Page 6 of Keeping London (Flawed Heart)

“Babe, if you wanted someone to give you critical opinions about the actual clothes, then you should have brought Paige. I’m sorry, but when I see you, I just see beauty, nothing else. To me, you are perfect in anything or nothing at all.”

“Ugh,” I groan out. “You’re just so sweet.” I turn briskly to head back to try on another outfit.

“And that’s a bad thing?” Loïc chuckles in question.

“It is when I want honest feedback on clothes. Fashion is a big deal, Loïc.” I look over my shoulder to shoot him a mock glare of annoyance.

He just laughs, shaking his head. “Told you that you picked the wrong shopping buddy.”

“Clearly,” I say with a grin before closing the changing room door.

When we pull up to Loïc’s house, Paige’s car is already in the driveway. For about six weeks now—basically, since Sarah left—we’ve all been getting together at least once a week to do dinner.

Tonight, Cooper’s cooking. We rotate that responsibility, but more times than not, it ends up being Cooper’s turn. That might have something to do with the fact that he’s the best cook out of us all. A few weeks ago, when it was my turn, I managed to burn the crap out of a ready-bake lasagna. I ended up ordering Thai takeout. I really need to work on my culinary skills.

A wall of deliciousness hits us as soon as Loïc and I open the door. I inhale deeply, realizing how hungry I am. In the busyness of our mega shopping day, we forgot to eat lunch. But it was worth it because I got some adorable outfits for California.

“It smells amazing. What did you make?” I ask Cooper as I enter the kitchen.

“I seared some salmon and topped it with a cream sauce. Then, we have herb-roasted veggies and scalloped potatoes for sides.”

“Sounds incredible. I’m starving.”

“Oh, I made you a cheesecake from scratch for dessert,” Cooper adds.

I throw my arms around him. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

Cooper laughs.

Loïc chimes in, “Don’t believe her, brother. She’s only using you for your food.”

“Hey, I resent that.” I release my hold on Cooper. “I would still love him even if he wasn’t such a fantastic cook. Just not as much.” I shrug.

“Rude,” Cooper objects dramatically.

“So, how’d ya do today?” Paige asks, entering the kitchen.

“Oh, great. I’m all ready for Cali.” I grin.

“Awesome. I can’t wait to see what you got!” Paige claps her hands together.

“See?” I say to Loïc. “Some people have a true love for the art of shopping.”

“I think I did pretty well, considering I watched you try on clothes for five hours straight, some outfits multiple times,” Loïc responds.

“Oh, like it was difficult,” I scoff.

“Difficult? No. Annoying? Yes.”

“Uh…” I protest, my mouth agape.

“Babe, you tried on a hundred outfits, and all of them looked amazing…which I told you many times. Then, after all of that, you ended up going back to the very first store we went to, and you bought the first five outfits you tried on,” Loïc argues.

“I told you, it’s a process. I can’t just settle on the first piece of clothing I see. I had to make sure I explored all my options.”

“What options?” Maggie asks as she bounces into the kitchen with her scrubs on.

“I went shopping today to get clothes for Cali this week,” I answer.

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