Page 50 of Unravel You

Anabelle sat in the foyer, clutching her purse to her chest. “Where the hell have you been? I’ve been waiting an hour.”

I glanced upstairs toward the master bedroom, where I’d left a very naked Derek sleeping on our bed. If I didn’t owe Anabelle big time, I would have stayed in bed wrapped in Derek’s arms for a few days.

“I’m sorry. Derek and I had a lot to talk about after the incident with Bridget.”

“I bet you did.” She laughed.

“Come on. We have to hurry if we’re going to make it back before dinnertime.” I pushed her out the door.

“Oh, did Derek tell you Matt called and said he would make the engagement party?”

“He did? I’m looking forward to meeting him.”

“Lilly is beside herself. She’s been worried sick about him. Especially after Wesley showed up a few months ago looking like he’d been to hell and back.”

“What happened?” I stepped down the front stoop and climbed into the waiting car.

“No idea.” She scooted in beside me. “I wasn’t here.”

“Maybe I can ask Matt for you.”

“Don’t. Omigod, Valentina. Not everything is a puzzle for you to solve.” She chuckled.

“I don’t like secrets.” I shrugged.

Within twenty minutes, our driver pulled into the Lenox Mall. We climbed out of the car and headed toward Saks. A girls’ day was exactly what I needed to forget about Bridget and all her crazy. I let out a breath and focused on Anabelle instead. She’d already gone through a rack of dresses and picked out a few to add to the pile of gowns the sales assistant had pulled out for her. She’d helped Anabelle buy a dress before.

I winced when I picked up the first number. It was pink with a cute ruffle that v-lined across the waist. Cute, but not for a twenty-one-year-old woman who wanted to be seen as a...well...a twenty-one-year-old woman.

“Nope.” I handed it back to the saleswoman. I repeated the process until there were no more dresses left.

“Really? That blue dress was kind of cute. Don’t you think?” Anabelle went back to the rack, pulled it out, and pressed it against her body. “Let me try it on.”

“I’m sure it fits you. But it’s not what we talked about. This dress says, ‘Hey. Sweet Ana just arrived.’”

“We don’t want that.” She puffed out air.

Making people see a different side of her wasn’t easy, especially when everyone back at the house worked so hard to recreate what they had when they were little. Part of that past included Sweet Ana. They didn’t want to let go of that.

“Good.” I turned to the saleswoman. “Do you have anything soft to the touch, maybe low cut?”

“I do.” She beamed at us and disappeared into the sea of racks full of evening dresses.

“Low cut? I don’t think so.”

“Just try it.”

“Maybe if I looked like Jessica Rabbit over there.” She pointed her chin at a woman sauntering our way, all long legs and perfect posture. She reminded me of my friend Nikki, so full of confidence and sex appeal. I had to agree with Anabelle on this one. Jessica Rabbit could wear any dress she wanted.

We both sat there and ogled her as she glided across the sales floor, going from rack to rack. Nothing was good enough for her. She moved designer dresses out of the way as if they were cheap clothes that didn’t belong in the store. She picked up a black dress and put it at arm’s length, turning it in place. When she glanced up, she made eye contact with me. The bright smile she flashed me made my cheeks hot.

I returned the gesture. “That’s a beautiful dress.”

“I know. It would look great on your friend.” Her tone of voice was smooth and sexy. At the end of friend, I detected an accent, but I wasn’t sure.

“No.” Anabelle dismissed her with a wave. “There’s barely any dress in the front.”

“Okay. If it’s not your thing, it’s not your thing.” She turned her attention back to me and furrowed her brows. “Don’t I know you?”

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