was always the smallest.
My feet ached inside socks I had worn for twelve straight hours, and at thirty-two, I was still surviving paycheck to paycheck, still feeling as if I were holding my breath beneath water.
The charity dinner came as a last-minute shift: black pants, a white shirt, and a tray of champagne glasses balanced along my forearm.
I had skipped both lunch and dinner so I could fit into the uniform, and the chandeliers above me kept blurring.
That was where Russell noticed me.
Silver touched his
