Page 13 of Bloody Lace

Dahlia’s teeth sink deeper into her lower lip. “I’d give you the money if I could. My parents give me a little of my trust fund at a time. I could help with some smaller things, but nothing on the scale of what you’re going to need. And they’d pay for anything for me, but they aren’t going to unlock the vault for anyone else. I could ask, though—” She frowns, considering. “I could lie and say I need something big.”

“No.” I shake my head firmly. “I don’t want you to lie for me. I’ll figure something out.” But even as I say it, I have no idea what thatsomethingmight be. Unless it’s taking Dimitri up on his offer.

“What happens if you marry him?” Dahlia asks, as if echoing my thoughts, and I shrug, looking dejectedly into my glass.

“I don’t know. We didn’t get that far. I was—pretty dismissive of the whole idea.”

“It’s a crazy idea.”

“Right? I can’t marry a man I don’t know. Even if it’s just temporary.”

Dahlia lets out a sigh, finishing off her drink. “What if you did, though?”

I stare at her. “Seriously?”

“If you don’t have any other options, and it’s temporary—” her mouth twists. “Maybe it isn’t the worst idea. You could set some rules. Tell him how you want things to go. And then you get your shop back, he gets what he wants, and you can walk away in the end.”

“You’re serious.” I swallow hard. “You don’t think this is a terrible idea?”

“Of course it is.” She looks at me sympathetically. “But it also might be the best one you have.”

She isn’t wrong, and the knowledge makes my stomach drop.

I don’t know Dimitri. I can’t possibly trust him. But Dahlia is right about one thing.

I can set the terms of my agreement. And if he doesn’t like it, he doesn’t have to say yes. He said he needed my help, too—so we’ll see just how accurate that is.

“I’ll stay over tonight,” Dahlia says, scratching Buttons between his ears as he comes over and nestles between us both. “You shouldn’t be alone right now.”

“You don’t have to.” I lean back against the sofa, taking another sip of my drink. “I already feel bad that you felt like you had to leave your party for me.”

She shakes her head. “Seriously. I meant it when I said fuck the party. Anyway, this means I don’t have to clean up until the morning.”

I can’t help but smile at that. “Okay. You’re the best, you know that?”

Dahlia nods. “I sure do.”

“I’m going to sleep on it,” I tell her. “And in the morning I’ll decide what to do.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” She yawns. “Speaking of sleep?—”

We finish our drinks, curling up in my bed that takes up most of the space in the tiny bedroom, Buttons at our feet. I look at my phone, wondering if this will all feel better in the morning. More manageable, at least. If some kind of answer will come to me while I’m sleeping.

But it doesn’t. In the morning, after Dahlia brings me French toast bagels with strawberry cream cheese from my favorite shop down the road, and I’m dressed and facing the day, I still don’t see any better solution. A call to my insurance company, discussing the report, doesn’t help either. And I’m left on mycouch, sitting next to Buttons, looking at where Dimtri put his contact information into my phone.

I text him. It feels more controllable that way, more in my hands. Talking to him on the phone feels like it will be easier for him to charm me, get under my skin. And that’s the last thing I want or need right now.

Evelyn:I want to discuss your offer. Drinks at the Copper Pot? It’s a bar in this neighborhood.

There’s no response at first, and I wonder if the offer was a ‘speak now or forever hold your peace’ kind of deal. But on the other hand, he went to the effort to track down and tell Dahlia what was happening. Which, while slightly creepy, makes me think he has more invested in this working out than he might want me to think.

Dimitri:Tonight?

I bite my lip.I’m tempted to put it off. To give myself more time to find some other solution. But the truth is that I already know thereisn’tany other solution. I exhausted all of those options when I opened Pearls & Lace originally. They were difficult enough to access then, and I know they won’t be there for me now.

Evelyn:How does eight sound?

Dimitri:Like I’ll be there. Want me to pick you up?

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