"They'd probably look better on you than in that box."

I looked up, my eyes filled with tears. "I can't wear these."

"Why not?"

I closed the box and set it carefully back in the dress box. "This isn't me. I'm not this glamorous. I'm just a college student, the girl that sits around her apartment every night in sweat pants, a frozen dinner in the microwave. This..." I gestured at the dress, the jewelry box. "This belongs to someone like Rachel Sherman."

"Do you really think that this is who I am?" Logan gestured at the tuxedo he was wearing. "I would much prefer to wear jeans and spend my evening making some complicated meal downstairs in the kitchen."

I looked up at him, admiring the cut of his suit. There was definitely a difference in seeing him in a tuxedo in pictures and seeing it in person. There was a certain eroticism to the way the jacket accentuated the broadness of his shoulders, the slenderness of his hips. But there was also something to say about Logan in jeans and a t-shirt...or without the shirt.

He came closer, taking the jewelry box and snapping it open. He deftly removed the necklace and moved close to me, so close that his cologne seemed to entrap me in a cloud of dirty thoughts. His fingers were gentle, almost too gentle, as he carefully fastened the necklace around my neck.

"Beautiful," he sighed as he stepped back and admired his work.

I shook my head, as I pressed my hand to the cool jewel.

Logan took my chin in his hand and forced me to look at him. "You are so much more than you give yourself credit for, Annie."

I blushed. The way he was looking at me in that moment, it felt like he truly saw me, and that was a new sensation. I wasn't sure that anyone had ever really seen me before. Not even Madison. Everyone saw the faade I put out into the world, the nonchalant attitude that pretended that nothing could hurt me. There were cracks that Madison saw, but I wasn't sure that even she saw the big picture, the real parts of me that I never shared with anyone, the parts that wanted to be Cinderella, that wanted to be beautiful and valued. But when Logan looked at me like that, when he said things like that, it made me think that maybe he did see me.

He held out his hand and I took it, climbing to my feet and moving around to the mirror to see the total package. The necklace sparkled in the dim light, like burning fire. Logan came up behind me and handed me the earrings. Once they were dangling from my ears, I no longer looked like myself.

"Beautiful," Logan said again.

That time...I believed it.

Mellissa "I thought you were just going to talk to one or two reporters."

Conrad shrugged as he leaned over my shoulder and read what I had written. "The press release is to satisfy those reporters who pick up the story after its initial appearance."

"Do you think it will be picked up by other publications?"

"Yes. It's a pretty hot story."

I nodded, thinking about Madison. She seemed a little shaken last night when we told her what Peggy had said about her kidnapping. She had thought from the beginning that I was the intended victim, and I think that helped her deal with the trauma of it all. But now that we knew she was the target all along, I think it chipped away at her sense of security.

And now we were about to force her to go public with the whole ordeal.

"Do you think this is a good idea? What about the impact it'll have on Madison?"

Conrad stepped back after making a few, minor adjustments to my writing. "Madison is strong."

"Yeah, but even a strong person can only take so much."

Conrad glanced at me, a hard edge to his perfect green eyes. "Is that a general statement, or do you know something I should be aware of?"

I shrugged. "I'm just worried that Madison is already struggling with the aftermath of what happened to her. To make her relive the whole thing in the press...it seems kind of cruel."

"But if it saves Rawn-"

"I know. I just hate to see anyone else get hurt."

"We aren't the ones doing the hurting, Mellissa," Conrad said, stepping around the desk and pacing a little across his wide office. "It's this guy who's trying to hurt Rawn."

"I know."

"I just wish I understood what the end game was here."

I watched him, well aware of how much this haunted him. He tossed and turned in bed all night, unable to sleep as he struggled to think of a better way to help Rawn. But there didn't seem to be another way. Until we knew who, exactly, we were dealing with, there was nothing more any of us could do.

It was that fact that was killing each of us, a little at a time.

"I should call Annie."

Conrad glanced at me. "Why?"

"I doubt Madison's told her what's going on. And Madison is going to need her when this story hits the papers."

Conrad considered that for a moment. "Yeah. Everything's cooled down around that ill-fated photoshoot. I don't think there's any reason for her to hang out with Logan anymore. Especially now that we know he wasn't the intended victim."

"I'll call her in the morning."

He nodded, moving back into a slow, wide circle, dragging his fingers through his hair as he paced. I stood, intent on going to him, but the sudden movement made my head spin and the nausea that had, thus far, been under control, surge. It took every bit of willpower I had not to rush to the bathroom and void myself of the light lunch I had eaten hours ago.

"You okay?"

I nodded, but Conrad didn't see it. His cellphone rang at almost the same second.

I slowly sat back down as I listened to him greet someone politely, then listen intently to whatever that person had to say to him. The tightness that had been a constant in his shoulders, in the lines on his face, suddenly became steel.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

A moment later, he turned and studied my face.

"That was Christy," he said, naming the nurse who once cared for my grandmother who now was a live-in caregiver for Aurora. "She thinks someone's been following she and Aurora."

"What?"

He half nodded. "She said she's spotted the same person walking behind them three days in a row on their trips to the park. And she said there was a threatening letter shoved through the mail slot on Aurora's door a short while ago. Someone threatening to go to the press with Aurora's medical condition."

Nausea rushed through my belly again. It never stops.

"I have to go check it out."

I nodded. "Of course. Just...don't forget I'm making us dinner tonight."

"I'll be home by seven."

He came around the desk and kissed my cheek lightly. "When all this is over..."

I nodded. "Go."

The second he was gone, I rushed into his private bathroom and voided my stomach. As I sat there, my cheek pressed to the cool porcelain, I began to wonder if I was going to survive all of this.

For the first time, my life in witness protection seemed so much simpler than life in the real world.

Annie The red carpet was so different than the controlled chaos that had existed outside of Madison's launch party for the Alessa 3D X100. There were people and cameras everywhere, voices calling out questions so quickly and so overlapped, that I wouldn't have known who to answer or which questions were the most important. Not that I was speaking at all. Logan had warned me...at least, he tried. I was to just smile and stay close to him.

That last wasn't a problem. Logan slid his arm around my waist the moment we were out of the car, and he didn't let go, not even when the photographers called for pictures of him alone. He held me close and whispered words of encouragement into my ear every few moments. I'm not sure I could have gotten through the craziness if he had abandoned me.

It took more than a half hour to walk ten yards, but we finally slipped inside the hotel where the gala was taking place. The thin, cashmere shawl that was another surprise hidden in the bottom of the dress box suddenly disappeared from my shoulders. Tuxedoed gentlemen spoke in hushed tones, directing us to the appropriate ballroom. Once we walked inside...what a sight that room was! It was like stepping back in time to a place before the internet, cellphones, and color television. There were chandeliers with golden crystals, silk clothes on the walls, and tables dotting the sides of the room with beautiful centerpieces that just added to the sense of old sophistication. A proper dance floor was unoccupied in the center of the room while a four piece string orchestra played quietly off to one side of the narrow stage.

But it wasn't just the decor that was impressive. The number of movie stars and politicians and business moguls who streamed into the room in just the few minutes we stood inside, trying to catch our breath, was more than striking. It took a conscious effort for me to keep my mouth closed and my eyes in my head.

My fingers itched to take out my cellphone and take pictures so that I could send them to Madison and everyone else I knew.

I was in the same room as Chris Hemsworth and his beautiful wife, Elsa Pataky. Chris Pratt was there, too, and Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence...there were so many. I couldn't keep track of how many of my movie heroes were standing within feet of me.

Talk about dreams coming true!

"You okay?" Logan asked, his lips so close to my ear that his breath washed deliciously over my neck.

"Yeah." I looked up at him and suddenly all the other stars in the room dimmed compared to him. He looked nervous, maybe a little overwhelmed. I took his hand and squeezed it lightly. "We should dance."

Logan looked dubious, but he followed me onto the empty floor. We faced each other...it was awkward for a moment. Logan didn't seem to know where to put his hands, and I was a little unsure about standing close enough to him to initiate a slow dance. But then, we just seemed to get over ourselves and slide into each other, our hands landing perfectly where they should have been.

It was only a moment or two before other couples joined us on the floor. But I didn't really notice. I liked the feel of Logan's hands on the small of my back, the heat of his body under my hands where they rested on his shoulders. We didn't really move a lot, just kind of swayed to the soft strains of the violins.

"Do you do this often?" he asked.

"No, not really."

"You're a natural."

I smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"No, you are."

I slid my hand to the back of his neck and flicked the tiny, short hairs that stopped just short of his collar. "It's easy with a good partner."

"You must be talking about someone else because I don't dance."

"You're doing alright."

"I'm holding you. That I can do."

He looked down at me, lifting a hand to brush a curl from the corner of my lip. And then he kissed me ever so softly, his lips like satin, his nearness bringing to life nerve endings I never even knew I had. It was a magical moment.

I wanted to lose myself in that moment, wanted to stand there in our little bubble of closeness for the rest of my life. And the way Logan looked at me...I kind of hoped he felt the same way.

Mellissa Beef stew, slow-cooked over the full course of the day. A fruit salad, freshly prepared. A fresh loaf of bread-though I cheated a little on that one, buying one of those frozen loaves that only needs to be baked.

It all smelled so good that even I was a little hungry despite my lingering nausea.

Now all I needed was Conrad.

I set the table with his best china, digging through his kitchen cabinets and drawers until I found a suitable collection of cutlery, china, and cloth napkins. I even discovered some candles in the very back of the pantry that I lit a few minutes before seven, anticipating Conrad would be on time, as he always was.

But now the candles had melted nearly to the nub, and he still wasn't here.

I checked my cellphone again, hoping that maybe he had texted and I just didn't hear the alert tone. But there was nothing.

I told him this was important to me. I told him I had something to tell him. Didn't that matter to him? Didn't he want to know what was so important that I would go to all this trouble? It's not like I was the cook in this relationship-if we could even call it that. I suddenly wasn't sure what was going on between us. I thought we were in a committed relationship, but now I was beginning to wonder. Conrad was so focused on Rawn's situation that he seemed too distracted to see that I needed him right now.

And then I felt selfish for even thinking that.

I just...I didn't want to keep secrets any more.

But it was kind of hard to tell Conrad my secret when he couldn't even be bothered to come home.

I blew out the candles and took the pot of stew back into the kitchen. I cleaned up, picking at pieces of the salad before I tossed it in the trash. Then, I grabbed my bag and left, suddenly not comfortable sleeping in Conrad's bed without him there.

Annie It was insane, the number of people who wanted to talk to Logan. There were reporters, other actors, producers and writers, politicians, even a couple of executives with NASA who wanted to tease Logan about the inaccuracies of his space movie. Logan clung to my hand the whole time, introducing me simply as Annie. I could see the curiosity in some people's eyes, especially Logan's former co-stars and the reporters. But they didn't ask what our relationship was, and he never offered anything more than my name. But my hand tucked in his...it seemed to send a message.

I was floating on a cloud.

Alcohol flowed freely, making the rounds on the silver trays of the gloved waiters. Champagne, mostly, but you could ask for just about anything a bartender might be able to create. I drank a few of those lovely flutes, feeling like a queen. And Logan sipped at my glass when no one was looking, still concerned about the rumors of his drug addiction, I assumed. Being in that room, watching the way everyone was observed like bugs under a microscope, I could see why Logan was concerned. Between that and the rumors that circulated from the studio, it seemed impossible for him to do anything without someone reporting it and smearing it all over some magazine or internet site.

I wasn't sure I could live under such intense scrutiny.

We danced again, sandwiched between other couples trying to escape the nonstop questions. It was the only place where we found a few moments of relative silence. And it came with the bonus of having Logan's arms around me.

"Having fun?" he asked.

"That's a complicated question."

"How's that?"

"It's fun, meeting all these actors I've admired for quite a while. But it's annoying, the questions people ask you and the way they stare at you when they think you aren't being honest, or not answering their questions the way they expected."