he?" Izzy continued, her voi

dded, their eyes flick

ing. J

one of them chirped. "Especially you,

d on her chest, f

ldhood sweethearts, practically. So

ed direc

d thank me. I' m the one who

left m

denly felt too h

I managed

venom now, though her

ing around, poor thing. I told him, 'Marcus, you need someone steady. Someone.

s were

structed composu

e blood drainin

around u

I mumbled,

eded

ds the terrace,

air hit my face

e stone balustrade,

just that he d

e was a setup. Or

. To keep him stable un

ol who played my

ed out, "We' re starting Truth o

want to

' t stay out

he ballroom, trying

r of a circle, a play

" she d

devoted admirer you' ve ever had, Izzy!

r chin, preten

aunched in

for me. Once, I casually mentioned I loved a particular rare orchid, only found on some rem

d gasps fro

my favorite band wasn' t touring our city. He somehow convinced them, paid the

app

party. Impossible to find. He tracked it down through a dozen collectors, p

od ran

those s

dotes about "a friend" he' d helped, or "a c

first Valentine' s Day dinn

joint savings account we had, claimin

ch his father gave him, a family

was

im, doing those

anonymous fri

All that money. A

Iz

eled. The room

y, Izzy?" someone asked.

ybe I' ll introduce you all so

wards the ball

here

rc

es scanned the room, landed on Izzy

e me, standing jus

straight

said to her, his voice l

schedule. He had n

ng. For her call

me. Surprise flic

e. You

an unexpec

I said. My voice sound

ride?" he asked,

I said. "I' ve a

ked away, leavin

rfect

he alway