Page 48 of Silent Partner (Pine Falls 3)

We were immediately greeted by Shelby, who acted as if she had been expecting us. Weird.

“Y’all made it. Come in, come in. I have some things to show you,” she drawled.

I stood, taking in the store where I could never afford anything, not even on the clearance rack. It was decorated for Halloween, but in a chic way, using black and white pumpkins as decor. There was even a gorgeous bouquet of black roses on the checkout counter.

When I didn’t move, Shelby took my hand. “Mylanta, I can’t wait to see you in your new uniforms.”

I blinked a few times, wondering if I’d heard her right. “I didn’t order any new uniforms.”

Shelby grinned between me and Sheridan. That’s when Sheridan jumped in. “Do you mind if I talk to Kinsley for a moment?”

“Not at all. I’ll meet you in the dressing rooms.” She sashayed away. Her tiny hips sure knew how to work it.

Sheridan looked a bit abashed. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of ordering a few things. I thought since you were taking the restaurant in a new direction, it would be a great idea to start with a new wardrobe.”

My brow shot up. “Wardrobe?”

She gave me an impish smile. “That might be exaggerating.” She took my hand. “Honestly, I wanted an excuse to spend some time with you, and I needed a little retail therapy.”

“Sheridan,” I pulled her off to a corner near some accessories and whispered, “this place is too expensive for me. You don’t need to buy me anything. We could just take a walk.” I looked at her leather heels. Taking a walk probably wasn’t the best idea, and it was a bit blustery. “Or we could grab some coffee.” Anything but well-meaning charity.

Her lips quaked. “I’ve embarrassed you. Brant said I probably would. I’m so sorry. I just want us to be the best of friends.”

Oh. She had no idea what that meant to me, even though I couldn’t understand why she would want to have that kind of relationship with me. And why was she talking to Brant about me? “I’d like that.” Truly I would. I squeezed her hand.

Her body visibly relaxed. “Wonderful. I hope you will forgive me.”

“There’s nothing to forgive. It’s truly a sweet gesture. We could head back to the restaurant. I make a mean latte.”

“I’m sure you do, darling. But you could humor me and try the clothes on, right?” She looked like she might cry if I said no.

Ugh. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her feelings. And the second-to-last thing I wanted to do was try on clothes I couldn’t afford. But I resigned myself to my fate and gave her a placating smile. “Okay.”

It was worth it, though, to see her eyes light up. How bad could it be to try on a few outfits?

It was bad. Like, I was on my tenth outfit bad. When she’d said she had ordered a new wardrobe, she wasn’t kidding. We are talking outfits for day, night, and work. I knew she loved to play dress-up with Dani and Gemma, but it was odd that she was doing the same thing for me. We weren’t related.

As I finished slipping into the black, three-quarter sleeve dress that was hugging all my curves, Sheridan called out, “I thought this dress would be perfect for when you cater the book launch next week. You’re the boss now and need to flaunt it.”

As nice as the dress was, it wasn’t all that practical to serve food in. Not that I was keeping any of the clothes I had tried on. I was only playing Barbie to appease the sweet woman I used to dream of calling Mom. The woman who should probably keep her voice down.

I peeked out of the dressing room curtain, hoping no one had heard her talk about me being the boss. Thankfully, no one else was around. Not even Shelby, who had been in and out, anxious to see if I needed anything and how I liked each piece. It wasn’t like it was a huge secret that something major had gone down between me, Carter, and Giselle. But as it wasn’t a done deal, I didn’t want to jinx it. I also didn’t want Sheridan to accidentally reveal how this was all made possible. Brant was more than adamant that his name be kept out of it. He had gone to great lengths to cover up his involvement. Even Carter and Giselle had no idea who my benefactor was. Dominique had them signing all sorts of NDAs. I’d had to sign several nondisclosures too, which was why I was worried about Sheridan misspeaking. Dominique wasn’t someone to be messed with. She’d threatened to eat Giselle and Carter’s lawyer on toast.

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