Page 121 of Maximum Dare
“You’re welcome,” I whispered.
I leaned back against the wall, waiting for them to come out and prance in front of the mirror.
Don’t think about the dress you fell in love with. Or Max carrying you out of this store in his arms with you wearing it.
The two women emerged from the cubicle, one of them wearing the dress I’d found her. She spun around, looking at her reflection in the long mirror.
“You look beautiful,” I said, and meant it. “Let me know if I can help in any way.”
“Don’t rush me,” she snapped.
She needed help with a personality upgrade, that was for sure.
“I shop here so much…” She turned to look at her butt in the mirror. “I should get a discount.”
I stepped back a little.
She pivoted to look at me. “You can’t make that decision?”
“No, sorry,” I said flatly.
She turned to her friend. “You don’t think it looks too…?”
“I kind of like it,” her friend admitted.
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know…”
“The dress is from Mimi Trent’s Magic Unleashed Collection,” I told her. “Mimi’s husband left her after her daughter Lilly was born. Mimi was a single mum living in a counsel flat in Brixton. You can only imagine the stress she endured having to care for a child alone. She persisted, though, and her daughter grew to love fashion, too, eventually joining Mimi’s empire. They’re the most respected designers in the world. That dress you’re wearing has a piece of Mimi’s soul stitched into every seam. Look closer, you’ll see how she honors the feminine curves of a woman. She gets it. She gets life.”
They both stared at me, dumfounded.
She turned back to her friend. “I think it’s pretty.”
Her friend agreed. “It does fit nice.”
My eyebrows rose and my lips quivered with amusement.
Their eyes widened at something they had seen at the end of the hallway.
Gillian’s reflection appeared in the mirror.
She stood there looking as pristine and elegant as she always did, her handbag resting on her arm with the sophistication of the Queen. Her expression was hard to read as she fixed her intense gaze on me.
I gave her a nod. “Mrs. Banham.”
“Max told me that you work here.” She glanced at the two girls standing before the mirror.
They scurried back into the cubicle like vampires looking for shade.
Gillian’s focus returned to me. “Hope this isn’t a bad time?”
It was never a good time to be chewed out by a dragon in front of other humans.
“We can talk in here.” I gestured for Gillian to join me in a private area down from the changing rooms.
“I do love Harvey Nichols,” she said.
My heart hammered at the bollocking I was about to receive. She’d obviously heard about me and Nick and that awful evening we’d recently shared at the Waldorf’s bar.
