Rival's Daughter: 3. Dangerous Invitations

The envelope was sitting on her vanity when she came home from class.

Thick, expensive cardstock. No return address. Just her name written in bold, deliberate strokes and an embossed crest she didn’t recognize.

Inside was a single slip of paper.

An address. A time. Tonight.

Nothing more.

Lila sat on the edge of her bed, staring at it as though it might bite her. Her father’s warnings echoed in her head, the weight of last weekend’s shouting match still fresh in her bones. Stay away from Damien Blackwell. Do not give him an inch. Do not get caught in his games.

And yet—

Her fingers kept brushing over the paper. Her heart kept twisting with a restless, dangerous curiosity and excitement.

She told herself she wouldn’t go. That she would tear it up, throw it away, pretend it never arrived. But she soon found herself browsing through her wardrobe for a suitable dress. It was difficult to make up her mind on which to choose but she chose the