Page 49 of Healing You
“And thank God you did. You are so not a Talbots girl.”
“I did keep a few of my favorites though. I have a black dress in there my mom bought for me a while ago.”
Kyra's nose wrinkled and she jerked her head as though something foul was in the air. “Let's see it,” she said, making a little shoo gesture with her hand. “Go. Put it on.”
Within minutes, Yvonne had her sweatpants off, zipping up the little black dress. It was simple... fitted. To the knees. And it was her typical go to “date night” dress. “Well?” she asked, turning to give Kyra the 360 view.
“You look like you're attending a conference. Just add a blazer and you could be a keynote speaker.”
“Well, you're welcome to go through my closet and pick something.”
Kyra bounced up, dramatically flinging Yvonne's closet doors open. “What do you usually feel confident in?”
“Running shorts and a T-shirt,” she answered, not even needing to think about it.
Her friend pushed a frustrated breath through tight lips. “I mean, what makes you feel sexy?”
“Running shorts and a T-shirt.” The look she got in response could have shattered glass, only Yvonne didn't find Kyra intimidating. Watching your best friend laugh so hard that she pees all over your bedroom when you're both fifteen takes the intimidation out of a person. “What can I say? I'm a simple girl. I have an aversion to fancy clothes,” she said, shrugging. “Too many cotillions and stiff dinners with my parents.”
Kyra pressed her lips together, turning her attention back to the wardrobe in front of her. “Well, knowing Cam and Lydia, I doubt this will be a black tie affair.” Thumbing through some hangers, she paused, grabbing a strapless buttery yellow eyelet lace dress. “What about this? It's summery, casual...”
“Too casual for an engagement party, isn't it?”
“I don't think so.” Kyra held it at arm's length, studying it. “Just try it on. It's cotton, so it'll be comfortable, like your T-shirts. It's fitted and strapless, so it'll be sexy for Steve. And it's lace, so it'll have a bit of sweetness and innocence that you won't look like you're gunning to steal attention from the bride.”
Yvonne peeled the black dress off of her and slid into the one Kyra picked out. She didn't wear strapless dresses all that often—though she was small and lean, she was still really curvy... hence the reason she wore sports bras all the time. Something needed to strap the girls in. But as she looked down at her cleavage spilling out of the strapless dress, she sent Kyra a doubtful look, gesturing to her breasts. “Come on. I look ridiculous.”
“No... you look hot.”
“I need a cardigan or something—”
“If you put a cardigan over that cleavage tonight, I swear to God, I will shred it off of you.”
“What if it's cold?”
“Fine! You can bring a cardigan, but when we get there, I'm taking it from you. You can have it back at the end of the night. You and Steve will both thank me.”
Yvonne couldn't help her smile. She was lucky to have such a good friend in her life. When Ronnie walked away from her after the accident, Kyra managed to maintain both friendships— because that's the kind of girl she was. She didn't give up on people, no matter how hard or awkward it was for her back. “And what about you? You have a hot date tonight?”
She snorted at that, rolling her eyes as she dropped onto Yvonne's bed. “Yeah right. This town is void of eligible bachelors.”
“Hey!”
“Oh, come on. You expected me to ever truly consider Steve Tripp as a potential boyfriend? My best friend's ex-boyfriend? I would deserve to be stripped of my BFF title immediately if I pulled that crap.”
“There's always Noah...”
Kyra shivered, cringing. “Ugh, no way. He's a baby compared to us.”
“I thought you were dating that guy—the financial dude from Nashua.”
She didn't answer and instead just lifted her half-lidded gaze to Yvonne. “It fizzled. As they usually do.”
She hated watching her friend go through this every time. She'd watched as Kyra fell into an infatuation with Cam for over a decade. And watched as he overlooked her all through high school and after Hannah passed away. Yvonne listened quietly to every date and every crush... and she was happy to do so. But she just wanted her friend to find someone who would know what an amazing woman was in front of them. Where the hell was she meeting all these idiots? Were they blind or just dumb? How could they not see how incredible she is? Not a diamond in the rough... no, Kyra was an actual diamond. Ready and sparkling. “You know what? We should get manicures before tonight.”
Kyra's eyes lit up at that and she jumped to her feet. “Yes! Oh, thank God, girl. Your nails are atrocious.”
2 3
