Midnight Blue Lies
When a mysterious stranger offers to save Emma from her family's pity at a wedding, one evening of pretense spirals into something neither of them can escape. As danger closes in, Emma must decide if she can trust the powerful man who has claimed her as his own.
The champagne tasted like failure.
Expensive failure at a wedding where she sat alone.
My emerald dress was secondhand, carefully selected to belong.
It didn't work.
The empty chair beside me grew heavier with each minute.
Daniel was supposed to be here.
Three days ago he called with rehearsed words about not being ready.
Translation: He found someone better.
My aunt's voice cut through the reception.
"Perhaps we should move some people around..."
Pity. The worst humiliation.
I reached for another champagne glass.
Another drink for the lady in green.
I turned, expecting family sympathy.
Instead, my breath caught in my throat.
He didn't belong in this ballroom.
His suit cost more than my monthly rent.
Dark hair precisely cut, features almost too perfect.
But something else set him apart.
An unmistakable aura of danger.
Two men positioned behind him, eyes surveying the room.
Hands positioned as if weapons were concealed beneath jackets.
He moved like a predator toward my table.
Pulling out the empty chair without asking permission.
His scent reached me first. Sandalwood and something darker.
You shouldn't drink alone.
It invites the wrong kind of attention.
I'm at a wedding with 150 people.
Yet you're the only one truly alone in this room.
His eyes assessed me with unsettling thoroughness.
Cataloging everything from my carefully curled hair to the scuff on my heels.
He looked at the dance floor where my cousin swirled in white.
Your date abandoned you for this wedding.
We decided we weren't serious enough.
His mistake.
I spotted my aunt moving toward our table.
Concern and curiosity mixed on her face.
I couldn't face her interrogation about this stranger.
He leaned closer, his breath warm against my ear.
Pretend I'm your date tonight.
Excuse me?
Your family pities you. I dislike watching people be pitied.
It's undignified.
I have business here anyway.
This arrangement would benefit us both.
Business at my cousin's wedding?
Nothing that need concern you.
I don't even know your name.
Allesio.
My aunt was three tables away now.