Page 26 of Property of Azrael

“Eden, I can’t go. I have so much to do.” I wave to the pile of books in front of me. “I’m so behind.”

“Oh, you’re going. You’ve come all this way to network, and this is literally the second biggest event of the weekend, other than the signing. You need to meet people, Hallie. Real people, in person.”

I narrow my eyes. “I met you online.”

“I’m the exception to all rules,” she says confidently. “I’m clearly not a stalker, nor am I insane.”

“You sure about that?” I tease.

Eden may be the most extroverted person I know. She attends several signings a year, and from what she’s told me, with photographic evidence, she’s the life of the party. It’s probably part of the reason she sells out every single event. Her kind of energy is infectious and hard to ignore.

“I’m not that crazy.”

“I stand by my previous statement.”

Eden steps into the middle of my colossal mess and shakes her head. “You could’ve done this tomorrow in the signing room.”

“I know, but I need to keep busy.” Being here had only made my event anxiety worse. What if no one comes to my table? What if I spent all this money on retail paperbacks, only to not sell a single copy? Azrael seems to think he can prevent that from happening, but I’m not so sure. Nothing is a sure thing.

“You can keep busy by taking your ass into the bathroom and getting ready.”

“I told you already, I’m not going.”

“Why not?”

“For one, I have too much to do.”

“You used that excuse already.”

“Second,” I growl, annoyance clear as day in my tone. “Isn’t it a ticketed dinner? I don’t have those.”

“And third on your list of stupid excuses?”

I grit my teeth and say, “I have nothing to wear.”

“Sweets,” Eden coos, shaking her head. “First, you have plenty of time to get this done. Second, I have an extra ticket, and tall, dark, and handsome out there can get in all on his own. Third, I brought my entire closet. I’m sure there’s something in there that will fit you.” Shuffling over to her two large suitcases, she throws things over her shoulders and onto the bed. After a few moments, she squeals and tosses me a black minidress. “If this doesn’t spur your knight into action, I don’t know what will.”

I hold up the dress and groan. The length would be problematic enough because of the differences in our height, but on each side of the dress are large cutouts. Large enough, that panties are not an option. I’m positive I could fit my entire head through without trying.

“Nope. I’m not wearing this.”

Eden stomps through the pile she made, snatches the dress from my hands, tosses it over her shoulder, and drags me to the bathroom. With a shove, she pushes me inside and hurls the dress at me. “Try it on.” She rushes out and slams the door. I go to test the handle, but she’s holding onto it, imprisoning me.

“I just want the record to state that I’m only trying this monstrosity on out of protest.”

She laughs from the other side of the door. “Noted. Bitch all you want, but when the biker boy sees you in that, I’m going to have to find another place to stay tonight.”

I roll my eyes. Eden knows this whole dating thing is for the signing only. We’d talked about it before she headed off to do God only knows what. I had explained it about the bet, Azrael’s idea to be my fictional book boyfriend for the event, and even the terms. Since he was staying with us, I wanted her to know everything. Azrael was less keen on the idea, but I didn’t give him a chance to argue against my decision. Eden is my best friend. Keeping her in the dark is not an option.

“I don’t hear any changing in there,” Eden singsongs.

Stripping off my shorts and T-shirt, I yank the dress over my head. With a few good tugs, I finally wrench the tight material over my hips, the hem hitting just above mid-thigh. If I attempt to lean over, everyone is going to see up my skirt. I turn to look at myself in the mirror and my eyes go wide.

Eden is ten years older than me. If this is in her closet, I can only imagine what else might be. Lord, on what occasion would a dress like this even call for? The thought of wearing it out to one of the local bars back home makes me giggle. My mother would absolutely drop dead if she saw me in this.

I fuss with the cutouts until they’re at least covering up boobs. When I do this, it shifts the entire thing up. Tugging the hemline down, I frown when I see the top of my pink panties peeking through the openings around my hips. I guess I’ll be going commando. I slide them off and remove my bra, taking the time to adjust myself and make sure everything is covered. Thankfully, the dress has a built-in shelf bra for a bit of support, or I’d be spilling out of the top.

“Where in the hell did you get this dress?”

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