LOGINAvery's POV“Avery,” he said again, quieter this time.He said my real name carefully again, like he was afraid I would disappear if he said it too fast. His eyes searched my face over and over, desperately, trying to convince himself I was actually standing here.Then he took a small step toward me.“Where have you been?” His voice cracked. “I looked everywhere for you.”He dragged a hand across his face roughly before looking back at me again.“Jesus Christ,” he muttered under his breath, still staring at me, he couldn’t believe this was real.A cold feeling slowly spread through my chest.I frowned slightly. “I’m sorry… Do I know you?”He went completely still and stunned. The look on his face cracked something uneasy in me. He let out a rough breath, as if the words had knocked some air out of him. “What?”“I don’t think we’ve met, have we?” I tightened my grip around the champagne glass. He stared at me in complete disbelief before he shook his head.“Avery, stop.” His voic
Avery’s POVBy the first hour of the gala, I understood why people called rooms like this dangerous.Not because of the money, not because of the power.Because attention in rooms like this could change everything.I’d barely finished one conversation before another person approached me. A fashion editor wanted to talk about the bridal feature running next week. A luxury buyer from Chicago asked whether Monochrome planned to expand into evening wear. And somehow my dress had become part of almost every conversation.“Who designed it?”“How long did this take?”“Wait, you made this yourself?”I answered the questions with a smile, still trying to get used to hearing Monochrome spoken rooms like this.One woman asked for my card before our conversation even ended.Another quietly said, “You’re going to be impossible to book next year.”I laughed at that. My gaze shifted to Wyatt. He was quieter than he’d been in the car. I noticed it within minutes of us arriving. His hand at my wa
Wyatt’s POV“Babe.” I looked toward the stairs. “We’re going to be late.”Her voice echoed down from the bedroom. “Relax. Fashionably late exists for a reason.”I exhaled through my nose and looked at my phone. Then I heard her on the stairs and I turned.She appeared at the top of the stairs and every thought in my head disappeared immediately. I’d seen the dress hanging in the bathroom. I’d even seen her try it briefly yesterday but none of that came close to what I was seeing now. The gown hugged every curve of her body before falling smoothly against her legs with every step she took. The slit revealed enough of her thigh to make my jaw tightened immediately. Her makeup was soft, not overpowering her face. And her hair, damn it…It was pinned up loosely enough to expose the line of her neck and shoulders while soft strands framed her face perfectly. She looked elegant, expensive, completely way out of my league.And every man at that gala was about to look at her. The realiza
Avery’s POV"We have four same-day fitting requests," Elise announced the moment I walked through the door. No good morning.I set my bag down. "From?" “Manhattan socialites who saw the magazine preview last night and apparently all woke up this morning deciding they had nothing to wear to the gala.”I looked around the showroom, already calculating. “All four want something by tomorrow?”“All four want something by this afternoon.”I looked at her. “We do bridal, Elise. Not gala.”She gave me a look that said she was fully aware of that. “I told them twice.”“And?”“They don’t want to hear it.” She held up her tablet. “They just want a dress for tomorrow evening and they’ve decided Monochrome is making it.”I let out a deep breath. “Tell the first two we can accommodate with what we have and adjust. The other two go on the emergency alteration list with a rush fee.”“The rush fee…”“Double,” I said. “Non-negotiable.”Elise was already typing. “California confirmed three new retail
Wyatt’s POVI'd been awake since four.I lay still thinking about the gala, thinking through every possible way that night could go wrong.Nate in the same room with Avery was bad enough already. Avery shifted beside me. Her arm came across my chest. She murmured something that wasn’t quite a word and pulled herself closer without waking up. Her breathing evened out again within seconds.She had no idea. She was warm and happy and excited about an invitation she’d earned. And she had absolutely no idea.Fuck.She woke up in a good mood. She got ready faster than usual, talked more, and laughed at small things. I sat at the edge of the bed pulling on my watch when she came to stand between my legs, tablet in one hand, already running through the showroom schedule out loud.The conversation somehow moved to the gala.She’d been sketching the night before. Dress silhouettes in the margins of her work notes. She turned the tablet toward me and showed me one. It was very Monochrome. “W
Wyatt’s POVMy phone lit up on the conference table beside the files. Avery’s name flashed across the screen. I picked it up and stepped out of the room without a word. The lawyers kept talking behind me.The hallway was quieter. I answered before the second ring."Hey, babe."Her voice was warm and a little breathless. “How are you? How’s California?”“Tell me the good news first,” I said, leaning against the wall.A laugh slipped out on her end. “I haven’t even said I have good news yet.”"You called me in the middle of a meeting with that voice." I smiled. "You have good news."“What voice?” she asked, amused.“The one that means something good happened.”“I’m not telling you on the phone then.”I exhaled through my nose. "Avery."“You’ll have to wait,” she said, sounding like she was enjoying every bit of it. I could hear the smile in her voice."I'll tell you when you're back," she said."That could be days.""Then I guess you'll wait days."I went back into the conference room
Wyatt’s POVIt's been six hours now, six hours of the twelve-hour deadline.I sat in that waiting room chair, the same one I’d been in all night. I hadn't slept. Just sat still, watching the clock on the wall tick forward.Every minute felt like an hour and every hour felt like days.My phone buzze
Nate’s POVI stared at my phone, waiting for it to ring.It had been one fucking week since Davis promised me a “confirmed location”.Since then, nothing. Radio silence.My father was still in the hospital. The recovery was slower than what the doctors and I had wanted. They said a week minimum. Th
Avery’s POVThe grocery bag split open in the parking lot, apples rolling everywhere.I stood there watching them scatter, I was too exhausted to chase them. My pregnancy hit thirty-two weeks yesterday and my belly was so huge I couldn’t even see my own feet. Every movement sent sharp pain through
Nate’s POVCeleste stared at the papers on my desk like they might bite her.“Davis Investigation Services.” She read it out loud slowly. Then her eyes dropped again to the name written in bold capital letters on the top “Avery Monroe.”My stomach sank. The room seemed to tilt slightly. I opened my







