The girl didn’t even back up or stop smiling at Preston, who had taken a slight step back when he saw Trihn.

“Hey, Trihn,” he said casually.

“All ready for our lunch date?” God, I sound petty. She hated how her voice had strained over the words.

Whoever this girl was, she had a certain charm. She was shorter with a fuller chest and ass. Trihn’s tall, thin body type would never allow her to look like that. Her body was great for ballet, but sometimes, she wished she could fill out her frame.

“Yep. Sounds good. This is my friend Stephanie. We had accounting together last semester,” Preston told her.

“Hi,” Stephanie said, extending her hand. She looked Trihn over indifferently before turning her gaze back to Preston.

“Hi.” Trihn ruefully shook her hand and then pulled it back. “You ready?”

Preston nodded. “See you around, Steph.”

“Bye, Preston. I’ll catch you around.”

As they walked down the street to get lunch, Trihn held her confusion in as best as she could. Clearly, she wasn’t doing that great of a job because Preston kept giving her questioning looks. He held the door open for her, and they sat down at a table for two.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she said into her menu.

“Trihn”—he reached for her hand and started stroking circles into her palm—“you seem stressed. Is this about me missing your call?”

She sighed heavily. “No. I kind of freaked about that for no reason. I should have guessed you had just gone home early.”

“Yeah. I’m working on a big project right now,” he explained. “I have so much to do.”

“And that’s important. I just…I’ve never really dated like this before,” she admitted. She chewed on her bottom lip, mustering up the courage to say what else was bothering her. “You’re just friends with that Stephanie girl, right? I don’t even know why I would think you were more than friends. I only saw you guys together for all of two minutes, but…” She trailed off, realizing that she was rambling.

Preston laughed and brought her hand to his lips. “Why would you think we were more than friends? You know I’m with you.”

“I know. You’re right. I just…” She took a deep breath. “I really like you.”

“I really like you, too,” he said.

“I know I shouldn’t worry, but it’s kind of part of my personality. I always struggled with worrying in modeling and ballet. So…I guess I just want to make sure we’re on the same page”—she looked up at him with earnest—“that we’re moving in the same direction.”

“This is all kind of coming out of left field. You shouldn’t stress so much. This is fun. I like being with you. We’re going to have a great rest of the summer, and then you’ll be at NYU next semester. Here, with me.”

She nodded. God, why am I such a stress ball? She shouldn’t be accusing Preston of things when he had done nothing wrong. This relationship was what she wanted, and next semester, she wouldn’t have to hop on the subway to see him.

“I’ll try not to stress anymore. I wish I could shut my brain down sometimes.” She laughed lightly. “I’m just glad we’re here together.”

He kissed her hand again. “Me, too.”

The waiter came over to take their order, breaking the moment between them. She ordered a salad, and he got a burger with fries.

As the waiter walked away, Preston turned his attention back to Trihn. “I do feel bad that you were worried about me last night. I guess I’m just exhausted from this new project. I feel like I’m doing most of the muscle behind the work.”

“Isn’t that normal for an entry-level position?” she asked even though she knew the answer.

“Yeah. I guess it is, but it was never like this before. We’re about to put out a new issue, and we’re closing out this huge deal with a diamond company in our advertising space. I feel like I’m doing a million things at once.”

Trihn smiled and tried to hide it behind her hand. Only this morning, she had heard about the diamond deal from her mom. She had been listening with half an ear, but it was interesting to have the crossover.

“I get it,” she said after a minute. “More than you know.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…” She bit her lip. She hadn’t meant to keep this detail from him the first time he told her that he worked for Glitz, but then there never seemed to be a good time to mention it. “My mom works for Glitz.”

“Your mom?”

“Yeah. Linh Hamilton. She’s an executive vice president for the company,” Trihn admitted.

“Linh…Hamilton,” he said the name almost reverently.

“Yeah.”

“Hamilton,” he repeated.

Trihn started laughing. “Yes! That’s my mom. I don’t know why I didn’t mention it before.”

“Me either.”

She shrugged. “I guess it slipped my mind. Either way, I get the work thing. I know how much time you have to put in. I decided to help out Renée with this dance Intensive we do every summer for scholarship students anyway, so I’ll be busy again.”

The conversation veered off course from there as she started telling Preston all the crazy stories and adventures she and Renée had gotten into. He seemed to be lost in thought, but she assumed it was because of his big project at work. She hoped that he would finish it up soon, so they could spend more time together.

Once they were finished, Preston left money to cover the check, and they exited together.

“All right. I have to get to the magazine for a few hours, but can I see you later this week?” he asked.

She smiled and nodded in agreement. “I’d like that,” she said, sliding into his embrace. “Actually, I have something to do on Thursday night that you might like.”

“Another model party?”

She shook her head. “Better.”

He inquisitively arched an eyebrow. “You always leave me guessing.”

“Don’t act like you don’t like it.”

“Oh, I do. I’ll be there.”

TRIHN COULDN’T BELIEVE SHE WAS DOING THIS.

Just walking up the stairs to Preston’s apartment made her jittery. She had already made up her mind. She was going to take Preston with her to Slipper tonight, but that didn’t mean that she was any less nervous about it.

No one knew about this place—not Lydia, not Renée, and definitely not her parents. And she was giving this to him.

A part of her couldn’t believe that she was going to show him something she had never shown anyone else.

The suspicions she’d had about Preston earlier that week seemed like a distant memory, and at this point, she couldn’t deny what she felt for him, how strongly her feelings were. And by bringing him with her today, it would be like they were taking another step forward, crossing an invisible line.

With a deep calming breath, she knocked on the door to his apartment. Heavy footfalls sounded on the hardwood floor on the other side of the door, and then it opened to reveal Preston’s smiling face.

“Wow,” he breathed when he caught sight of her. He drank her in. His eyes swept down her body, looking over the carefully chosen outfit she had decided on—a jeweled lace bra under a nearly sheer black shirt and tight black shorts paired with her favorite heeled booties.

“You look…” And he just stared.

Trihn laughed. “Thanks. I think.”

“You think?” he asked. He took two steps forward, closing the distance between them. His hands moved up and down her sides. “I think we should skip wherever we’re going tonight.”

“What?”

“No need to go out. Everything I want to do tonight is already here,” he said meaningfully.

His blue eyes seared into her, making her forget all about their plans, all about where she was going to take him.