Elara's POV
I turned.
Samuel was studying a display of pocket squares. He'd just paid for two formal outfits, and now he was clearly working hard to look busy.
"That wasn't the arrangement."
"Styling consultation fee," he said, without turning around. "Standard rate. Non-negotiable."
"That's not a real thing."
"It absolutely is." He put the pocket square down and looked at me. "A certain person is currently at Fiona's, expecting a full account of this afternoon. Let's go collect her."
Something in his face softened. "And you can buy us dinner. She has opinions about where."
I thought about the afternoon. The store. His hand raised against Orion's voice.
"Alright," I said.
He smiled, a real one, and picked up the bags and held the door.
Something in me cracked open, just a little
