Page 66 of Choosing Stella

She showed me the shoe boxes and accessories while Geo checked everything Bancroft had sent.

Four black dresses hung against the exposed brick wall.

Geo opened the equipment case and removed the small tracker we’d discussed that afternoon.

Tomorrow, I was going back to The Exchange.

We’d spent hours deciding how to keep me alive when I did.

We still hadn’t talked about what happened between us if everything went right.

Geo set the tracker on the table beside a compact receiver.

“Do you want to try the dresses before we test this?”

I raised an eyebrow.

“That was almost thoughtful.”

“It was practical.”

“Of course it was.”

His mouth moved slightly.

I carried the first two garment bags into my room, added two pairs of shoes, and locked the door while I changed.

The first dress was beautiful and useless. It was long black satin, narrow through the legs, with enough fabric around my ankles to turn a fast exit into an emergency-room visit.

I opened the door.

Geo looked up.

His eyes moved from my face to the dress and lingered.

“Well?”

“No.”

I laughed.

“You could pretend to think about it.”

“You asked whether I could help choose something you could move in.”

“I asked whether you thought it would work.”

“It won’t.”

I stepped farther into the room and lifted one leg as much as the skirt allowed.

“Fair.”

Geo’s attention dropped to the exposed stretch of my thigh.

His expression changed.

“Definitely no.”