Page 16 of Chic Steel

“To talk to you,” she says, as if it’s an obvious answer.

“Why?”

Maddy turns to Lily and ignores my question. “Is she always like this?”

“She isn’t, actually.” Lily tilts her head and smirks. “I’m enjoying seeing her frazzled.”

“Traitor,” I say without any heat.

I brush a finger over the petals, pick up the paper with calligraphy on it, and read what it says. It’s a voucher for Velvet Varnish, the nail salon Isla owns down the street. She buys iced coffee from the café often, so I see her frequently. Don’t usually have time to visit her store, though.

“What’s this?” I ask. Maddy said the envelope was fromhim,which means it’s from Oliver. But why a voucher for nails?

“A voucher for nails.”

“I can see that. Whyis there a voucher for nails?” I dig out more paper from the envelope. “And a phone number?”

Maddy sighs and straightens in the chair. “Oliver’s very excited about tonight and wants you to come, and thought you might like a girls’ day before the event. There’s a voucher for you and a friend and his phone number. He’ll pick you up from Chic at five.” She recites the information as if Oliver made her run through it before coming here.

“He wants to see me?” My fingers brush the edges of the envelope, and I wince when it catches under my nail.

“He would like nothing more.” Her voice is soft, but her shoulders are tight.

I blink at Lily while she considers Maddy. What’s happening right now? Yesterday, the stress was crawling over my skin after seeing him. After touching him and feeling him. And now… He has a sister and we see each other almost daily? And she’s playing messenger because we didn’t exchange numbers and he stillwants to see me after yesterday.

He still wants to see me.

Maddy rises and turns to the door but spins back to me quickly. “I hope you show up. He’s excited to see you.” It’s the most sincere she’s sounded since appearing from nowhere. “And don’t let Daniel drink too much. He gets sappy when he’s drunk.” And then she stalks out of the café, mission accomplished.

“Who’s Daniel?” Lily asks.

“No idea.” Maybe it’s the guy who walked in on us? God, I hope not. Haven’t considered the fact it’s a business event rather than just us, but I’ll take what I can get.

Lily snags the paper and reads through it.

I bite my lip. “Do you think he really wants to see me?”

Lily chokes. “By the amount of money he dropped on this voucher, I’d say yes. It’s like he thought you’d bring every girl you know.” She glances at me and drops the paper. “Ella, he sent his sister to make sure you’d be there tonight.”

“I hope so.” I stare at my half-chewed cuticles. At least if they’re painted I’ll stop ruining them. I inhale slowly and blow out my doubts. “Got time to get your nails done?”

“Let me tell Gemma I’m taking lunch and then we’ll find Isla.”

I guess I’m seeing Oliver tonight. A wave of excitement rushes through me.

It’s finally happening.

I smooth my black satin top straight and check my phone. He’ll be here any minute.

I’m sitting in the back room waiting for him to arrive, waiting for Immy to send him back here when he shows up. Don’t think I’ve ever dressed so fancy in my store before. Not that dark jeans and a silky top are fancy, but pair it with red lipstick and bright red nails and I feel fancy. Special.

Isla convinced me to choose red. Something about confidence. I’m not sure it’s working, unless churning in my stomach is confidence?

She told me to trust her and Lily encouraged it, so I figured why not? Red is timeless. Or so I was told, numerous times, between their teasing. Like Isla can talk about having a long-time crush on someone.

I flex my fingers. Maybe I should have done something more natural? Or a blue, maybe. Red is quite…bright. But I have to admit, it looks good against the black. Hopefully, he likes it.

The door opens and my eyes jerk to the man walking through it and snicking it shut behind him.

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