Chapter 3

      Juliette sat on one of the chairs in the row outside the chief’s office. She’d given her report and she had helped Pandora give hers as well as a description of the shooter to Detective Carson Gage who would be working the murder case.

      The last thing the Red Ridge Police Department could handle right now was another murder investigation. They were already spread so thin with the Groom Killer murders and the suspected criminal activities of the Larson twins. Did the RRPD have enough resources left to protect Pandora? That was what Juliette wanted to know, what she waited outside the chief’s office to discuss with him.

      But of course, Finn Colton was busy. So busy that she had to wait. The receptionist was busy, as well, taking one call after another. Usually they would have had time to talk while Juliette waited to see the chief. She would have asked Lorelei about her teenage kids, and Lorelei would have asked about Pandora.

      Elle was with Pandora, coloring pictures in the conference room and trying to get her to eat the pizza she’d ordered for them. Elle was a good friend.

      The only person Juliette had told about that night nearly five years ago. The night she’d felt like Cinderella being invited to the ball.

      The invitation she’d received had come in the form of a tip from a hotel guest. Juliette had been cleaning the woman’s room all week. She’d sought Juliette out a couple of times for more towels, to restock the minibar, and she’d talked to her like Juliette was a person and not just a maid. The woman had compelled Juliette to confide in her about working two jobs to pay off her late mother’s medical bills and tuition for community college.

      So later that week Juliette was disappointed that the woman had checked out before her business conference ended. She was even more surprised that instead of finding money as a tip, she found a note lying atop a glittering mound of a gown and some sky-high heels and long, dangling glittery earrings. The note read:

      No cash for a tip, but take these as thanks. Had my heart broken in them and will never wear again.

      Juliette wasn’t so sure that was the case. The woman she’d met had seemed too strong and self-reliant to care much if her heart had been broken. She’d probably left her the items instead of cash because she’d known the cash would have just gone toward those medical bills. The shoes and earrings and that glittery gown were something Juliette never would have bought for herself. One, she couldn’t have afforded them. And two, she wouldn’t have needed them since she had no place to wear them. But lying beneath the note was a ticket granting her entry to the conference awards black tie dinner.

      Because of her mom’s long illness, Juliette had skipped her high school prom a couple of years ago. It hadn’t mattered much to her then—not as much as it had meant to her mother, who’d felt so bad that Juliette hadn’t attended it. But it wasn’t as if Juliette had had a date anyway. And even if she had, she wouldn’t have wanted to miss a minute left of her mother’s limited time.

      Juliette had already forgotten her father because he had died when she was very young. At least now her parents, who’d been high school sweethearts, were together again.

      And Juliette was alone. Should she dress up and give herself the prom she’d missed? But instead of goofing around with high school kids who didn’t understand how precious life was, she would be socializing with adults, with accomplished businesspeople.

      The idea thrilled her too much for her to resist. The guest had been like a fairy godmother leaving behind that dress and heels and earrings. All that was missing were the carriage and the horses. But Juliette didn’t need a pumpkin and some mice. She had her own vehicle.

      When her shift ended, she left the hotel in her maid’s drab uniform with her tips tucked inside her backpack. Her friend, who was going to cosmetology school, was thrilled to do her hair and makeup, so just a few short hours later, Juliette returned to the hotel where she worked. But not even her coworkers recognized her as she swept into the ballroom wearing those impossibly high and dainty heels as well as the long, nude-colored glittery gown. Her hair was half up and half down in some complicated style that defied gravity. And when she moved, the long dangling earrings brushed against her neck. For the first time in her life, Juliette felt like a princess. Even then she’d suspected it would be the last time she would ever feel like this.

      So she’d vowed then and there to make the most of this magical evening. To experience everything that she could—because she knew very well how short life could be. Her ball wasn’t exactly what she’d expected, though. Her fairy godmother must not have been the only one who’d cut the conference short, because the ballroom was not crowded, which made him impossible to miss.

      He was younger than most of the other men in the room, and by far the most handsome in his black tuxedo. He was lean and muscular and just the right height that with these heels on, she would be able to stare into his eyes. Eyes that she knew were green and sharp with his keen intelligence. He wasn’t much older than she was, but he already had his MBA.

      Blake Colton. The only male heir of the wealthy branch of the Colton family. He was the prince of Red Ridge. And Juliette was...

      For the night, Cinderella.

      She felt the moment he noticed her—because her pulse quickened, and her skin began to tingle. She didn’t even need to look up to know that he was coming toward her. Her heart beat faster and faster as he drew nearer to her.

      “Hello,” a deep voice murmured.

      She turned and stared right into his eyes. And she knew in that moment, she never wanted to look away. She didn’t just see him; she saw herself in his eyes—the way she wanted to be: beautiful, interesting, happy.

      He sucked in a breath, and she knew that he felt it, too—that instant and intense attraction between them. He extended a hand to her, and it shook slightly. “I—I’m Blake Colton.”

      She knew who he was. Hell, everybody in Red Ridge knew who he was. But he didn’t know that she was from Red Ridge. She could have been from anywhere—could have been anyone. And for tonight, she could pretend that she was.

      But her first instinct was to be honest, so she murmured, “I’m Juliette...” And she put her hand in his.

      He cocked his head, and a lock of dark blond hair tumbled across his forehead. He was obviously waiting for her last name.

      But instead of giving it to him, she just smiled.

      He chuckled. “You’re going to be mysterious,” he said.

      Her smile widened. “I’m going to be smart.”

      Just in case she got caught crashing the event, she didn’t want to get fired from her job. Technically, since