Mario sneaked up behind me and squeezed my elbow, but I snatched my elbows away before he could pinch me again. Tristian's attention was drawn to the front of my neck. Knowing that my dress was already a little frayed, exposing my collar bone as well as the modest form of my cleavage, I felt a little self-conscious about it. I followed his eyes and discovered that it was my necklace that he was gazing at, rather than my collar bone or cleavage, and this had made me feel as if I wanted to be devoured by the land in less than one second right now because of embarrassment.

What...