Sucking in a breath, I push the sheet that is doubling as a curtain aside and step out. Allison is standing next to the leather couch that Kinley is sitting on, her stomach protruding more than it was last time I saw it.
Two sets of eyes travel down my body to my legs and back up to my boobs. Allison takes a step forward and is the first to talk. “Oh. My. God. You’re fucking hot, Nora.”
My chest, neck and face flush a deep red, and I cross my arms over my chest. “It’s really pretty, but it’s too low.”
“Uh-uh.” Kinley hums. “You’re gorgeous, Nora, and I know Tuck is going to have a heart attack when he sees you in this outfit.” She scoots to the edge of the couch and stands up like a nine-month-pregnant woman before she walks to a rack and pulls off a cute jean jacket that’s half the length it should be. “This will help with the chill in the air.”
Slipping my arms into the jacket, I turn to the mirror to see how it looks. I fidget with the vest, tugging it up a little, and stand with my back straight, sucking my stomach in. Then I pull at the skirt to see if I can cover more leg.
Allison is standing right behind me, and I can see her head over my shoulder looking at my reflection with me. She grips my shoulders and sets her chin next to my ear with a big smile and a wink. “You look gorgeous, babe. He’s gonna eat you up.”
Kinley is back with a western-looking belt with turquoise stones on the leather strap and a multi-strand silver necklacewith a turquoise stone that sits right between my boobs. I look like I’ve stepped out of a magazine.
“Ooh! Boots!” Allison says and runs in another direction.
Placing my palm over the small triangle of skin showing above the band of the skirt where the two pointed panels of the vest come together, I look at Kinley. “This isn’t me, I don’t have the body to pull this off like other girls.”
Rolling her eyes, Kinley steps in front of me. “It’s too bad that ex of yours was such an asshole, because most women would sell their souls to the devil to have the tits and ass you have. I know I would.” She cocks an eyebrow with a smirk. “And I’ve got news for you, my brother likes curves and has always said that women are supposed to be soft.”
Moving my gaze over her shoulder so I can look in the mirror again, I square my shoulders and look at my reflection like someone else would. It’s true, I’m a few sizes bigger than the girls that I usually see men go for, and my hipbones may not show, but from a curvy perspective, this outfit does make me look pretty hot.
With a deep breath, I smile and nod in agreement. “Okay, I’ll get it.”
Kinley smiles and leans in. “My brother is gonna lose his mind when he sees you. Also, I think you should know that he’s never been the type to do things like festivals and dates before, it’s not his style.” She smiles even bigger and winks. “I think you might have him wrapped around your finger.”
As another flush makes my cheeks hot, Allison comes around the corner with a pair of cowboy boots adorned with red stars stitched into the leather. Obviously not for working in, but they are beautiful, and they match perfectly.
They spent the day curling my straight hair, plumping my boobs in my new lace bra and making sure I have too much makeup on. If anything, I can say I’ve been felt up by a girl. Bythe way they were touching and moving the girls around, it was obvious they had done this for each other in the past.
My new bra has a matching thong that is more like a tiny scrap of lace. They picked it out at one of the other boutiques down the street. When I slid the soft lace over my skin, butterflies fluttered in my center as I wondered if Tuck would take it off of me tonight.
I have to admit, I feel pretty. I don’t remember the last time Ifeltpretty.
They left half an hour ago, after they stood back and nodded in approval, and I nervously look at my watch again. He’ll be here in the next half hour.
My computer dings with an incoming message as I’m smoothing my hands down the front of the soft suede skirt for the hundredth time. Not wanting to wrinkle too much, I perch on the edge of the bay window and open my laptop to my email messages.
Fingers crossed it’s a manuscript edit request from the new profile I set up. My heart sinks when I see the subject line of the email.
FOUND YOU
The email address it came from is unfamiliar, but telling. Only Matt would think it was funny to create an email handle that says ‘hellomouse@’.
He’s laughing at me.
Laughing at me because I’ve been stupid enough to think I could keep moving and he wouldn’t catch up with me. Everything is catching up with me. Cars don’t just keep going without regular maintenance. Money doesn’t just keep coming. Life doesn’t stop happening. And apparently, Matt doesn’t stop looking.
Why won’t he leave me alone?
I’ve racked my brain for months trying to answer that question, and the only thing I can think of is the paperwork he religiously made me sign every few months. But it was only bank accounts and stock stuff. He’s a lawyer, so I assumed he would just have my name removed from everything after I left. He doesn’t need me for any of that stuff.
Damn it!
But why does he keep following me? Is this some kind of psychological game meant to make me crazy enough to go back to him?
Setting my fingers on the keys, I almost reply to tell him to fuck off. But what if it’s a trap? What if he’s just testing to see if I will reply so he can confirm it’s my email? I curl my fingers into my palms, and they hover over the keyboard.
I’m not sure what to do.
