—15—

"It's perfect for you!"

Chloe smiled uncertainly.

"But you must stop wearing sunglasses indoors, dear. It's a tacky look."

At this Chloe laughed. "I just have a bit of a headache. I promise that I'll take them off before I leave." Having them off long enough for someone to do her makeup had been torture earlier that afternoon, but admittedly, her headache was definitely fading. Oliver's breakfast in bed had distinctly helped, and she was starting to feel like herself again. She never would have let him take over her business for the morning if he had asked her, but she was secretly glad that he'd done it without asking. Having her dress fitting and the rest of her evening prep done within the comfort of Oliver's guest room was a welcome relief compared to her usual custom of getting ready in her office.

"Just don't smudge your makeup," the designer warned, eyeing the gold paint on Chloe's face nervously.

Chloe smiled wanly. "Don't worry, I asked permission to have the sunglasses on, and she said it wouldn't hurt anything."

"Well then, let's get you dressed, dear—But what have you done to your hand!" he asked in horror, spotting the bandage on Chloe's hand. He grabbed it and examined it, muttering to God for help in Italian. But then he snapped his fingers. "It's all right! I have the perfect solution. Sofia!" he called to his assistant. "Run. Get the gloves."

The little waif of an Italian girl obediently dashed out the door.

Chloe frowned. "She doesn't have to do that. I'll be fine."

"They're in the van," he reassured her. "And you are not wearing my masterpiece with bloody bandages. What have you done to yourself?"

"It was an accident…some broken glass."

He rolled his eyes. "You're lucky you're so beautiful, darling." He arranged the dress for Chloe to step into, and she did so carefully, avoiding snagging anything on her heels. She dropped her robe at the last second and allowed him to lift the bodice and start lacing her in. As he cinched her in, she wondered grimly how long it would take to get out of this dress later in the evening.

Sofia was just returning with the gloves when Chloe heard Oliver walk in. She couldn't believe it hadn't occurred to her that Oliver would have to be her date this evening. But fortunately Benito had been up to the challenge of procuring Oliver a matching tuxedo to Chloe's costume, although he had berated her for not giving him more notice.

The fundraiser was for the Star City Metropolitan Museum, and the theme was precious gems. Everyone was required to wear something that fit with the theme, and Benito had decided to use Chloe's blonde hair to their advantage, dressing her as gold itself. The gown was stunning, a tight bodice hugging her body, with one silk sleeve draped off her left shoulder. The A-line skirt bloomed from her waist Cinderella style, and as beautiful as it was, she couldn't help feeling a bit uncomfortable, as though she were taking up more space than she was allowed. She shook the thought from her head while Sofia rushed to her with a pair of long ivory gloves that came up past her elbows.

"Perfect," Benito decided. "Well. Almost perfect." He eyed the sunglasses vindictively, and Chloe sighed, permitting him to take them from her. "Now she is perfect!" he said more enthusiastically. "Is she not, Mr. Oliver?"

Chloe had forgotten he was in the room. He had been looking down as he arranged his cuff links, but he looked up as Chloe turned toward him and they both paused.

Chloe had never seen Oliver look so handsome. His tux fit him perfectly, a flawless cut. His bowtie and vest were gold to match her dress, and he had apparently allowed Chloe's makeup artist to spray some gold paint in his hair like she had done to Chloe. He looked like a sun god. She found herself having difficulty swallowing as her eyes roved over him.

Oliver was having difficulties of his own. Chloe looked like gold personified. The makeup artist had painted a gold mask around her eyes and painted her hair like his, but she had also dusted Chloe's creamy white shoulders with gold paint, giving Oliver an irresistible urge to touch them to see if she would turn him to gold. And the dress…she was a princess. A real-life fairy tale, draped in gold silk and ribbons.

Benito sniffed and wiped a tear from his eye. "Speechless. Young love! Ugh!"

He melodramatically collected himself before giving Chloe a hand to help her down from the stool she was on, and Oliver caught a glimpse of gold stilettos.

Chloe felt a need to break the silence. "You look rather dapper, Oliver," she grinned.

Oliver came back to himself. "You look stunning," he replied generously.

Benito tsked. "She is more than stunning! She is perfection!" He kissed the air on either side of Chloe's cheeks. "My masterpiece. You wear it beautifully, my darling. You will be the envy of every one there."

"I'm sure she will," Oliver said. "But now I think we need to get going.

"Of course!" sniffed Benito. "You must arrive in time to make a scene!"

Chloe gave Oliver a helpless look and he came to offer her his arm.

"It's lovely, Benito," Chloe said appreciatively before accepting Oliver's support. "But I don't know how we'll both fit in the elevator," she whispered so only Oliver could hear.

Oliver laughed. "We'll make it work. Here." He held the door of the elevator open for her to step onto.

"Goodnight, Benito!" Chloe called over her shoulder while Oliver hit the button.

Benito clucked his tongue in approval.

Once the door closed, Oliver turned to CHloe. "So school me again on what's happening here? I was able to get the gist of it from Edward, but I want to be sure."

"Thank God he had the foresight to get you a ticket. It never even occurred to me," Chloe rolled her eyes. "Anyway, the tickets purchased entertainment and the dinner. The rest of the proceeds go toward the new wing that they're trying to build. Rumor has it that they're already lining up some sort of Russian exhibit. You know the theme. Other than that…just, the usual, really. Oh, Dinah's singing something apparently. They contracted the Star City Orchestra to provide the entertainment. So we should see her there."

"Oh great. That should be fun. I haven't seen Dinah perform in a while."

Chloe nodded. "Neither have I. I'm looking forward to it."

"How are you feeling by the way?"

She laughed a little. "Better. Thanks. And thanks for looking after me this morning. And last night."

"You had a pretty rough night."

Chloe groaned. "I'm so ashamed. I can only imagine how much I ruined your night."

He shrugged. "Nah. Look, if you ever need to talk to someone, I'm here."

She threw him a look.

"Hey! Seriously! You may as well talk to someone who won't judge you."

She studied him for a moment before deciding he was in earnest. "Thanks. And…it goes both ways."

The corner of his mouth turned up in a smile and they stepped off the elevator together, quickly hopping into the back of a limo that was pulled up by the curb. Oliver helped Chloe lift her skirt into the car.

"So how's work been lately?" Chloe asked after a while, tired of the quiet.

Oliver let out a short laugh and leaned his head back against the seat.

"That bad, huh?"

"Ah, it's not that it's that bad, it's just…draining. I'm just glad things are at least going well for the company. Otherwise it would really be a nightmare right about now. But everything's going smoothly with the transition to the Quip for that factory, and we're actually making a move to switch more of Queen Industries' outlets to a tablet manual. So far it's really popular with the board and the management at the factory."

"That's great, Oliver!"

He let out a short laugh. "Yeah, but it's also a lot of extra work. Lot of late nights."

"Yeah, you've been getting home later than me half the time. And that's saying something."

"I think we got spoiled that weekend at your friends' wedding. All that time off just made it even harder to come back to the grindstone."

Chloe laughed. "Yeah. Although that weekend was admittedly a bit much."

"Oh, what. Too much fun for you, Sullivan?"

She elbowed him. "Contrary to what you seem to believe, I do have fun now and again, Queen."

Oliver faked a shocked expression. "You? Fun? Never! I refuse to believe it."

"Oh shut up."

"Seriously. When was the last time you had a little fun? And your friends' weddings don't count."

Chloe's lips were already forming an indignant response when the limousine came to a halt and the driver began helping her out, lights flashing wildly around her as she heard the clicking of cameras.

"Miss Sullivan! This way!"

"Who are you wearing?"

"Is it true that you're hiring an unknown designer for your wedding gown?"

"When's the wedding!"

If possible, they became still more demanding when Oliver stepped out of the car, hurling questions at him about Robert Queen's retirement, whether Oliver had any major changes planned for his father's company, and rumors that he and Chloe were planning to have children out of wedlock.

Chloe answered a few questions appropriately, making sure to credit Benito for her dress and Oliver's tux while carefully dodging any questions about their relationship, although Oliver seemed to find these the questions the most amusing. Chloe found him toying with the media a bit more than necessary after politely excusing herself from the representative from People magazine.

"We haven't decided on a location yet," Oliver was telling a tabloid writer who was literally hanging on his every word. "Chloe wants to get married in a church and I want to go somewhere exotic—"

"Oliver!" Chloe tugged on his arm, trying not to laugh too much and give him away. Oliver gave one of the cameras a knowing look, shrugging helplessly as she dragged him away. "You have no self-control," she accused.

Oliver just laughed. They checked Chloe's purse and were escorted to the marble hall containing the museum's precious stone and geological exhibits.

Just as the door was opening, Chloe added over her shoulder with a teasing look, "And who said I didn't want to get married in an exotic location?"

Oliver looked heartily surprised and then amused. "Oh she has jokes now."

Chloe just smirked but was soon distracted by the fact that they had entered a room full of Star City's finest and richest, but no one was talking, and everyone was looking at her and Oliver.

"What's going on?" Oliver asked, confused by the strange hush.

Chloe lifted her shoulders ever so slightly to indicate her confusion, then whispered, "Our table is over there," she nodded him to the far wall.

As he took her in that direction, Oliver began to understand what people were looking at. In a sea of sapphires, emeralds, amethysts, and rubies, Chloe's pale, warm gold dress and even his tux stood out spectacularly. Judging by the nonplussed look on Chloe's face, he assumed that even though she worked with the fashion industry, she hadn't planned this. He had to appreciate that she looked like an entirely different species from every other woman there. Where other women had taken the gem stone theme more literally, draping themselves in large, glittering jewelry at every available opportunity, Chloe was devoid of jewelry except for two small gold earrings. There was a woman dripping with sapphires with blue eyeshadow to match here, a gentleman in a bedazzled bow tie there, and a couple with matching ruby crusted masks there.

"It occurs to me," Oliver said, pulling out Chloe's chair for her to sit, "does 'gold' actually qualify as a gem stone?"

Chloe was arranging her skirt so that she could sit comfortably in the chair, and she looked up at him. Following his train of thought, she looked around the room and nodded. "I see your point," she nodded, smirking a little. "Well, Benito got what he wanted. Everyone will be talking about him now."

Oliver smiled. He was impressed with Chloe for choosing a lesser known designer to do her gown for the evening. It would be a big boost for his career to have the editor of Whistle endorsing him.

"Oliver, Chloe! How are you both?"

Chloe turned to her right to see Laura and Robert Queen approaching, the former with her arms extended delightedly. She was wearing a slender, drop-waisted silk gown in peridot green that was incredibly becoming on her. A matching green ribbon was woven into her hair, and from her neck she wore a gold thread of peridots—simple but effective. Chloe noticed for the first time how perfectly the gemstone matched Mrs. Queen's eyes. Robert Queen looked equally dashing to his son in a coordinated green cummerbund and tie.

Glancing around the table, Oliver noted that someone had—quite naturally—presumed to seat him and Chloe at the same table as his parents. He'd been vaguely aware that his parents were attending, since his mother was particularly attached to the museum. But in all the rush to get him ready at the last minute, he'd forgotten all about their attendance. He watched as Chloe immediately stood from the chair, in spite of all the trouble she'd gone through to settle into it.

"Mrs. Queen!" Chloe greeted happily, embracing her supposed future mother-in-law.

"Oh, Chloe!" Laura shook her head. "You have to at least call me 'Laura' for now, I beg you!"

Chloe grinned. She supposed she could do 'Laura.' It was just 'mom' that might be taking things a little too far. She ignored a fleeting thought that she already felt as attached to Laura Queen as she was to her own mother.

"I see you're running late as usual, son," Robert greeted Oliver, lifting his water-glass from the table and taking a swig.

"Hey, I am always on time. It's that one that needs all the extra time to get ready," Oliver gestured in Chloe's direction.

Robert smiled, watching his wife talk to Chloe. "Ah yes, but they're always worth waiting on, aren't they?"

Oliver raised an eyebrow at his dad and looked back at the women. "Yeah…" he said after a second, "I see what you mean."

The women sunk into a conversation about Chloe's work, and Oliver sunk into a study of Chloe. He was pulled out of his reverie, however when a representative from the museum took the stage, thanking everyone for the support and some other rhetoric that he only half listened to. The woman drew in his full attention at last when she introduced Dinah Lance. Dinah appeared in a sultry black evening gown, glittering beneath the lights, a large, intricate necklace of black onyx splayed across her throat and chest. An orchestra struck up behind her and she began to sing an aria from Don Giovanni, which was scheduled to begin filming in the coming year, with her as Elvira. It was publicity of course, but it was awe-inspiring publicity. When Dinah sang, the world froze, glass trembled, chandeliers shook. Oliver glanced at Chloe from the corner of his eye. She was utterly still, entranced as she watched her friend, a breath caught on her lips as if she had begun to take it and forgotten halfway to finish, afraid of moving. She looked beautiful, he realized, wholly enchanted by the music, her face shining in response to such beauty. Oliver tried to remember the story of the opera, and Dinah's character. He attempted to recall which scene or even which act it was from, but he failed. He remembered that Elvira was jaded by the womanizer Don Giovanni, and in the beginning vowed vengeance on him. But as soon as she was persuaded to believe that the Don cared for her—although he did not—she took pity on him and tried to protect him from those who were calling for his head. He thought of Chloe's past romances, these men who had hurt her so much. How would she feel on seeing Jimmy again? Would she always have a weakness for Davis? The thoughts swirled in his head, making him feel dizzy and upset. Surely she would never return to either of these men. For one thing, she would never go after Jimmy, who was engaged. Davis…well, he was out of her life. What were the chances she would ever allow him back in? Even if he had cleaned up his act? Those wounds clearly ran too deep. But he was beginning to see the softer side of Chloe. Like Elvira, she only sought to be loved. Underneath the jaded facade, she was as tender as any other ingenue.

The music stopped and the entire room stood in applause. Encores were demanded as Dinah humbly swept a deep curtsy, revealing the seductive slit in her dress running all the way up to her thigh. Oliver grinned momentarily, thinking of A.C. watching this somewhere. He would be desperate to get his hands on his wife later, just to show off to everyone that she was with him. They were a perfect team, Dinah and A.C., and he couldn't imagine a couple better suited for one another. Dinah gracefully raised a hand and the crowd hushed instantly, returning to their seats. She turned to the maestro and whispered something in her ear. He grinned broadly and nodded.

Within the first notes the room recognized the tune and roared into applause, Chloe and himself among them. The orchestra had to repeat the first several lines simply to allow the noise to die down and Dinah to begin. It was "Habanera", from Carmen, the role that had made Dinah famous, that had made her Star City's "Black Canary." She would always be remembered for that role.

Chloe was positively beaming now, leaning forward unconsciously, as if it would bring her closer to Dinah's performance. Suddenly her demeanor changed, and a broad grin stretched across her face. Oliver turned to look at Dinah, wondering what had caused the alteration. Dinah had stepped down and found her husband's table. A.C., blushing wildly, had stood and offered her a single red rose, sticking it behind her ear when she leaned forward. She winked flirtatiously at him for everyone else's benefit before returning to the stage.

They were the perfect double act. He felt a pang of something like longing just watching it. He had thought he was a long way from wanting to settle down, but seeing how happy his closest friends were drove it home just how badly he wanted that for himself.

The song ended to thunderous applause and Dinah graciously sunk into another deep curtsy before gesturing to the orchestra. The maestro bowed, and helped Dinah off the stage, where she went to sit beside her husband.

Oliver turned to say he wasn't sure what to Chloe, only to discover that someone had gotten there before him.

"Chloe, it's so good to see you!" Harvey Dent was standing beside her and Chloe was radiantly beaming at him. A leftover effect of the music, of course, Oliver reminded himself, not in response to Dent's presence.

"Harvey!" she greeted delightedly, rising to hug him. Oliver felt his brow crease slightly. What was Harvey Dent doing here? Star City was a long trip from Gotham. Chloe seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "I wasn't expecting you here!" she said.

"I was visiting a friend in town, so I thought I'd come make a contribution," his toothy smile was broad, and he was obviously pleased to see Chloe.

Oliver cleared his throat, deciding to break up this little scene. "Harvey," he said, extending his hand, "good to see you."

"And you, Oliver!"

"These are my parents, Robert and Laura." The Queens rose as they were introduced, and Harvey graciously greeted each of them. "Mother, Dad, this is Harvey Dent, the District Attorney in Gotham."

"We've heard of you," Robert said pleasantly. "Very impressive work you're doing out there, young man. "You should be proud."

Harvey humbly accepted the compliment before turning to Oliver. "Well, I wondered, Oliver, whether I could steal your fiance for a dance."

"Of course you can," Chloe answered for Oliver, who had a reflexive 'no' perched on his tongue. He swallowed it and nodded.

"Of course." The words sounded oddly forced. He watched Dent lead Chloe away as the Star City Orchestra struck up a waltz.

Chloe smiled brightly as Harvey pulled her into a slow turn about the dance floor. She had always liked Harvey. He was handsome, and charming, and, so far as she could tell, good.

"How have you been, Chloe? I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."

Chloe smiled. "I've been so busy. Swamped with work, family stuff, not to mention weddings to attend—"

"—and plan," he added, giving her a knowing look.

Chloe blushed. In all honesty, she had made little to no attempts at planning her own fake wedding, but there was no reason to tell Harvey that. Instead, he misinterpreted her flush of color completely.

He grinned. "I have to admit, I was…disappointed to hear about you and Queen."

Chloe wasn't sure how to respond to that, but she felt herself stiffen in Harvey's arms instinctively. She felt guilty for what she had done to Harvey. Accepting a date with him after years of pleading on his side, and then suddenly getting engaged to another man. It was this side of scandalous, and she felt bad if she had hurt him. "Listen…Harvey, I—"

"Don't worry about it," Harvey said quickly, gently spinning her around—quite a feat in her elaborate dress— "I had heard the rumors about you two for a while. I was surprised to hear you were engaged, but not surprised you were together."

Again, she didn't know the best way to respond to that. She settled on silence. She allowed herself to wonder, if things were different, if that trashy reporter had never printed a rubbish announcement about her and Oliver, if Oliver had never suggested they scam all their friends and family, and if it hadn't gotten so completely out of hand, where would she and Harvey be right now? They had been friends for a long time, and Harvey had always hinted at a romantic interest. Because of her issues with men, she had always shut him down. But she had enjoyed his company that night in Gotham, had enjoyed being the object of someone's desire. Would they be dating now? Would she have finally given in to more than "just this one date" at last?

She tried to remember what it was that had always held her back from ever committing to more than a strictly platonic friendship with Harvey. It was a struggle to remember, particularly now, when he was looking so dashing in his tux, wearing that winning smile of his. But there had been something. Something there behind that smile that had held her back. And it was his next statement that brought it all flooding back to her.

"How are things between you two? Because you know if it's not working…." He trailed off, a bit too much the gentleman to actually go any further, but she knew him, and she knew that the thought was still there. He wouldn't actually say it, but it was there just the same. He would be waiting int he wings for her relationship to fail. He expected it to fail. And he wanted to be there to pick up the pieces when it did.

She realized it now. Something she'd never quite been able to put her finger on in all that time. There was a little part of him that reminded her of Davis. He was good and decent, but there was this…potential. Something underneath the surface that frightened her. In Davis, she had found that little bit of darkness, that edge, exciting, enticing. She felt like the woman who tamed the beast. But she had learned from her experience with Davis. It was no longer a turn-on, it was a warning bell. She knew, deep down, that all men, all people, had that potential to be good or bad one way or the other. Her relationship with Davis had taught her to steer clear of those in which it dwelt so much closer to the surface.

She was opening her mouth to lie, to tell him all about how wonderful her relationship with Oliver was, and that she couldn't imagine being with anyone else. She was spared actually having to do it when someone interrupted her.

"Mind if I cut in?"

Oliver had been watching Chloe dance with Dent. He'd seen her blushing and her limited commentary on whatever Dent had to say to her, and finally he had decided that he didn't care for it. He wasn't sure how he expected Chloe to react, but he was pleasantly surprised to see she lit up at his presence. Dent noticed it, too. His smile wasn't the wide, mischievous grin he had sported for Chloe, but it was sincere. "Not at all. You two enjoy your evening. Chloe," he added, "I hope to see you again soon. Don't leave tonight without saying goodbye." He handed Chloe off to Oliver, who smoothly wrapped an arm around her and continued the dance.

"Doing all right?" he asked, once Dent was out of earshot.

Chloe smiled, but it wasn't her usual megawatt. It was more demure, even timid. "Yeah, I'm good."

"You two have a lot to catch up on, then?" he asked, trying to sound casual, not entirely sure why it didn't feel casual.

Chloe hesitated a second before shaking her head. "Not really. Harvey and I…we always belonged to a different story, you know what I mean?"

Oliver wasn't sure what she meant by that, but he chose not to question it. "So have I driven him wild with jealousy and prepped the way for you to fall into his willing arms once we break up?" he joked. He wanted to make it sound like he was pointing out an advantage to this arrangement for Chloe, but instead she looked a little pale at the suggestion. Not wanting to press, he quickly changed courses. "You never answered my question, by the way."

Chloe looked confused. "Question?"

"In the limo earlier. I asked you when was the last time you had some real fun?"

She was so surprised by this that she laughed, and Oliver silently congratulated himself for getting her to smile. "I don't know, Oliver. Even if I tell you that I know how to have fun, I strongly suspect that you and I have different ideas of fun, so it won't matter to you anyway."

He grinned. "Good. Now that we've cleared up that you don't know how to have fun," he teased, ignoring her protests, "I vote we take next weekend to go out and have a good time. No work, no cell phones or e-mails, no family obligations. Just good old fashioned fun."

Chloe was pressing her lips together, trying not to smile. Finally she agreed. "Fine, whatever you want. But only because I can tell you won't let go of this until I give in."

Pleased, Oliver gently spun Chloe around, glancing around the room to see what else was going on. He'd barely noticed the first song transitioning into another, and he saw that Dinah was preparing to sing again. Dent was off talking to business associates. His parents were dancing as well. Around the perimeter of the room, various photographers were covering the event for their publishers. He imagined that Whistle had a photographer here somewhere as well.

Chloe was steeling herself. "Oliver…what happened last night? I remember something about smashing a bottle but not a lot else. I know I was…kind of a mess…I'm just wondering…I mean…I hope I didn't tell you anything…" she searched for the right word "…embarrassing. Or that made you uncomfortable." She searched his face nervously. When he hesitated to respond, she groaned. "Oh God, what did I say?" she pleaded.

Oliver thought carefully. It was one thing for her to confide in him when she was drunk. He had just been a warm body, the person who stumbled across her when she was vulnerable. She could keep her secrets. The important ones anyway. "Well," he said, putting on his very best impersonation of a douchebag, "not much. Except about this Jimmy guy getting married, which we talked about earlier. And that we're gonna keep playing the game until after his wedding. And…" he grinned slyly at her, "I found out it's been way too long since the last time you had sex."

Chloe stumbled, and Oliver quickly took a stronger lead, tightening his grip on her waist to carry her smoothly through the steps. "Oh my god oh my god oh my god…" Chloe muttered, her face bright red with humiliation.

All right, maybe he'd put on the act a little too well. He took pity on her. "Listen, Chlo, you should just know…" he paused, frowning. What should she know? "You should know that you deserve sex."

Chloe let out a high pitched flustered laugh. "Excuse me."

"I'm serious. You deserve a boyfriend and eventually a fiance and then a husband. And to be treated well. And respected. And you deserve really good, toe-curling, earth shattering sex with someone who wants to make you feel good, not someone who wants to take something from you or who expects more than you're willing to give."

Chloe's mouth was open slightly. She narrowed her eyes. "What exactly did I say last night?"

"Nothing much, I swear. I'm just making an observation. You're a good person. And when we get out of this, I just want to make sure that you end up with the right guy. So I think someone needed to tell you that. Whatever you've been punishing yourself for or protecting yourself from…just…you've done your penance, okay? And you don't have to worry about being safe because I will personally bring great harm to anyone who so much as causes you to shed a single tear." He stopped himself, surprised. He hadn't meant to say that. But no sooner had he done so than he realized it was true. Chloe was his friend, and he looked after his friends, right? So there was nothing wrong with him wanting to tear apart anyone who brought her pain. It was a completely natural feeling. He just felt particularly protective because he now realized how much she'd been through.

Chloe was staring at him, not sure what to say. Her face was still flushed, and she could feel her heart beating more loudly. Butterflies were swarming uncomfortably in her stomach.

Oliver looked around again for a change of subject, anything to lighten the mood. "So is Whistle covering the event tonight?"

Taken aback by the sudden diversion, Chloe nodded. "Paul's over by the punch bowl," she nodded in his direction. As she said it, she started to notice that a lot of the cameras were trained on them.

"So did you hear that our kiss is worth about a million dollars?" Oliver asked, his mind following her tracks.

She laughed. "One? I heard two."

He grinned. "Really? I feel like we could seriously top that. Wanna cut one of these poor slobs a break?" he asked.

Chloe looked at him sharply. "No."

He smirked. "Aw, Sullivan, I'm wounded. Am I that repulsive?"

She shook her head. "No, it's just…that's…."

"Hey, we have to keep this relationship looking convincing. Don't you think someone will find it odd that we haven't made any public displays of affection at all? We're young and in love. We're not supposed to be able to keep our hands off each other." He winked.

Chloe's pulse was quickening. But it wasn't for the right reasons. She should be annoyed with him, but instead she kept thinking about how good it had felt to kiss him at the engagement party. Part of her wanted to know if that had just been a fluke or if it could really be that good a second time. "Well…" she started, glancing nervously at the photographers. "I mean, if you think it's necessary…" she joked.

Oliver grinned. "Definitely." Why was he trying so hard to kiss her again? He was lightening the mood. That was it.

Why were they both feeling so serious, then?

Slowly, Oliver raised a hand to her chin, tilting it up towards him. He was just making it dramatic for the photographers, that was all. Her lips parted and he could feel her breathing stagger, so he brought her a little closer to steady her. Slowly, giving her time to chicken out, he leaned down, bringing his lips so close to hers that they brushed together in a feather-light touch. She gasped and he swooped in, covering her mouth with his. A small, high-pitched noise escaped the back of Oliver's throat, and he had to control himself.

The hell am I doing? he asked himself, drawing back quickly. Chloe was staring at him wide eyed, and he could see beneath the gold paint on her face that she was blushing even more deeply than before.

"Well," he said tightly, not sure how to play it off. "I'd say that should be worth at least three mill." He winked, acting much more nonchalant than he felt.