Dare to Believe (Gray Court, #1) by Dana Marie Bell
Dedication
To Mom, guess what? He lied to you. I don’t care what he says, Dad DOES have scooter envy.
To Dad, just admit it. It will be better in the long run. You’re jealous because I have a headlamp and I beat you in that race. Come to the dark side. Resistance is futile. Besides, we have cookies.
To Dusty, thank you for daring to believe in me.
And to the woman who wrote our beautiful wedding vows over ten years ago. I hope you won’t mind that I adjusted them to be the binding of a Sidhe lord and his mate. Even today I read those words and smile. To me, they really were magical.
Chapter One
“You want me to wear that?”
“Shhh. Honey, this would look gorgeous on you.”
Ruby stared at the skimpy outfit Mandy waved in front of her like a red cape. The move was totally appropriate since Ruby would feel like a cow in it. “Don’t they have a lovely pumpkin costume? Oh! How about a pony? I could probably pull off a pony.”
Mandy glared at her. “You have a body most women would die for. You’re curvy, not fat.”
“No. Seriously. How about one of those robe thingies? With a hood! I could get a rubber knife and be an evil sorceress slash human sacrificer!”
“Ruby! Knock it off.” Mandy tapped one foot impatiently at Ruby’s attempts to get around her. “Try it on. I guarantee you’ll look incredible.”
“I’m short and fat, Mandy. Short and fat. There is no way I can get away with that costume and not look like a complete idiot.”
Ruby made one last attempt to move towards the evil sorceress robes, only to have Mandy hold up the red devil costume with an evil grin. The red leather miniskirt, red satin corset and red horns looked like something the blonde, beautiful Mandy could get away with. Short, well-endowed Ruby would look like a moron.
“C’mon, Ruby.” Mandy rocked the outfit, grinning wickedly. “I dare you.”
Oh, no. “No, Mandy.” Ruby turned away from the costume, praying she got away fast enough before her oldest friend said—
“Double-dog dare you.”
Aw hell.
She never could turn down a double-dog dare. Mandy had gotten her into more trouble with those three little words than anyone knew. Mandy was the one who’d double-dog dared Ruby to go out with Bobby in the eleventh grade, though she’d long since apologized. She’d dared Ruby to get even when Bobby had bragged all over school that he’d “scored, but she was a lousy fuck”. That double-dog dare led to The Pencil Dick Poster Incident that had gotten Ruby two weeks’ suspension and a stag trip to the prom.
In college, she’d found herself walking backwards for an entire day, just to prove she could. That had earned her a free meal at her favorite restaurant, though, so that one had been worth it.
Dare to Believe
Childish? Yeah. But she just couldn’t resist when a dare was thrown out, especially the way Mandy did it. I can almost hear the chickens clucking in the background.
Ruby huffed out a breath and turned. Mandy had added thigh-high black leather boots and a black leather belt. A red velvet choker with a dangling black glass gem completed the look. She grinned and waved the outfit in Ruby’s face.
“Oh, great. I’ll be a demonic hooker.” Ruby raised one cynical brow and put her hands on her hips. “I suppose you’ll be going as an angel?”
Mandy’s eyes went wide. “Oh, I like that idea. Wait right here.” And Mandy took off, dropping the Sexy Little Devil outfit to the floor. Ruby picked up the bustier and held it to her ample breasts, and sighed.
It’s going to be a long party. Watching Leo with whatever blonde he’d decided to bring would just be the topper on what she just knew was going to be a pretty crappy evening.
She had to stop wondering what Leo would think of the outfit. There was no sense in it. Leo Dunne, CEO of Fantasy Events, had women literally throwing themselves at him. The man had everything going for him. Black hair, brilliant green eyes and a body to die for all wrapped up in Armani, he epitomized tall, dark and handsome. Why the hell would a man like that look twice at five-foot-nothing Ruby?
True, she wasn’t exactly a beer goggle, but she wasn’t the tall, thin, blonde model type Leo was known to escort around town. It was just too bad she had a huge crush on him. She needed to get over it and move on. Maybe she’d say yes to the date Mark in accounting kept asking her for. He might not be Leo, but he was cute, and, more importantly, available.