Page 353 of Dark Love

“What happened to your hair?”

Um, what? “It’s in a bun.”

“I like it down. Or in that soft twisty thing on the back of your head.”

Are we really talking about my hair? “Neither of those is an option without access to a blow dryer and styling products. This is all I could do with wet hair.”

Vex taps on his tablet for a second, then stands up. “Are you cold?”

“No, not really.” Vex keeps his place a bit cooler than mine, but it’s not a big deal.

He eyes the coat I have wrapped around me like a shield. “The car is waiting downstairs.”

Am I really doing this? I’ve never been shopping with a man, let alone a complete stranger.

Vex walks over to a set of double doors. They open, revealing a private elevator. “Ready?”

No, I’m not ready. I won’t ever be ready to do this. But I am anyway. “Yes.” Walk with confidence and you will feel confident… my mother was wrong saying that, but I’m going to pretend it’s true, anyway.

I can do this.

Vex, it seems, isn’t very chatty in the mornings. The elevator ride is quiet, which I don’t mind since I’m the opposite of a morning person myself.

How many floors is this place? Do I even want to know? It felt like we were in the sky, but that could have been just my perception. The elevator ride takes forever.

Vex’s whole persona changes as the elevator door opens. Gone is the relaxed man who was sprawled out on his couch in a pullover and slacks. In his place is an angry crime lord who will crush you if you get in his way.

Why am I doing this?

I’ve gone completely around the bend.

Vex takes my hand in his, and we walk out of the fancy lobby.

There is not one but two cars waiting for us at the curb. Both with scary men standing next to them.

Um. No. This is not how you go shopping. Even in the city.

Shopping is easy.

Shopping is fun.

You don’t need a million people surrounding you, glaring at the world like they’ll decimate you if you blink wrong.

Why am I doing this?

Vex opens the car door and waits for me to get in.

Why am I doing this? A child could see the insanity of all this. Yet here I am, sliding into the back of the car. A car that’s probably worth more than the down payment on my house.

Black and metal seem to be a theme in Vex’s life.

There’s an open window divider between the front and back. That was a mistake I’m never going to make again. Not that Vex and I are going to have a heart-to-heart conversation on the way to the mall. Do they even have malls in Urbium?

Getting the lay of the land when it comes to shopping needs to be on my to-do list.

Without a word, Vex slides in next to me and takes my hand in his.

That’s probably the reason for all of this. Why does his touch feel so right?

---