Page 55 of New Day at the Beach House

Roxie had a coy expression on her face. “I could put an outfit together for you.”

Claire pursed her lips. “I’m sure you could.”

“No, I mean it. Something nice. You said yourself that I always look cute.”

Claire thought about it. Might be interesting to see what Roxie came up with. And she had nothing to lose. “All right, why not?”

Roxie grinned. “Okay, I’d better go get a cart. This is going to be fun.”

Claire wasn’t so sure.

Fifteen minutes later, she was standing in front of the dressing rooms with Roxie, who had a whole shopping cart full of clothes. When it came to shopping, the woman was no joke. Claire had barely been able to keep up. Roxie knew brands and what to look for in a thrifted item and whether or not it was worth the money.

Roxie rubbed her hands together. “All right. Outfit number one.”

“Number one?” Claire glanced at the cart. She’d thought most of that was stuff Roxie had picked out for herself. “How many did you get me?”

Roxie shrugged one shoulder. “A few. Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t sure what you’d go for, so I thought a wide selection was better.”

Claire nodded. “Let’s see it.”

Roxie pulled out a tiny white tank top and white capri leggings that looked way too small, along with a teal and navy scarf.

Claire shook her head. “No way.”

Roxie made a face. “You don’t even know what it is yet.”

“Yes, I do, and no.”

Roxie rolled her eyes. “First of all, this tank top is shapewear by Yummy Mummy, and it would be forty bucks if new.” She glanced at the tag. “As it is, it’s priced at six bucks and it’s got a blue dot on the tag. All blue dots are half price today.”

Yummy Mummy was high-end shapewear. Claire knew, because she had some, bought from Dillard’s at full price. “I’m still not wearing something like that by itself.”

“Of course not, silly.” Roxie lifted the scarf. “This goes over the tank and the leggings.”

“A scarf?” Claire crossed her arms. Roxie had so much to learn.

Roxie blew out a breath. “It’s not a scarf, it’s a tunic.” She put the tank and leggings back on the cart and held the top by the shoulders, shaking it out to reveal a slightly shear but flowy tunic that would easily cover Clair down to mid-thigh. It was mostly teal with a navy paisley pattern and a few sequins scattered over the front.

“Oh.” It was prettier than Claire had realized. Surprisingly, it didn’t look cheap, either. Who was donating all this stuff?

Roxie picked up the rest of the outfit and pushed it toward Claire. “At least try it on. The whole thing would be less than fifteen bucks.”

Claire lifted her brows. “For the whole thing?”

Roxie grinned. “I told you.”

Claire slipped into the dressing room and pulled the curtain shut. She had a slight out-of-body experience as she shed her clothes and tried to think through how she’d gotten here. Her, Claire Thompson, at a thrift shop, trying on someone else’s castoffs.

But Roxie was right. What was wrong with that? Nothing. And while it might feel odd to Claire, she needed to get over herself. She tugged on the leggings.

She wasn’t a wealthy woman. She pulled the tank top down, thankful it was so stretchy. She no longer had a man to rely on, although Danny was no slouch in that area, but he wasn’t her husband. They were business partners, which required her to be someone he could rely on.

That meant watching her money. Being financially sound. Making smart decisions.

The thrift store seemed pretty smart so far.

She put the tunic on and smoothed it out. The fabric was really nice. Maybe even silk. She wondered how much the top was. She checked the tag. Twelve dollars, but it had a blue dot. Six bucks? For this?

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