Page 25 of Miss Belief

Irritation that I was the only one affected fueled my motivation to change the subject. “Um, so what’s on the agenda for this week?”

He stepped back, moving to take a seat at his desk. “You need to go shopping for clothes.”

Sigh. I was not a shopping kind of girl. “Sounds great.”

He chuckled. “Great is not what your face is saying.”

Busted. “I’m not much on shopping, especially for clothes.” Growing up poor, I’d mostly relied on hand-me-downs. Shopping was always a depressing endeavor where all I saw were things I couldn’t afford.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard a woman say she didn’t enjoy shopping.”

“It’ll be fine. Just tell me what I’ll need. I already have a cocktail dress and a long floral dress.” I didn’t have a lot of coin to be spending on new clothes, but I could find some stuff on sale and make it work.

His hesitation wasn’t lost on me.

“What?”

“This crowd. My family. They’ll be paying attention to which designers you’re wearing. Especially Vanessa. She’s into fashion and up on all of the trends.”

My clothing wouldn’t cut it, I supposed. I tried not to let it sting or allow my old insecurity about not feeling good enough rear its ugly head. “Makes sense.”

“How about we go tonight after work?”

“You’re coming with me?”

“Yes. Of course. I’m paying.”

I didn’t like the idea of him paying for my clothes. But I definitely didn’t have the money for designer threads either. “Okay. Tonight it is.”