Page 7 of Tame Me

God, I love her.

The assistant gasped, and I tried not to giggle as we strode past.

Lolly inspected both change rooms before she chose one, pulled aside a curtain and stood back. “In you go.”

I hung the clothes on the large brass hooks, pulled the curtain across, and undressed. The first outfit I tried was a pomegranate-colored jumpsuit. It was simple yet stylish and featured spaghetti halter-neck straps with an open back. It had a thin elastic waist and straight legs that fell to the floor.

I grinned at my reflection, then turned, checked out my ass, and grinned some more. I would never have lifted this off the clothing rack. Luckily for me, Lolita had. I pulled the curtain aside to show Lolly.

“Shit yeah, babe. That rocks.”

“I know.” I turned to look in the mirror again.

“Totally for the plane. When you land in Mildura, you’ll have the cowboys turning their heads so fast they’ll fall off their horses.”

I chuckled and resisted telling her there were very few cowboys in Mildura. “I really like this.”

“Like? You look fucking hot.”

I stepped back into the cubicle and tried on the remaining four outfits, but none of them were suitable. We left the store, and I couldn’t believe that in the space of twenty minutes, I’d spent $140 and already purchased my first outfit for the weekend.

Things went a little downhill from there, though, with the next six dress shops proving unfruitful. “Time for coffee?” I said, all hopeful.

Lolita wagged her head, frowning. “Okay, but remember, it’s cutting into quality shopping time.”

“I’ll drink quickly.”

The first coffee shop we came across offered both a delightful coffee bean aroma and a table for two out the front. Lolita nabbed a chair like the queen of the plaza she was, and I went in search of the cake counter.

I ignored the baked cheesecake for fear it may make Lolita gag and decided on the healthier option, a blueberry pecan muffin. My timing was perfect as Lolly was placing her order with the waitress as I returned to our table. I ordered my choice of treat and tried but failed to ignore Lolly shaking her head. She should know by now that she’d never get between me and a decent sugar fix.

“What’s the plan after this?” I asked.

“We’ll head up to the Myer end. There are a few new dress shops up that way I haven’t explored yet.”

“Okay.”

As we drank our drinks and I ate my muffin, our conversation flitted from Calvin and her kids to my weekend ahead, to the fashion sense of the random strangers who walked past. I drank my coffee as quickly as I could, and the second I forked the last piece of my cake into my mouth, Lolita stood and waggled her tiny ass to the counter to pay. I stood, ready to start hustling the second she returned.

Five shops and a dozen outfits later, I tried on a dress that was simply stunning. It was black, had delicate lace cutouts that showed off the right amount of cleavage, fitted my curves like a second skin, and the hemline fell just above my knee. I couldn’t stop staring at my reflection.

I felt like a model. No . . . not a model—I felt like a woman who was at the top of her game and wasn’t afraid to show it. The dress was absolutely perfect, but not perfect for a backyard party in Mildura.

“You dressed yet?” Lolita was an impatient woman.

I pulled back the curtain and tugged my lip between my teeth, awaiting her appraisal.

Her jaw dropped. She tilted her head, and a tear sprung to her eyes. “Wow. You are stunning.”

I ran my fingers over the smooth fabric, turned, and admired my reflection from the back. “It’s beautiful.”

“That’s the one. That’s the party dress.”

I shook my head and sighed. “I’ll be overdressed.”

She waggled her finger at me. “There’s no such thing. You’re going to own that dress, and you’re going to own that party, too. People will want to know who you are, and they’ll say that’s Jane Nichols, the woman Alexander fucked around on.”

I burst out laughing. “You’re crazy.”

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