Page 88 of The Road Less Traveled By

— BETTY BY TAYLOR SWIFT

As I step intomy dress, I hear a knock on my door.

“Can I come in?” Vince’s voice permeates the wall, and I can’t help but smile.

“Yes,” I say, and when the door opens, my mouth drops.

Because Vince Evans is standing in my door frame in a full navy blue suit that looks like it was made just for him. It molds to every muscle in his body, and his hair is curly and all over the place, but in a styled way.

He’s fucking beautiful, and I know what his mouth feels like on mine.

I think it got about ten degrees hotter in here, and when I look down at my pale blue dress, I notice the two of us are matching.

“Did you plan on matching with me tonight?”

He smirks as he steps closer into my room. “No, but Nico insisted I wear navy blue because he’s wearing maroon and didn't want to clash with me.”

I giggle as I imagine that conversation. “Well, you look wonderful.”

“Thank you,” he says as he roams his gaze over my body. I opted for some blue chunky pumps, and my hair is curled down my back, tied with a long white bow. My makeup is simple, so I decided to go with a dark pink lip gloss. Vince must notice because his eyes linger on my lips for afew seconds before he returns to my eyes. “There are no words to describe how enchanting you look tonight, Bree.”

“Thank you, but I’ll look better when I lace my dress up. Can you help me?” I say as I turn around, the threads of my dress hanging to the ground.

“Of course,” he says as he moves closer to me. I feel his hands grab the threads before his face moves closer to mine from behind. My heels give me a bit of height, but he still has to bend down toward my ear. “How do I do this?”

“You just take it and cross it through the holes and then tie it off at the end.” My voice comes out in a whisper, and as his hands start to work across my back, my entire body gets hot.

Can he feel what he does to me? Does he know how much I want him to kiss me again? I thought all the stolen touches from before were enough to drive me crazy, but since we kissed, every touch has felt a thousand times worse.

He ties off the end of the threads in a small bow, my dress now fitting me like a glove. I turn around to thank him, but he’s a lot closer than I thought.

His eyes are piercing into mine, and I notice his hands are still wrapped around my waist, as if he can’t bear to let me go.

I’m staring straight into his eyes, and for this fleeting moment, I pretend he’s mine, that we’re going to this event together. For this moment, I can pretend we’re a real couple, that he helped me get ready, and maybe I tied his tie for him because he needed my help.

Maybe one day, that will be real, but for now, the two of us are in a delicate stage of in-between. We’re not anything, but we’re also not nothing, because I know what he tastes like, and I’ve felt his mouth against mine.

“Are you ready to go?”

“Just a few more seconds, please,” I tell him, still looking into his eyes.

“For what?”

“To pretend it’s real. To pretend that you’re mine,” I whisper.

He leans down and presses a kiss to my forehead. “We’re as real as the air you’re breathing, Bree. You have me, angel. I promise you, I’m not leaving your side.”

“You have me too, Vince.” He smiles at me, and if this wasn’t my event, I would stay here all night, lost in the feel of him. “We can go now. I can’t be late to my own event.”

“Wherever you go, I go, Bree.” He grabs my hand. “Let’s make this the best night ever, okay?”

I can only nod as we descend the staircase, and he whisks me off into the night with a smile on my face the entire time.

Nothing in the world can hit me when Vince is by my side. The two of us deserve some light after all the dark we’ve endured, and tonight feels like the beginning of something new, something good.

And I can't wait to see where it leads us.

As I walk intothe ballroom with Vince behind me, I’m stunned at how many bodies I see filling the space. I knew we had invited a ton of people, but actually seeing them all inside the ballroom for a good cause makes my heart soar.

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