I have never been so conflicted in my entire life.

There are multiple forces pulling me in every direction, the least of them all is the boutique.

I take one day off and foot traffic skyrockets. No idea why, but the first thing I do when I get in on Tuesday morning is have Natalie and Sarah overhaul the displays in the front window to show off some of our newest arrivals. There’s a surge in customers around the lunch hour, and I stay on the floor to help move product.

Natalie doesn’t think I should stoop so low as to wait on customers.

She stops in the midst of rushing back to the dressing room with another armload of clothes. “Carolyn, we can handle it!”

I give her a smile and shake my head. “What? I own the place, so you think I should be in the back counting money?” I would never tell Natalie that I’m not passionate about my boutique—it’s a fun project that happens to be successful—but even so, I’m not going to put my feet up while everyone else does the dirty work. With a wink and a dismissive wave of my hand, I send her on her way and turn to face two women who look like they’ve walked directly out of the Victoria’s Secret catalogue into my boutique. “Welcome, ladies. Is there anything I can direct you toward today?”

“Yes!” chirps the brunette. “I’m looking for a dress that can go from day to evening.”

“I have the perfect thing for you.” I lead her back toward a rack that’s purposefully filled with pieces that could—but don’t necessarily have to—form a stunning, eclectic outfit.

The rest of the afternoon passes by in a blur, the cash register ringing nonstop.

“This is incredible,” Natalie whispers to me when I come around behind the counter with another customer’s purchases. “Have you ever seen this much traffic before?”

“No,” I say, then laugh. “Maybe all I had to do was go away for the day.”

“It definitely wasn’t like this yesterday.”

She has a good point. What is bringing people in like this?

Before close, I ask a girl with gorgeous auburn hair what brought her to the boutique today.

She looks at me with a strange half smile. “You’re—I mean, I’m so sorry if this sounds creepy—but you’re Carolyn Banks, right?”

“I am.” I return the smile, then wait. If she wants to tell me more, she will. In the meantime, I pull another blouse off the rack and hold it up for her approval.

She nods, and I lay it on the pile to take to the dressing room. “Well—I heard you were—I heard you were dating Ace Kingsley.”

My cheeks go pink—I can feel it—but I force my face to stay neutral, open. “Well, that’s a rumor, if I’ve ever heard one.”

Now it’s her turn to blush. “Oh. Maybe it wasn’t you then. I saw some pictures from an exclusive nightclub—I think it was last weekend—and they’ve hit some of the…some of the blogs I follow.”

This poor girl doesn’t want to say that they’re “gossip blogs,” but who in New York City doesn’t read them? I certainly do, although it’s more as research for Rainflower Blue than anything else.

“Oh!” I exclaim, laughing a little. “I was with him there. You got me. But I wouldn’t say we’re dating.” I arch an eyebrow at her.

“No?” She runs her hands down one last dress, then turns to face me. “It looked like fun. I heard about you—he’s been big news lately—and then one of my friends said you owned a boutique here, and I had to check it out. Your outfit in the picture was so beautiful.”

“Thank you,” I say, keeping my tone gracious. She changes the subject on the way back to the dressing room, and we turn our attention to the clothes. She buys almost everything she tries on, and after she steps out onto the sidewalk, I lock the front door behind her and flip the “open” sign to “closed.”

Behind me, Natalie lets out a sigh of relief. When things started to slow down a little around the dinner hour, I let Sarah leave—she has a date, and I’m not one of those bitchy bosses—so it’s the two of us.

“Unbelievable.” Natalie leans against the counter and surveys the boutique, which is more than a little rumpled, despite how hard we’ve tried to keep it in order. “That was crazy, right?”

“Are you holding out on me, Nat? Don’t tell me you don’t read the gossip sites.”

Natalie gives me a wide-eyed look. “Gossip blogs? Never!”

“I’ve been a little bit behind. So…I’ve been on them, right?” It’s true. I spent all weekend with Ace and all day yesterday…but not exactly searching for information about him. After I went for a walk, I had lunch with Jess and then I went to the gym, and then I ordered in for dinner…anything to keep my mind off the swirling, dizzy love that wouldn’t let go of its hold on me.

We both move farther into the boutique shoulder to shoulder, instinctively straightening the first items that come to our hands.

“I mean…a little bit,” she says, hanging a dress back in its place. “I think some pictures came out yesterday, so word has had a chance to get around.”

I laugh. “Well, it’s done wonders for sales, hasn’t it?”

“No kidding. Maybe you should make out with Ace Kingsley more often.”

“Who said I made out with him?”

She gives me a look from around a mannequin. “The pictures were of the two of you dancing, but it looked pretty hot, so….”

There is one issue with this, which is that the Swan generally frowns upon people posting pictures from inside its walls. My guess is that this scenario won’t play out again—they have their ways of finding out which member is the culprit—but it’s a kick in the ass for me to get on this, and soon. If everybody’s going to be talking about me….

“Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t. I’ll never tell,” I tease.

I’ve got to get serious about these rumors. Especially if I’m going to be dragged into the fray.