“A likely story,” Natalia teases, opening the door to the middle cubicle.
“You must miss Gino,” I say, heading into the cubicle on the left while Sierra takes the one on the right. The doors are three-quarter length, so while we have privacy to change, we can still talk.
“To be honest, it’s not that much different from when he was living with us. He’s a workaholic who is rarely home.”
I often detect more behind Natalia’s words, but she is notoriously private about her relationship with her husband. She seems sad a lot of the time, and while Gino appears to be a decent guy and there is respect between them, it’s not the happiest marriage. I asked her one time if he was ever abusive, worried that might be behind the vibes I sometimes get from her, but she assured me he has never laid a hand on her.
“Ladies. How are we getting on in here?” the owner asks, stepping into the changing area.
“Good,” Sierra says. “My sister would like to try on those boots you have in the window.”
“Absolutely,” the woman says, coming up to my door. I confirm my size, and she disappears, returning a few minutes later with the gorgeous boots. Sitting on the small bench in my cubicle, I pull the boots on, the soft leather covering my legs like a second layer of skin. Pleasure trickles through my veins as I stand in front of the mirror, admiring my reflection.
“Get your sexy ass out here, sis.” Sierra calls from outside.
Natalia whistles under her breath when I step out of my cubicle. “You are one smoking-hot mama.”
“You both look gorgeous.” I smile at the vision that is my sister in a tight bejeweled little black dress and her sister-in-law in a knee-length, flowy, strapless red dress.
“We will be the talk of New York tonight.” Sierra waggles her brows.
I smooth a nervous hand down the front of the dress, biting on the corner of my lip. “Are you sure this dress is classy enough for where we’re going?” I stand beside Nat and Sierra in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror.
“It’s perfect,” Sierra says. “You look elegant and sexy.”
“That dress was made for you.” Natalia looks wistful as she says, “I wish I had your height. Your legs are envy-worthy.”
“I wish I had your boobs,” I reply, cupping my modest chest. “Nature wasn’t overly kind to me in the boob department.”
“Nonsense.” Sierra tilts her body, twisting and turning, as she inspects herself in the mirror from all angles. “Your boobs are perfect for your shape, and it’s not like they are small. Why are you always so hard on yourself?”
“Alfredo hated them,” I blurt. “He was always pestering me to get a boob job. All his whores had big breasts, and he loved throwing my inadequacy in my face.”
Natalia’s mouth drops open, and Sierra’s fists clench into balls at her side. “I want to dig that motherfucker up and beat the crap out of his lifeless body.”
A throat clears behind us. “I’ll flip you for the privilege,” Alesso says, and embarrassment floods my cheeks. I keep my head down, unable to look at him, knowing he heard what I just said.
“You can’t be in here!” Sierra shrieks, rushing toward her bodyguard. “You can’t see Rena until later.”
The blush deepens, and my cheeks are on fire. I am going to throttle my sister!
“I just want to remind you that we have ten minutes before we need to leave,” he says. “The boss was very specific in his instructions, and I don’t want us to be late.”
“We won’t be late. Go back outside and wait,” Sierra demands while Nat reaches out, squeezing my hand.
I only lift my head when I hear his retreating footsteps. “Oh my God.” I whirl around, pointing my finger at Sierra. “I can’t believe you said that to him! And I can’t believe he heard what I said.” I bury my face in my hands. “I want the ground to open up and swallow me!”
“Don’t be embarrassed,” Nat says. “If the look on Alesso’s face was any indication, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t agree with your asshole husband.”
“Truth.” Sierra gently prizes my hands from my face. “And he only saw the dress from behind. He was like a dog in heat.” She grins, waggling her brows again.
“It’s still embarrassing,” I grumble, fanning my face. “And you need to stop saying things like that. I’m not his girlfriend.”
“Yet.” Sierra fights a wide smile.
“Have you been holding out on me?” Nat inquires, taking one last look in the mirror. She peers directly into my eyes. “Has something happened I don’t know about?”
I vigorously shake my head. “Nothing has happened. We’re friends. That’s all. I have hardly even seen him in the two weeks since the guys returned from Vegas,” I say as I walk back into my cubicle to get undressed. I don’t think Alesso remembers our late-night phone call because we have barely talked, let alone spent time together, like he had suggested on our call.
