After running three miles, I headed upstairs for a shower. When I stepped out of the bathroom, I screamed at the sight of someone on the bed.

"Jeezzz, Lori!" I exclaimed. "You could warn someone before just popping up like that."

"Where’s the fun in that?" she giggled.

"What if I had been naked?" I glared.

At that moment, one of the guards burst through the door. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, except having a nosy little sister. Anything you can do about that?" I asked the guard.

He gave me a cheeky grin. "Afraid not, ma’am."

"Then we’re all good. Thank you," I muttered.

When the guard left, I eyed Lori. "What is it?"

"I have us dress appointments in two hours," she grinned.

"Already?" I gawked. "I don’t know, Lori. It feels a little soon to be leaving the house. Ed and Marcus said that we should be lying low."

"We have to make it to this dress appointment," she stated as though it were was obvious as the sky being blue. "It’s an exclusive designer. She barely fit us in, and this was the only time she had. Besides, we will just go for some lunch, go to the shop, and come straight back. We can take your whole army of guards if that makes you feel better."

I shifted foot to foot.

"Don’t drive such a hard bargain. That isn’t fair." She wagged her brow at me. "Come on. I can see it in your face. You’re already stir-crazy. I promise we won’t get up to anything crazy. If it makes it any better, the shop is just a few doors down from Roman’s office. So if anything were to happen, we would be right there near him."

"Fine, fine, fine," I sighed. "Let me get dressed."

Stepping into my closet, I chose a pair of tights, heels, and a sweater dress for the occasion. It felt the most appropriate considering it would make it easy to try on dresses. Heading back into the bathroom, I put on a little makeup and pulled my hair into a bun.

Once I left, I texted Roman that Lori and I were going to get lunch and then would be going dress shopping. I made sure to include it would be on the same block as his office, and that we were going to take a few of the guards.

Once I had a response that was favorable, I looked to Lori. "Alright, ready when you are."

Lori stood from the bed, clapping her hands.

"Oh, good! This is going to be so fun."

We moved downstairs and alerted the guards we would like to go out. Three of them packed into a car with us and drove us to downtown. We picked the cafe just at the corner of Roman’s job. It was a great spot and honestly sounded perfect, especially after skipping breakfast and going on that run.

We sat down at a window seat and ordered ourselves sandwiches, soups, and wine. I had abstained from drinking for a while, and I was ready to cut loose a little bit.

Especially after the madness of the last few days.

When we both got our wine, Lori raised her glass. "To sisters doing good work."

"Cheers." I smiled.

We enjoyed our lunch with the bodyguards sitting at the tables on both sides of us.

Lori and I talked about the gala and all the plans she had. We talked about the charity and her interior design business. Things apparently had been stalled for a bit due to construction in their office, but she didn’t seem to mind. Plus, the gala was keeping her busy.

It was when she started sipping her third glass of wine that my sister blurted out, "When are you and Roman going to have kids?"

"Oh, you can’t be serious," I muttered, stirring my soup.

"I am! I want a little niece or nephew so bad, Hannah," she pouted.

I could only roll my eyes.

"Oh, come on, now! You know it’s going to be like a lifetime before I’m in any position to have kids of my own."

"And the same for me. Do you really think now is a good time for me to be pregnant?" I asked, my brow arching at her.

She pouted out her bottom lip and propped her head up. "You’re no fun. Just imagine a little Ramona or... Hammond running around."

"Hammond? Is that the closest you could come up with for a boy version of Hannah?" I asked, the amusement getting to me.

"Maybe," she muttered.

I laughed and shook my head. "Hans didn’t come to mind? Or Hansel?" We shared a laugh and ordered her a water, not wanting her to be stumbling around our dress appointment.

She eyed me with a tender look in her eye, still, though. "I just think the two of you are going to have a wonderful future together."

"I think so, too, but we have a lot to sort through and get started with before we think about bringing any innocent lives into the mix," I explained to her.

"You’re right, you’re right," she sighed.

"Besides," I grinned. "I have it on good authority that Marcus will be around any time now. You’ll be able to start your future with him."

She batted my comment away with a wave of her hand. "Don’t be ridiculous, Hannah. Even if I did like Marcus, and even if he liked me, he’s far too busy for that. He’s always traveling about... That’s no life for me. I’m a businesswoman."

"A businesswoman who is smitten with an FBI agent," I smirked.

"Love does funny things. You’ll consider things you never would have before."

"Woah, woah, woah," she cautioned. "Don’t go throwing around the word; love. Who is being premature now?"

Once again, we laughed together and sipped our drinks. "When is the gala, again?" I asked her.

"Oh, I’ve been meaning to tell you," she muttered shyly.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Well, the thing is," she giggled and bit her lip. "One of the event centers my have had an opening two weekends from now, and I may have booked it and already sent out the invitations."

"What!?" I gaped. "You’re joking with me, aren’t you?"

She shook her head.

"Isn’t that too soon? I mean, we want to give people plenty of heads up. We want a good turn out, Lori.

What if no one comes because it’s too close?"

"Silly thing. Most of the people on the company guest list are executives with nothing better to do. More than half have already RSVP’d... and it’s only been a few days...." She winked at me.

"Well aren’t you lucky," I mused.

"That I am." She beamed and clinked glasses with me.

"That’s why it’s important we get to this dress appointment."

"What is the shop called again?"

"Milan Revere," she grinned. "Super exclusive. We are so lucky to have gotten these appointments. Apparently, someone canceled. Had it not been for that, she wouldn’t have had an opening for three months! Can you believe that?"

"Not in the slightest. Seems like everything is lining up neatly, huh?" I muttered.

She grinned and nodded wildly. "Sometimes even when things go wrong, some things go right."

My brow creased and I chuckled at her tipsy, half-baked wisdom.

I understood what she meant, though. Just because there was a lot going on once again with the Auction House didn’t mean that our entire lives were on a downward trajectory. Some things could still go right, even when things felt so wrong.

Once we finished our lunches, I paid the tab and polished off my single glass of wine before wrapping my arm around Lori. I kissed her cheek and she eyed me with a playful look as she wiped it from her cheek.

"What was that for?" she asked.

I shrugged and smiled at her. "I just love you. Thank you for always being here for me."

She squeezed me then, "And thank you for the same." We headed outside and looked about to figure out what direction the shop was in. It was windy and cold, but the guards formed a circle around us as we moved, so it helped protect us from the wind.

Because I hadn’t drunk in a while, the wine was hitting me a little harder than it usually would. Lori and I giggled amongst one another as we moved down the street.

It always felt a little glamorous, despite also feeling weird, to move with bodyguards.

Yes, we had been heiresses all our lives, but never of such status to need guards.

For the time being, I wanted to pretend it was because we were famous, not because our lives were in potential danger. We giggled and joked the entire walk there.

Stepping into the shop, we were greeted first by the heat, then by the smell of expensive perfume, and lastly, by the sight of the most fabulous woman I had ever laid eyes on, Milan Revere.