Ivy borrowed the dress from a girl two floors down in her apartment building, a soft navy blue thing with a slit up one side, the kind of dress that made her feel like someone else for a night. Her mother had gone to bed early, thinking Ivy was working late again, and the lie sat heavy in her stomach as she left the apartment, heels in one hand, careful not to wake her.
The gala was held in a hotel ballroom downtown, all crystal lights and white tablecloths, the kind of place Ivy had only ever seen in photos before tonight. She stood near the entrance for a moment, feeling out of place among the silk and diamonds, until Julian spotted her from across the room and made his way over, a warm smile already on his face.
"You clean up well," he said, offering his arm like it was the most natur
