~NICO~
I notice the dress before I notice anything else. I shouldn’t have let her wear that dress.
The thought comes back to me for the fourth time before we even leave the driveway, and that’s the problem.
It just sits there, irritating, persistent like a stone in my shoe I refuse to remove.
The dress was just… intentional. Like she put it on knowing exactly what it would do and didn’t bother pretending otherwise.
She approaches the car with a small gold purse in her hand, gold earrings catching the light. Red lipstick. No necklace. No rings. She doesn’t need them. Her eyes do enough work on their own.
I look away first.
I don’t remember the last time that happened.
Ignacio opens the door. She slides in, sitting beside me in the back of the Bentley, with her legs crossed, and her
