Annette pushes me into the front lobby, where Beau sits on a small lavender couch, his arms crossed and his head braced against the back of the couch cushion. Annette turns on her heel to stride back to the fitting room, leaving Beau and I alone.

I stand there for a few seconds, debating on whether I should sit next to Beau on the small couch, or stand outside and breathe in the cool Paris air. I start to move toward the boutique door, when Beau cracks a single eye open and frowns.

"Aren't you going to come sit down?" he murmurs softly, causing my heart to stutter slightly.

I open my mouth to say no, but Beau's eyes flash open as he leans forward to grab me by the wrist and gently pull me to plop down onto the couch beside him.

"The gentleman in me would've stood up to offer you my seat," Beau says softly as he closes his eyes again, leaning his head back against the couch cushion while his fingers remain curled around my wrist. "But I'm too tired to listen to him, and it feels good to have you by my side."

My cheeks flame slightly at his words, causing me to quickly duck my head just in case he opens his eyes and sees it. What is wrong with you Harper? I stay there with my head ducked for a few silent seconds, desperately trying to find any words, any at all to break the awkward silence.

"Is my diablesse at a loss for words?" Beau muses, causing me to glance up at him. Both of his pale eyes are now wide open as he grins at me, his thumb circling over the skin of my palm.

Coming to my senses, I quickly yank my hand from his with a mocking smile and grab his chin in the palm of my hand, staring him dead in the eyes. "I'm never at a loss for words, though I have a feeling you will be," I taunt, slowly licking my lips.

Beau's eyes flick down to the movement and I expect him to freeze just like earlier, but instead, his eyes darken and languidly travel up to mine as a deadly grin curves onto his lips. My heart lurches to a halt when his jade eyes finally meet mine, seeming to burn with intensity.

"How far are you willing to go for this little game?" Beau whispers, edging forward the slightest bit.

"As far as it takes," I whisper back, thinking of how I've barely heard from the shadow of him, or had any recent panic attacks.

I find myself expecting Beau to lean in to kiss me, as the air around us seems to thicken, but that tension quickly dissolves when Beau leans away and places his forearms on the back of the couch. The smirk on his lips stays, however, as he cocks his head to the side and continues to stare at me.

"What is this, a staring contest?" I drawl, lowering my hand as I glare back.

"No," Beau chuckles with a small shake of his head. "Did you like the dress?"

I run a hand through my hair as I lean back against the couch cushion, the skin of my neck brushing against Beau's forearm. "Yes, though you might be in a bit of danger," I muse, thinking of how stunning the dress looked, and me in it.

"Is that so?" Beau says wryly, as Francís says something excitedly in the other room. "I hope to say the same when I try on my suit, though you seem to swoon over me enough as it is."

I snort and roll my eyes, before pushing off the couch and walking over to peek into the large back room, smiling as I watch Amber walk out in her stunning teal dress.

"Gus is going to lose his mind," I grin, turning to look over my shoulder at Beau, and jumping slightly when I see he's standing directly behind me, peering at Amber over my other shoulder.

"Those two are quite the pair," Beau grins back, watching as Francís has Amber turn in a flourished spin. "You should've seen them when we went on that stakeout; they pretended that they were merely acquaintances, but I knew better. You can't hide a love that powerful."

"Yeah," I sigh, rubbing my hands over my arms. "He was there for her when I wasn't."

"What do you mean?" Beau asks, as I shake my head and turn to walk back toward the couch.

"I moved away and left her behind," I say vaguely, sitting down on the lavender couch and staring out the boutique's window. "I believe they met each other during training at the Blue Jay Sector, and they grew closer together in my absence. Soon after, they started to fall in love."

I turn to look back at Beau, and give him a pained smile. "Then I moved back to begin my own training, and here we are."

Beau opens his mouth again, but snaps it shut when he sees Natalia walk in. "Mr. Beauregard, would you like to see your suit?"

Beau glances over to me with an odd glint in his eyes, before turning back to Natalia and nodding. He follows Natalia into the back room as I place my chin into the palm of my hand and continue staring out the window.

I wonder what Gus thinks of me. I don't know him very well, but I'm sure he must think I'm erratic and unfit to lead, or be Amber's friend.

"What's with the gloomy look?" a falsely cheery voice asks, interrupting my thoughts. I turn to see Amber, who's changed back into her light pink blouse and tan slacks.

"What does Gus think of me?" I ask bluntly, carefully watching Amber's expression. Her eyes narrow the slightest fraction to reveal her confusion about the question, before a thoughtful expression crosses her face as she moves to sit down on the couch beside me.

"Well, you two haven't really talked to each other much-"

"Yeah," I quickly interrupt, "but I'm sure you've told him some things about me, so what is his impression?"

Amber frowns and begins to curl a strand of her auburn hair around her fingers, as she considers the question. "Gus is the type of person who gets to know a person before he forms an opinion about them, so if you want the answer to that question, you'll just have to talk to him. Why are you asking?"

I shrug, crossing one leg over the other. "I was just... curious. But I believe that now is the perfect time to finish that conversation we started earlier."

Amber grimaces and unwinds the hair from her fingers. "I was hoping you'd forget about that."

"You don't even know what I was angry about!" I exclaim a bit too loudly, before lowering my voice and leaning in towards Amber. "Why would you tell Beau about Greyson and pressure him to 'help me find hope?' whatever that means."

Amber scowls and glares in the direction of the other room, "Snitch, he'll hear about this later," she mutters, before I grab her hand and squeeze it.

"No, Amber. I get that you like playing matchmaker and whatnot, but you took this a little too far. I also don't appreciate you telling him about my past without my permission," I lower my head and give her the classic I'm disappointed stare. "You know better than that."

Amber cringes again when she sees the look, "Oh don't do that, you look too much like my mother."

My look sharpens to an annoyed glare, "Amber, how would you like it if I tried to meddle in your relationship with Gus?"

"You wouldn't dare." Amber snorts, as I roll my eyes.

"Test me again and we'll find out, I just so happen to like playing matchmaker as well."

Amber stares at me with an odd expression for a few seconds, trying to discern whether I'm making a joke or being serious. Finally, she relents and frowns. "Alright, I'm sorry. It won't happen again," she says solemnly, though by the way her eyes crinkle slightly I can tell she's lying.

"I know you're lying, but I'm going to let you slide... for now." I threaten, as Amber rolls her eyes.

At that moment, Beau walked around the corner of the wall blocking our view into the back room with a small smile on his lips.

"Alright ladies, ready to get going?" he says, looking between Amber and me with a curious look.

I can't help but sigh as I rise to my feet, Amber following suit. "Do we have another stop we need to go to?"

Beau shakes his head as we wave goodbye to Francís. "Harks said we can just go back to the complex and relax," Beau says, as he holds open the door for Amber and me. "Well, that Amber and I can go relax... I believe Burris requested to speak with you."

I frown, figuring that the superior will probably want to drill me in combat or something exhausting like that. "Did he happen to say why?" I drone, as Beau shakes his head.

"No, he just asked that you would meet him in the lounge on the third floor."

I can't help but sigh again, this one more heavy and dramatic than the last. "Alright,"