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eyes are a really striking shade of green?”
     
    It was so not what she was expecting him to say that she was momentarily stunned. “Aw, thanks T-rex. I was sure you were going to say something—”
     
    “We need to get you some contacts. In case you run into Owens at the ball.”
     
    “—about the stupid ball,” she finished with a grimace.
     
    “What?” he said. “Look, I doubt you will. There are going to be over 300 people there, right?”
     
    Emma sat up, a little surprised. “Where are you getting your information?”
     
    “None of your business,” he replied. “Better you not know.”
     
    Fear seized her heart at those words. Was her little brother in more trouble than he told her? Bigger trouble? The idea sent an icy shaft of pain through her chest.
     
    “Todd—”
     
    “Fine, fine. Geez. I have a friend who happens to also be friends with Owens’ assistant.” She could practically hear him preening.
     
    “Wait, what? For Christ’s sake, Todd, if that’s the case, why doesn’t your friend just get Martin Kellar to steal the watch back for you?”
     
    Todd sighed. “He already asked. Or hinted, anyway. But Martin is a hundred percent pro-Owens. It was a no-go. I don’t know why. Owens probably pays the guy pocket change to do all his dirty work. You know how those types are.”
     
    She did know. She had to work with them all the time. She had, in fact, thought that exact same thing about Josh Owens with regard to Martin Kellar in the past. Martin was always hustling somewhere doing errands for Josh. Could the man do nothing for himself? Apparently not. His poor assistant had to do everything. Except plan this particular party , her perverse mind noted. But it’s not like that redeemed Josh. He was probably doing it for the same reason men did most things: to impress one bimbo or another. She snorted.
     
    “Fine,” she acquiesced. “Why would I need contacts?”
     
    “Color contacts,” Todd clarified. “Brown ones. In the very unlikely event you run into Josh at the ball, your green eyes could be a dead giveaway.”
     
    Emma groaned. “Please don’t use that term.”
     
    “What term?” Todd asked, bewildered.
     
    “Dead. That’s what we’re going to be if we’re caught.” Which was why she had to come up with a different plan. Fast.
     
    Todd scoffed. “Stop being so melodramatic, Ems. The worst we’d get is some jail time.”
     
    Emma’s tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling. Maybe she could beseech a higher power. “‘Jail time,’ he says. As if ‘jail time’ were synonymous with ‘Brussels sprouts time’.”
     
    “Don’t be ridiculous. Brussels sprouts are awful. Jail is just jail.”
     
    Emma could hear the grin in his voice, but her stomach was tied in knots. “Not funny, T-rex.”
     
    He sighed. “Okay, you’re right, it’s not. Look, you don’t even have to worry about that because we’re not going to get caught. You’re the master of disguise, remember? And Owens won’t even realize the watch is gone until you’re out of the house. Even if he suspects me, there’s no reason for him to suspect you. And he won’t be able to prove anything against me because I won’t be anywhere near the watch. Hence, the beauty of my plan!”
     
    Emma rubbed her temples. “Where do you even get color contacts? Don’t you need a prescription for that?”
     
    “I know a guy.”
     
    “Of course you do,” she sighed. “Fine. Get the contacts. But only because I always kind of wondered what I’d look like with brown eyes.”
     
    “You’re the best sister in the history of siblings,” Todd said, and hung up.
     
     
    Emma was absolutely not shopping for an evening gown. She was just enjoying a lazy Saturday afternoon, strolling through the shops, and happened to see it. Anyone would admire it, she told herself. It was a lovely creation: a halter neck with the dress’s front cut into a deep V that would nearly reach the wearer’s