Page 39 of His Tesoro

“Yep.” I clung to my rollator, resting as much of my weight on it as I could without aggravating my wrists.

“Before we go, is there anything specific you need? Or that would be helpful to you?”

My chest grew tight at her concern, and especially the way she asked, as if it were no big deal. “Not really, but I appreciate it.” The tension in my shoulders eased, and the smile on my face felt more real as I followed Sienna to the door.

“You would look so cute in this!”

I turned towards Sienna, who was holding up a sparkly silver dress. We were in the dressing room of an absurdly fancy department store on Fifth Ave. Angelo had directed three other guards to sweep the store before we entered, and within moments, the entire top floor had been cleared and personal shoppers were bustling around us, bringing armful after armful of clothing with price tags that made me want to throw up.

“Sofiya? What do you think?”

I blinked and forced a smile onto my face. I loved the dress. Somehow Sienna had nailed my style in seconds, although it was more revealing than anything I’d ever worn. I used to have a whole wardrobe of luxury clothing, but I hadn’t had an excuse to dress up in years. It wasn’t that I missed attending my father’s Bratva cocktail parties, but being kept in the house was dehumanizing. Anyway, I’d gained too much weight to fit into any of my old clothes, so I hadn’t even brought them with me. All I’d worn recently was leggings and sweatshirts.

“It’s really pretty,” I said, chewing my lip.

Sienna grabbed another handful of dresses from a nearby rack and brought them over to me. “Try them on.”

My cheeks heated as I tried to figure out how to explain that I couldn’t afford to buy a single sock in this store. Before I could find the words, the clothes were draped over my rollator and Sienna was holding the changing room door open for me. When the door shut behind me, I put my face in my hands.

Fuck.

I wanted Sienna to like me. I hadn’t had anyone to talk to in ages besides Mila and Nikolai, and I was out of practice. Would she be embarrassed to be around me if she found out I didn’t have any money?

I ran my finger along the sparkly dress material. It was light and gauzy, with a long skirt and high slit. Unable to resist the temptation, I pulled off my clothes and managed to get the dress on, using the sofa in the dressing room to stand as I adjusted the dress. My breath caught as I saw my reflection. The soft light in the room bounced off the fabric, casting sparkles on the tall mirrors. The top of the dress accentuated my boobs and then flowed out over my hips, covering my new stomach rolls.

I’d never worn something so pretty.

I sat down on the seat of my rollator, but instead of feeling awkward and frumpy, a high slit parted to reveal my thigh, making me feel almost sexy. My EDS made my skin especially sensitive, but this dress fabric was silky soft and didn’t cause irritation.

“Sofiya, are you dressed? Can I see?” Sienna’s excited voice floated through the door. I unlatched it and moved out of the room.

Sienna’s lips parted with a gasp. “Oh my God, you look like a literal angel. Fuck, I have a great eye. So that’s a definite yes. You love it, right?”

I blushed. “I do, it’s so pretty, but?—”

Sienna looked around. “Let me see if we can get them to hem it. Unless you want to find heels with it?”

“I don’t know that I could wear heels,” I said.

“That’s what I figured,” she said with a smile.

Sienna pulled one of the store workers over, and I silently panicked as they talked about alterations. I couldn’t let them alter a dress I wouldn’t be able to afford in a million years.

“Alright, just go ahead and try on the next outfit and they’ll take that dress for alterations,” Sienna said, turning back to me. Her bright smile fell when she took in my panicked expression. “What’s wrong?”

“I just…” I caught Angelo’s eye over Sienna’s shoulder. The bodyguard looked concerned.

“Let’s come over here,” Sienna said, gesturing to a seating area. We sat down and she took my hand. “What’s going on?”

I took a deep breath. “Well, I really just wanted to come shopping to get to know you. I didn’t really expect to get anything for myself.”

Sienna’s brow furrowed. “Why not?”

I shrugged, trying to feign a nonchalance I didn’t feel. “I don’t really need anything.”

“Honey, let me tell you, you need this dress.”

The corner of my lips tugged into a smile. I looked around to make sure no one else could hear. “I just… I can’t afford it.”

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