On my lunch break, I headed over to Neiman Marcus to look at a dress that Emma had put on hold for me for the opening of a new art gallery on the Upper West Side that our firm designed.

“So what do you think?” Emma asked as she held up a red cocktail dress.

“Wow. It’s beautiful.”

“It’s going to look fabulous on you. Go try it on.” She smiled.

I went into the fitting room and slipped into the form-fitting dress that sat off the shoulders with the dramatic flair sleeves.

“What do you think?” I asked as I stepped out of the dressing room and stood in front of the three-way mirror.

“It’s perfect!” she exclaimed. “The perfect dress for the art gallery opening. What time is it at?”

“It opens at seven o’clock, but Andrew and I have to be there by six thirty,” I replied.

“Here, try these shoes on with it.” She grinned as she handed me a pair of red Jimmy Choo stiletto heels.

“These shoes are fifteen hundred dollars, Emma.”

“So what. Andrew’s paying, and that’s chump change to him.”

“But this dress is eleven hundred dollars. Don’t you think that’s a little expensive for an art gallery opening?”

“Listen, Addy, when you’re dating someone like Andrew London, the man who designed the art gallery, you have to look the part. You really think he’s going to blink an eye at the cost?”

“I don’t know.” I bit down on my bottom lip.

“Let’s find out.” She smirked as she pulled out her phone.

“Don’t you dare call him!”

“Too late. Hi, Andrew, it’s Emma. I’m at Neiman Marcus with your lovely girlfriend. She found a dress and the perfect shoes, but she’s concerned about the price. That’s what I told her. I’ll relay the message. Talk to you later. Your generous and sexy boyfriend said that nothing is too expensive for you and to buy whatever you want and stop worrying about it.”

I sighed. “I do love it.” I did a little twirl in the mirror.

“Me too. Go change out of that dress and hand it to me. I’ll take it and the shoes up to the register.”

I went back into the fitting room and changed back into my clothes. As I opened the curtain, I saw Ellie walking out of the room next to me. My stomach dropped.

“Hi, Addison.” She smiled. “Doing some shopping?”

“Oh, hey, Ellie. Umm, yes, I am.”

“Me too. I love this store. It’s always been my favorite. Andrew used to buy me all my clothes here. Sometimes he would come home from the office with a bag full of things he picked out for me. But I’m sure he does the same for you.” She waved her hand in front of her face.

I gave her a small but nervous smile. “I have to get back to work. Take care, Ellie.”

“You too, Addison. It was really good to see you again. We should do lunch sometime.”

I pursed my lips and gave her a nod as I walked away.

“You are never going to believe who I just saw in the fitting room,” I whispered to Emma.

“Who?”

“Ellie.”

“Shit. What did she say?”

“She said we should do lunch sometime.”

“Yeah. Like that’s ever going to happen.” She laughed.

I went back to the office and debated whether or not to tell Andrew about my encounter with Ellie. I decided not to because really it was no big deal. Just like when he saw her at the office. I’d better get used to running into her in public places.

****

“You look gorgeous.” Andrew smiled as he walked into the bedroom.

“Thank you. So do you.” I grinned as I straightened his bow tie.

“I love that dress and those really expensive shoes.” He smirked.

I lightly patted him on the chest.

“Be quiet. I just don’t like to spend money like that. Especially other people’s money.”

“But you have a pair of Jimmy Choos. I’ve seen you wear them.”

“And I got them on a double clearance. They barely cost anything.”

He placed his hands on my hips and brushed his lips against mine.

“You can have anything you want. Money is no object with me. So I don’t ever want you to question the price of anything. And, speaking of that. I have something for you.”

“You do?” I smiled.

He walked over to the dresser and pulled out large square blue box with “Tiffany” written across it.

“Andrew.” I cocked my head.

“Open it.”

I removed the lid and inside sat a beautiful diamond choker necklace.

“Oh shit. This is gorgeous.” I smiled.

“Emma sent me a picture of your dress and I thought this would look perfect with it.”

“Thank you, Andrew. I love it.” I reached up and kissed him. “But you didn’t have to buy me this.”

“You’re welcome and I know I didn’t. I wanted to. I love you, Addison Rose.”

The corners of my mouth curved up into a smile. “I love you too.”

We arrived at the art gallery opening precisely at six thirty and had a glass of champagne and hors d'oeuvres before the gallery officially opened. People started to pack into the twenty-five-thousand-square-foot gallery that Andrew designed himself. It was absolutely beautiful, even though there were a couple of things I would have changed. But I wasn’t about to tell him that.

As we were looking at some modern art sculptures, Andrew turned around when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Hello, Andrew. Addison.” Ellie smiled.

“Ellie. What are you doing here?” Andrew asked.

“I was passing by here the other day and saw the sign for the opening. You know how much I love art.” She ran her finger down his chest in a flirtatious way. “Addison, that dress is gorgeous on you. Is that the one you tried on today at Neiman Marcus?”

I swallowed hard as Andrew looked at me with a narrowed eye.

“Yes. It is. You look lovely as well.”

“Thank you.” She smiled. “You look as handsome as always in your tux, Andrew.” She fiddled with his bow tie.

He took her hands and removed them.

“Thank you, Ellie. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have people we need to talk to.”

“Aren’t you going to say anything about how I look?”

“You look nice. Enjoy the gallery.”

Andrew lightly grabbed my hand and led me across the gallery and up the stairs to the second floor.

“You saw her today at Neiman Marcus and didn’t tell me?” he spoke in an irritated tone.

“It was for a second. We were both coming out of the fitting room at the same time.”

“Did you tell her we were going to be here tonight?”

“No, of course not. I barely spoke to her.”

“I thought I told you to stay away from her.” He scowled.

“Well, how the fuck am I supposed to do that when these are public places? I can’t help it if she shops at Neiman Marcus. Her favorite store, where you used to come home from with bags full of things you bought for her.”

“She told you that?”

“Yeah. She did.”

He stood there and shook his head.

“She’s lying. I never bought her a damn thing on my own. She would shop herself.”

“Listen, Andrew.” I placed my hands firmly on his chest. “We’re going to run into her from time to time and there’s nothing we can do about that.”

“No, Addison. Something isn’t right. It’s been happening too much. That isn’t a coincidence. There’s millions of people in this city.”

“So, what you saying? She’s stalking me or us?”

“I don’t know, to be honest. But, I want you to be extra careful when you go out by yourself. In fact, I’m hiring you a bodyguard.”

I let out a laugh.

“You are not. You’re overreacting. I am not going to live like that or in fear of some stupid woman.”

“Promise me you’ll be careful, and you better tell me if you run into her again. Do you understand me?” He placed his finger under my chin.

“Yes. I understand, and I will. Same goes for you too.”

He leaned in and softly kissed my lips.