and he tosses it to the floor. Locks of my auburn hair fall around my face and I feel vulnerable…like people can now see me for who I truly am.
A fraud.
“People are staring,” I mutter as he lowers his forehead to mine.
“Let them stare. We’re not doing anything wrong.”
Aren’t we? I’ve barely been a Fortunate for forty-eight hours and this is how we act in public? We’re practically screaming that we fell in love before we were allowed to. Surely there has to be some repercussions for that?
“Well, look who decided to show up.”
I stiffen against Kade. His body tightens against mine. It’s good to know the same cruel, sinister voice sets us on edge. We turn our heads in time to see Vince lower his black and white mask, exposing a wry smirk as it stretches over his features. Elizabeth holds on to his arm, wearing a beautiful purple gown. Her sneer burns my skin, but I don’t look at her. I don’t give her the satisfaction.
I clear my throat. “I invited him.”
Vince’s volcanic gaze flick to me. “You invited him?”
I nod. “I cleared it with John Milano.”
A lie. I didn’t clear anything with John Milano, but he’s busy with his family, grieving a lost wife and adoring mother.
“It was last minute so Kade didn’t have time to dress appropriately or locate a mask.”
Elizabeth huffs, her upper lip twitching in disgust. “Why are you always meddling with things that don’t concern you?”
Things that don’t concern me? Is this not my party? Is she not in my house? My eyebrows furrow. “I’d say for once this does concern me.”
“Nothing ever concerns yo—”
Vince wraps a long, slim arm around Elizabeth’s waist and pulls her close. She switched from one brother to another? From a decent man to a lesser one? I don’t know if it’s clear to Vince or not, but Elizabeth is obviously not interested in anything other than what the Sario house can provide her.
“It doesn’t matter,” Vince says with a chuckle. “I’m glad you could join us, brother. Enjoy the show.”
They turn away from us and stroll toward the winding staircase that leads directly to the foyer filled with dancing Fortunates. As they reach the very first step, Elizabeth peers over her shoulder.
“Thanks for last night, Kaden.”
I swallow hard, hating the way her venomous words constrict my chest. With a final smirk, they descend the stairs, leaving Kade and I stewing in an awkward silence.
“So it’s true,” I mutter, stepping away from Kade.
“What’s true?”
“You were with Elizabeth…last