Page 35 of Pierced Pages
“So tell me about Lila.”
Danielle thought for a moment that Morgan must have been reading her mind. But then she realized she’d mentioned being a kid chauffeur and brought up the conversation herself.
“You don’t have to,” Morgan added quickly. “I’m sorry. That’s probably too personal.”
“No, it’s fine,” Danielle said. “It’s just… you don’t have to ask to be polite. I’m fine not talking about her.”
Morgan tilted her head slightly, looking genuinely confused. “I asked because I want to know. If you want to tell me about her, of course. I don’t do things only out of politeness. I left that back with my mother and her entourage and all of those obligations.”
Danielle couldn’t imagine what that kind of life was like growing up in. But she believed Morgan about not wanting polite just for polite’s sake.
She shrugged. “Pretty typical kid. Likes her friends, soccer, and Melanie & Kim’s dog.”
“Yeah, sounds typical. And a fun age, I would imagine.”
Danielle barked a laugh. “I don’t know if I’d call thirteen a fun age, but we do have fun. We have a standing Friday night TV date. Ice cream or popcorn. It’s my favorite thing every week.”
A grin stretched across Morgan’s face, and Danielle couldn’t spot even a hint of fakeness in it. In fact, there was a genuineness to that smile and to everything about Morgan that set Danielle’s heart fluttering.
No. No fluttering allowed. Morgan was off limits.
Everyone was off limits, but Morgan especially.
“That does sound like a perfect Friday,” Morgan said. “I have a similar standing date with my best friend, Jen. Normally Sundays when we both have the day off, but she had a family thing this week. We probably don’t watch the same TV shows, though. We watch reality TV mostly.”
“We do, too.” Danielle laughed. “But probably not the same ones.”
She stood and smoothed out the maxi dress she would put back on the hanger in the “don’t want” pile. With a hefty sigh, she said, “Okay. I think I only have one more in me, so let’s see what the next one brings.”
Chapter 15
Morgan
While Danielle tried on the last dress—well, the last one she was willing to try on—Morgan took a moment to check her messages. One was from Jen popping in to see how the shopping was going. No surprise there.
Another was from the other piercer from the shop asking if Morgan could take her shift on Wednesday. No problem, especially since she would take Morgan’s shift the following week.
Before she could reply to either of them, her attention was drawn to the sound of the curtain sliding open once again.
“What do you think?”
Morgan stared at Danielle as she exited the fitting area with her arms held out to the sides. Her brow was raised in an inquisitive expression, waiting for Morgan’s response.
But Morgan was physically incapable of giving that response. Her voice was caught in her throat, and her mouth hung open, unable to move.
“That bad?”
Morgan shook her head quickly. “No, no. The opposite of bad. And then some.”
Danielle laughed softly, turned to the mirror, and twirled a little. “I don’t know what that means, but I think I like this one.”
When Danielle had pulled it off the rack, Morgan didn’t think much of it. It was the dowdiest of the bunch as it dangled from the hanger. It had a vintage-ish look to it with a large brown and cream floral print. A dusty rose background, of all things. It had slightly puffy shoulders with cinched three-quarter length sleeves, and it hung at mid-length, just below the knees.
But Morgan had figured it wasn’t her dress, so she’d kept her opinions to herself.
And boy was she glad she’d shut up and waited for the reveal.
The dress was absolutely stunning on Danielle. The color looked so lovely against her skin tone, and all the parts that Morgan thought she disliked looked like they were made for Danielle.
