Be With Me

by Gabrielle Sands

“And what if that’s not wha...

“I’ll just have to figur...

“Guys, let’s just go. I want to have a good time tonight. I want to da...

“I just want to forget he exists fo...

“It’s settled. We’re going out.

“I didn’t even bring anything to wear.”

“Come on. I’ve got plenty of things yo...

"Put this over your camera. No pictures allowed. If anyone catches you breaking the rule, you're out."

“Isn’t this great?”

“Okay, Mia, it’s showtime. Take it off.”

“I really don’t know about this.”

“Come...

“No one’s gonna recognize you anyway. Not under a...

“There we go. You look amazing.”

"Let’s get this party started,"

Fabi wasn’t thinking about Cosimo, so I wasn’t going to think about Romolo.

“To the Valais Vixens!”

“When are we going to retire that name?”

“Never!”

“And stop trying to change the group chat name. You know I’ll j...

“It’s part of ou...

“We came up with that name when we were thirteen. Haven’t we earned something a litt...

“Growing up is ov...

“Amen to ...

“Sky’s looking rough.”

“Oh shit.”

“What?”

“You’re not going to believe who’s here.”

I turned. Across the room, a familiar pair of gray eyes locked onto mine.

I hadn’t been sure she’d show up tonight.

Mia had probably thought the last time she’d see me would be at our meeting next week. She was wrong.

I wasn’t ready to be done with her—not even close.

I watched and planned my next move as they made their way through the crowd. And then Mia took off that sweater, and I nearly choked on my drink. What the fuck was she wearing? A pulse of something sharp and territorial ran through me.

Why did I even care? Mia Morales wasn’t mine. She was just a target.

But that knowledge didn’t stop me from seeing red.

“You want in on some ...

“I’m good,”

I turned back toward the dance floor. Fuck. He’d distracted me, and now Mia was gone. Her friends were still there, but she’d run off somewhere. Hiding from me? Good luck. The house was big, but not big enough.

Pushing off the wall, I went in search of my little stylist.

And there she was. In that fucking dress. The little metallic thing clung to her curves like a second skin. Did she have any idea? Was she aware that every man in this house probably salivated when she walked past?

"We need to talk,"

"No thanks.”

“It’s about The Golden Circle party.”

“What about it?”

"Too loud here. Can’t hear a word yo...

“Nice outfit.”

"Did you really want to talk about the project?"

"Sure." Of course the fuck not.

I pulled out my phone and snapped a photo of her.

"Hey! What are you doing? You’re not supposed to take pictures in here. That’s the rule!”