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The night of the gala was approaching, all Zane had told Ava was that her dress would be black in a classic style. It wasn’t much to go on, but Ava had booked an appointment at Salon Noire. Gabriel offered to keep her company. It would give them time to catch up as well. Ava arrived, accompanied by Ryder and Carlos. She had asked Gabriel if it would be okay with him that Ryder came along as her bodyguard. Ava was worried Gabriel would feel uncomfortable to have someone he dated be in the same company as him, but not be able to interact in that way. She knew Ryder would never be unprofessional when he was on duty. But Gabriel had assured her he didn’t care. He knew what Ryder did for a living and he was used to him in that capacity when the two friends were hanging out.

“So tell me all about your dress,” Tammy urged Ava as she started doing her hair.

“I can’t say much about it, I know it’s black and that it has a classic look,” Ava told her.

“Honey, how come you don’t know what your