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dressed in a black skirt and cream blouse that matched the servers walking around took us to a table in the corner and handed us menus. I took it quickly before lying it down in front of me. Once she walked away, Lily asked, “What do you like? They have excellent fish here.”
    “Fish is good,” I whispered.
    Lily set her menu down and took hold of my hand. “You can order whatever you want. I was just making a suggestion.”
    “Okay,” I nodded. She released my hand and picked her menu back up. I did the same.
    Many things sounded very fancy on the menu. Then I saw they had duck and remembered how much I’d liked the bite he’d let me try. The server returned, and I gave her my order without much difficulty.
    “Duck?” Lily asked when we were alone again.
    I looked down. “Was that not all right?”
    She laughed. “No. It was perfectly fine. I just didn’t expect you to be the type of person who ate duck. I personally find it too greasy,” she added.
    I shifted in my chair before taking a deep calming breath. “I tasted . . .” I paused. This was harder than I thought. “Ste . . . phan had duck,” I said lowering my head. I just couldn’t look at her. “At a . . . restaurant. I . . . liked it.”
    Lily nearly jumped out of her seat, startling me. “You called him Stephan!”
    People were staring. I knew they had to be. My shoulders slumped, and I slid down in my chair hoping no one would see me.
    Finally, Lily seemed to notice me again and stopped moving. Her eyes were huge when I looked up. “I’m sorry, Brianna. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
    “It’s okay,” I whispered.
    “No,” she said. “It’s not. And I am sorry. I will try to control myself.”
    I slowly sat back up in my chair, making sure my hair was shielding most of my face. Lily just watched me as if she was trying to judge my mood. “I’m all right,” I tried to assure her.
    Her mouth turned down into a frown. She didn’t look convinced. I knew I needed to distract her, so I began trying to think of something to ask. That was why I was here, right?
    Lily moved just a little to the left and the sunlight reflected off her necklace. It was silver, like mine, but much thicker. Not something a woman would normally wear.
    My hand rose to the collar Stephan had given me. The metal felt good under my fingertips. It was strange, now that I thought about it. I wasn’t a slave anymore. I wasn’t owned by anyone. Why did knowing that I still had this piece of him around my neck make me feel better?
    I closed my eyes and gathered my thoughts. It was now or never. “Lily?” I started.
    Before I was able to get my question out, the server came with our salads. After she checked to make sure we had everything we needed, we were once again left alone. Too much time had passed, and I wondered if I should even bring it up.
    “What is it?” Lily asked.
    It was only then that I noticed I was just moving the lettuce around my plate. I hadn’t even taken a bite.
    Once again, I closed my eyes and gave myself a pep talk. “Is your necklace . . . I mean, is it . . . ?”
    “You mean is it a collar?”
    I nodded.
    “Yes,” she answered as if she were talking about the weather. She didn’t miss a beat of eating her salad. “It’s one of them. I have several, but this is the one I usually wear to work.”
    One of them? “Why?” I swallowed nervously. “Why do you have more than one?”
    “Well, I have ones I wear every day, and then ones that are only for the playroom.”
    “Play . . . room?” No matter how much I wished it weren’t so, I could hear my voice shake.
    “Yes, the playroom.” She cocked her head to the side. “What’s wrong?”
    “I don’t like playrooms,” I whispered.
    “Why not?” she asked. This time, I could hear the concern in her voice.
    I bit my lip and closed my eyes. My heart was hammering in my chest. I was trying not to remember. “Pain,” I choked out the