A love so pretty

The drive unraveled like a rug of stars beneath the tires of black sedans and old Rolls-Royces. Golden sconces on t

'd be talking about for months to co

architecture white marble floor, arched gold-mirrored walls, and huge windows flung open into a garden twinkling with fa

the balcony, jaw clenched

laces. His dark hair was swept back, effortlessly tousled, and his black eyes s

ere," Jordan said beside him,

ot a word. He d

party. This was matchmaking in the guise of social nicety. He already saw her, by the door w

" Anthony mutter

l, Tony. You're the palace pri

rrowed. "I didn't

e having a good time. People are looking for you to b

n't mi

from scratch. He struggled his way to the top rung of the corporate ladder never res

rtant: with whom he would dance, whom he

teste

ir into her ear. The uniforms for the wait staff were crisp, formal a bit too stiff

ury only ever dreamed in fashion magazines, was a strange kind of high. As laying her hea

outside. She was inside, moving thro

pagne," her boss barked, scannin

ray of flutes as she worked

in sequins and diamonds, laughter that fell a little short of the eyes. She had worked a

wy. More

already dissecting the stitches, the shapes, the color palettes. It was the response of a designer one t

she f

pres

felt it. The kind of tension that ti

his across the room, eve

ny Ma

e'd been waiting all night to get a glimpse of her. Bel

idiot, she t

atingly handsome he was. It was the way he looked at her, as though she weren'

opping moment, she b

reamer who made sketches on the backs of till slips, w

pretending to adjust the

ck hair curling into her face like a masterpiece, her golden brown

en her

this. N

e was having a joke with him, but he knew

, there

ressed as a maid and yet towered

d Jordan, nodding dis

l holding the tray? No idea.

nk and pushed his way through the throng, bobbi

him before

turned around, he s

nding, and

asked, his voice as sm

ised by his direct

a br

t. I'm

romised but the smile that invi

e added, holdi

cell in her being scr

heart si

tched hand as if it was a trap wrapped

da

er in that quietly confident way only men who owned part of a city were capable of. His intense dark eyes were weighed down wi

said, tightening her gri

g," he replied, his voice smooth and even. "You've been play

he hadn't realized he had

h to touch her, but close enough to make her

ty in his voice pierce

da

, ignoring the flabbergasted expression

d without hesitation, his lips

ncredulous sound. "Are y

hen I'm

slipped her

was as if something fell into pla

strings of a live orchestra. When the violin soared into a haunting waltz, he wrap

," he whispered, the w

nched up.

s pulsing in her chest. Bella had danced before at parties, in school

ching her. "Like you've fought your way

d

. So

like you doing with a background of

fell. "More than

quite recognize. Bella, she had no clue what she'd expected to walk into this palace of expectation and money, but i

. Not the check

e

r name," he said,

itated.

it like a discove

small laugh

deferred, and a life besides this one. With every step, every turn, the lines between rea

pped at last, Bella di

ug. That in possible entwining. But

she said, slop

ld not let

can

s yet," he breathed, his thumb s

g despite herself. "That's

illowing behind each step. She never looked back even once but

de, he kn

't their

only the