Page 102 of Shiny Things

She squealed and threw an arm around my shoulders, giving me a squeeze.

“I’m so glad, because we’re going to be doing a lot more of this in the future.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“If you know this was the dress you wanted, why did you drag me to the first store at all?”

“Well, I hoped their showing prejudices wasn’t going to happen there, but I feared it might. I’m sorry because I didn’t know about your history with the place. But, I do know that they are the biggest gossips in all of Ravenden, and if you were shunned there and I walked out because of it, word would spread quickly in hopes that it will never happen again.”

I groaned. “I suspected as much. People were going out of their way to be nice after that.”

“Which they should because they’re doing their job and want a good tip, but they should have always done that regardless, Kim. And I plan to go out of my way to reeducatepeople about that going forward. Plus, with these dresses Frieda designed, we are going to be the envy of the party, and everyone will know exactly where we got them. I just hope she doesn’t get too overwhelmed. Davenports have a way of making big statements.”

I smiled. “Well that sounds like a great one to make.”

She dropped me off at the apartment and I let myself in, earning me quite a few stares and whispers. I hadn’t left the place much since I’d moved in and when I did it was by the garage, not the lobby.

You’re a Davenport now, Kim. Act like it.

So I held my head high and ignored the whispers. No one said anything directly to me or tried to stop me. Still, I didn’t relax until I was safely inside.

“Babe, is that you?” Elias called out from the bedroom.

“Yes.”

He came out in just a pair of sweats and beamed when he saw me.

“You look gorgeous as usual. Did you and my sister have a good time?”

“Too good, I’m afraid.”

“No issues?”

“Nothing we couldn’t handle.”

“Good. Your hair looks perfect.”

“Salon day,” I confessed.

“Then I should apologize now.”

“For what?”

“I’m about to mess it up.”

He ran his fingers through my hair and kissed me hard.

“You aren’t even curious how much we spent?” I asked.

“Whatever it was, it was worth it.”

He silenced me with another kiss. His hand ran up my thigh and under the new sundress Gia had convinced me to buy.

I was more than ready for him to rip the thing off me when the doorbell rang. I groaned in frustration.

“Don’t answer it,” I begged him.

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