Chapter One: The Perfect Stranger

Jacinda Murray had sworn she was done with dating apps.

Too many men who lied about their height.

Too many men whose idea of romance was sending a shirtless photograph at midnight.

Too many men who described themselves as dominant, adventurous, and looking for a woman who doesn't take herself too seriously.

So when her best friend, Marissa, convinced her to attend a singles Halloween mixer at the Blackthorne Hotel, Jacinda had reluctantly agreed.

“If nothing else,” Marissa had promised, “there will be free champagne.”

There was, in fact, free champagne.

There were also ghosts hanging from the ballroom ceiling, fake cobwebs covering the chandeliers, and nearly two hundred single people wandering around in costumes.

Jacinda had chosen hers carefully.

A dark dress. Messy blond wig. Smudged makeup. A deliberately distressed appearance.

Her costume card read:

MURDER-MYSTERY VICTIM

Marissa stared at her.

“You look like you escaped a true-crime documentary.”

“That was the idea.”

“You couldn't have gone as a witch?”

“Too predictable.”

Jacinda laughed.

For the first hour, everything was harmless.

She met a firefighter dressed as a vampire.

A dentist dressed as a zombie.

A divorced accountant dressed as Elvis.

None of them made her heart move.

Then she saw him.

He was standing alone beside the bar.

Tall.

Dark-haired.

Immaculately dressed.

His costume was unmistakable.

A 1970s suit.

Wire-frame glasses.

His hair carefully parted.

A name tag was pinned to his lapel.

THEODORE "TEDDY"

Jacinda approached.

“Let me guess,” she said. “Ted Bundy?”

He smiled.

“Theodore. Teddy for short.”

“That's either extremely clever or extremely disturbing.”

“Maybe both.”

Something about the way he said it made her laugh.

And that was when Teddy noticed the costume she was wearing.

“You're the victim.”

“Apparently.”

“Interesting pairing.”

“Don't worry. I'm not actually planning on being murdered tonight.”

His smile changed.

Just slightly.

“Neither am I.”

Jacinda didn't notice the way his eyes lingered on her.

She didn't notice how quickly he scanned the ballroom afterward.

The exits.

The security cameras.

The hallway leading toward the service elevators.

Or the fact that when she introduced herself, he repeated her name quietly.

“Jacinda Murray.”

As if committing it to memory.

Chapter Two: Chemistry

They talked for nearly an hour.

Then two.

Teddy was charming.

Funny.

Intelligent.

He knew exactly when to make her laugh and exactly when to lower his voice.

He told her he worked in property management.

He claimed he had recently moved back to the city.

He said he had never been married.

“No kids?”

“No.”

“Pets?”

“Not anymore.”

Something about the answer made Jacinda pause.

“What happened?”

“Sometimes things disappear.”

He said it casually.

Too casually.

Before she could ask what he meant, he smiled.

“Your turn.”

She told him about her job, her failed relationships, her tendency to overthink everything.

Teddy listened.

Really listened.

That was what made him different.

At least, that's what Jacinda thought.

When the DJ switched to slower music, Teddy held out his hand.

“Dance with me?”

She hesitated.

Then smiled.

“Okay.”

His hand closed around hers.

Across the ballroom, Marissa watched them.

She smiled.

Jacinda had finally found someone.

At least, that's what she thought.

Because Teddy wasn't thinking about the music.

He wasn't thinking about the woman in his arms.

He was thinking about a photograph.

A photograph he'd studied for months.

A photograph of a woman standing outside a courthouse.

A photograph that had one name written beneath it.

Jacinda Murray.