“Yes.” If Ryan had told his parents about their marriage, he intended to stick around. He wasn’t playing games. No, that wasn’t fair. Ryan had never played her, which was why she’d liked him so much. His straightforward manner was the reason she’d agreed to marry him—that and her feelings for him. The distrust had come from her side.
Something to consider.
The cab slowed for a red light, and Julia glimpsed a poster advertising a women’s magazine. A photo of the members ofFrench Lettersdecorated the cover. She turned away, not wanting to read the headline. “What did you have in mind for your outfits?”
“Something classy, yet not too sophisticated that it scares off our farmer,” Christina said. “We don’t want him to think we’d refuse to get our hands dirty.”
“Sexy without being too blatant. A fabric that won’t crease too much,” Susan added. “The last thing we need is to get off the bus looking as if we’ve slept in our clothes. And we want to divert his mind to sexy possibilities, not decide we’re a sure thing.”
Julia rubbed her hands together, forcing glee. “I’m looking forward to this.”
“An outfit that says feminine yet capable,” Christina said.
“A mission,” Julia said.
“We needed the full team on this one,” Susan said. “Maggie is meeting us there.”
Julia thought about all the things she needed to do at the club before pushing them to the back of her mind. “You have my full attention, at least until four. I want to pop in and see Mum.”
Maggie was waiting for them at the Downtown shopping center. She cocked her head, listened to their list of requirements and her lips quirked a fraction. “This sounds like serious shopping. Just as well I wore my comfortable shoes.”
Gradually, they made their way up Queen Street, stopping whenever a shop window snagged their attention or Christina’s insider knowledge told them the stock in a shop might work for them.
“This reminds me of the makeover you gave me,” Maggie said while they waited for Christina to try on a pale blue dress.
“So much has changed since then,” Susan said. “I handed in my notice at Barker and Johnson this morning and told them I wasn’t coming back after my holiday.”
“Good for you,” Maggie said. “Connor has decided to look for something more challenging too.”
Christina emerged from the dressing room to survey her reflection in the full length mirror. “It fits well, but it’s not quite the image I was going for. It’s too sweet.”
“What about this one?” the shop assistant asked, selecting a ruby-colored dress off the rack.
“Yes.” Christina gave an approving nod. “But not for me. Susan, this has your name written all over it.”
“But it’s red,” Susan said. “Isn’t it a bit eye-grabbing?”
“Go.” Maggie made shooing motions toward the dressing room.
Julia’s phone beeped, showing an incoming text. Photos. She scrolled through the attached photos of Ryan and Alex at the beach. Her heart twisted when she reached one of both of them together. Ryan bore a grin while Alex was more pensive, the beginnings of a smile lifting the corners of his lips.
“Ryan took Alex to the beach.” She handed her phone to Maggie to show her the photos.
“They look alike,” Maggie said.
After showing the shot to Christina and Susan, Julia took a last look before putting her phone away, smoothing her thumb across Ryan’s face. The apartment echoed without his presence.
Susan emerged from the dressing room.
“That’s the one,” Maggie said.
“It’s perfect,” Julia said.
“You look stunning,” Christina agreed. “The color works on you.”
“That was easy,” Susan said, sounding surprised. “It just goes to show you need to try the clothes on before rejecting them.”
“Where to next?” Julia asked. “The department store at the top of the street?”
