Page 14

Tess
As Patrick predicted,Henley, Cari and her little sister, Grace were waiting outside the garage when I got there. Conner was nowhere to be found. I pretended to be surprised when they hustled me into Cari’s brand-new SUV. Patrick bought it for her. Like Con and Henley, they’re completely gone for each other. To be honest, I was sure Patrick would be the one to propose first but it looks like Con’s got him beat on this one.
“Get your ass out here, Tess,” Cari calls from the area outside the dressing room. Henley called it a salon. They’re out there, lolling around on couches, drinking champagne and rating the dresses they’re forcing me to model.
Grace made point cards and everything.
“Come on, Tess we want to see.”
“She’s been in there for fifteen minutes—should one of us go get her?”
There’s a soft knock on the dressing room door and my first instinct is to dive for cover. Man, dresses make me feel naked. “Miss Tesla…” Anton, the shop owner opens the door slowly. “May I be of assistance?” He finally shows his face, probably figuring if I’d really been naked I would’ve told him to get out by now. When he sees me, his face goes slack, eyes wide.
Shit.
“Is it bad?” Implied nudity forgotten, I turn to look at my reflection in the mirror “Fuck—it’s bad, isn’t it?” Smoothing my hands down the front of the skirt, I tug at its hem like pulling on it might actually make it longer. “I don’t think I’m—”
Anton stands up straight and holds out his hand. “Come with me now, Miss Tesla.”
Fuck that, I’m naked.
Instead of saying it out loud, I just shake my head. “No…” I lift my hands when he reaches for me. “This isn’t the one. Maybe I should —”
“I’ve been dressing women for nearly fifty years.” He cuts me off and holy shit, he just clapped his hands at me like I’m a rambunctious poodle in desperate need of training. “You’ll trust me.” He holds out his hand again, his tone gentling. “Now, come.”
With a last look in the mirror, and a final protest bubbling on my lips, I let him catch my hand and pull me out of the dressing room.
The chattering stops.
“Holy shit,” Cari breathes, setting her empty champagne flute on the little round table in front of her, eyes almost as wide as Anton’s. “Tess… you look—” Her beautiful face splits in a grin.
“I knew it.” Grace jumps up and jabs her finger at me. “I knew there was a total hottie, hiding under those coveralls.”
“It’s really, really red.” I look down at myself. I prefer grays and blues. Blendable colors. And legs holes. I like leg holes. Two of them. “And tight.” I look up at them, pressing a hand against my stomach. “Really tight.”
“Hell yeah, it is,” Grace crows, flashing me her 10 card. “Turn around, let me see your ass.”
Before I can protest, Anton hands me up onto his fitting platform and spins me around.
“Now that is a bitable hiney.” Grace toasts my ass with her glass before draining it.
“Did you just say hiney?” I glare at her over my shoulder. At least I try to glare. Grace is Cari’s little sister. She’s only been here a few days, but she’s slipped right in. Like she belongs here. I like her. Really like her. More importantly, I respect her. On the surface, she’s bright and bubbly but if you look at her long enough you can see the heartache. She’s been through some tough shit but she’s a fighter. Cari is trying to talk her into moving here to go to school. I hope she manages it. I like having her around. “No more champagne for you, Juno,” I say, and she laughs.
Turning around, I shift my gaze to Henley. Out of the three of them, she knows me best. She’s also spent the last decade or so drowning in diamonds and designer labels. She knows what she’s doing. She’ll tell them how stupid I look. “What do you think, Hen?”
She sits back in her seat, head cocked. Deep brown eyes narrowed critically. “I think it needs to be taken in a bit at the waist and the hemline needs to be raised another two inches.”
Behind me, Anton makes a sound of approval and jerks the skirt up to what feels like my crotch and my mouth drops open. I reach down to jerk the skirt toward my knees and Anton slaps my hand away. I shoot Henley a wide-eyed look. “Hen—”
“You wore a bra and axle grease for Halloween,” she says, shooting me a pointed look.
Shit. It’s been six months and no one will let me forget my bout of temporary insanity. “That was different.”
“Yeah, different because you did it to poke the bear,” Cari pipes up with a laugh. By bear she means Declan. She wasn’t here for Halloween but I’m sure Patrick told her the story about how I lost my mind and ran around Gilroy’s half-naked. Let some college guy drool all over me. She’s right. I did it to piss off Declan.
And it’d worked like a charm.
Before I can tell them they’re all crazy and/or drunk, the bell above Anton’s shop door lets out a jingle and she breezes in.