Page 56 of Wild For You
God, Andrew was so lucky. He had no idea how good he had it, being blessed with a mom like Marisol.
“Can I get you all checked out?” Nicole asked me, after she pointed the women who had just arrived toward the section of handbags.
I handed her the dress as she offered to take it off my arm. “Almost. I was hoping you may have other shoes, besides the ones I tried on, to go with this dress. Those weren’t really my style, but the heel height was perfect.”
“Absolutely. What size again?”
“Six and a half,” I replied, and she nodded.
“I’ll grab them from the back. Let’s meet at the counter.”
Marisol followed me while she left her daughters in the fitting room area, still busy playing dress-up. Nicole returned a moment later holding a box containing a pair of strappy shoes with a stiletto heel that was going to require me to spend hours practicing in. But I knew immediately that they were the perfect match for the dress.
“These are flawless, Nicole. You really do have a great eye.”
The woman beamed under my praise, and I almost felt bad for hating her at first sight, when I saw the way she reacted to Andrew. I knew there was something more to the story, but right now, as she gently placed the gown in a garment bag, I didn’t care.
“Thank you. Is this going to be all?”
“Yes.” I winced as a number flashed on the register screen. I reached in my bag for my wallet and rummaged around for my card to cover the expense. This little trip was going to cost more than my monthly rent.
Marisol spoke up, and my head jerked in reaction. “Actually, could you please ring up the blue dress as well and select a pair of shoes to match?”
“Of course,” Nicole said, scurrying away to gather the items.
“Marisol, I… I can’t afford both dresses,” I explained, feeling my cheeks heat and tears pool along my bottom lashes.I usually wasn’t so emotional. Ithadto be the pregnancy hormones.
Definitely the hormones.
“I understand, sweetheart. These dresses are gifts. Andrew insists. And if you know anything about my boy, you know he’s as stubborn as a mule. There is no use in arguing with him.”
“I…. But he doesn’t have to do that.”
“Believe me, Kelsey. Andrew doesn’t do anything he doesn’t absolutely want to.” She smiled, shaking her head.
She was 100 percent right, as far as the man I wanted to punch went.
“Here we are,” Nicole stated with a huge smile as she opened the custom garment bag and added the extra item inside.
I almost turned my back to the register when the new number flashed on the screen. Marisol reached across the counter and handed Nicole a card. A black card that had even Nicole’s eyes bulging for a second. She quickly composed herself while I tried to talk myself out of hyperventilating.
Hearing from Andrew that he was rich was very different from experiencing the receiving end of that wealth for myself. I mean, the man owned like five shirts that he rotated through. I was sure there were more packed away somewhere, for when he worked on the farm, but that was beside the point. He never spent money, at least not that I’d seen. I was sure the house being built was his biggest splurge ever.
“Here you are, Kelsey. It was wonderful to meet you,” she said as she handed me the garment bag, followed by the bag containing the shoe boxes.
“I really appreciate your help today. You have a beautiful store. I’m sure I’ll be back soon,” I told her sincerely, because really, she was so good at what she did, I could just tell her what Ineeded, and she’d be able to pick it out within seconds. No need for me to shop for myself ever again. Win.
“That would be lovely. If you give us a call ahead of time and let us know what you’re looking for, I can set aside a few things that I think you’d like,” she replied, reading my mind, and my eyes widened.
“Really?” Even better.
“Of course. I do it for all my regulars. I even special-order items at a customer’s request. When Autumn was pregnant with Eli, I had an entire line brought in for her.” She was beaming again, and it was lovely to see someone who truly loved what they did.
“Wow, that’s… amazing.” I wondered if that’s what I looked like while I was doing my job.
On the heels of that thought came the reminder that I no longer had my dream job, but I pushed away the dark cloud that came along with it, because I had more pressing matters to think about… like the fact that I had a baby growing inside me.
Nicole gushed, her positivity infectious, which I was grateful for. “I want people to feel and look their best, and being a part of that is my favorite thing about owning this shop.”
