Page 80 of I’m Dreaming of a New York Christmas

‘Right…’

‘And I may have also told them that you plan to get married in this outfit in two days.’

My stomach flipped. ‘WHAT?’

‘Shh, they’ll hear!’

I emptied my lungs of air slowly, processing the information, and feeling increasingly sick as I did so. ‘So, you’ve basically lied to them to guilt trip them into giving me a discount?’

‘What?! You are going to be wearing it to a wedding; it’s not that much of an embellishment.’

‘You’re kidding, right?’

‘No! Lol.’

‘But the jumpsuit is completely destroyed; I can’t wear it anywhere!’

‘They’ve already taken another one off the rack for you – and the zipper definitely works, I checked. They’re giving you a 25 per cent refund on it, plus free alterations. Amazing or what?’

I chose not to respond. Instead, I clambered slowly to my feet, stepping out of the jumpsuit through the gaping hole in the back and starting to put my regular, safe-from-disaster clothes on.

‘Flo?’

‘I’m still taking it all in, Anneka,’ I hissed, while foreseeing all the unjustified glee and questions about my non-existent wedding I’d have to deal with the moment I stepped out of the changing room.

‘I can’t believe this is happening,’ I muttered, as I fastened my final dungaree strap, took a deep breath and opened the curtain. Only Cassidy was in the room.

‘Alrighty!’ she said brightly, but with a definite edge to her voice – I dreaded to think what else Anneka had told her to convince her this was her problem and not mine. ‘The alterations team has already made a start on the other jumpsuit, and I’m ready to process your partial discount. Plus…’ She paused for effect while she revealed something she’d been holding behind her back. ‘As an extra gesture of goodwill ahead of your special day, I asked our beauty team for a voucher for a complimentary manicure.’

All three of us looked at my hands, and I swore I saw Cassidy wince behind her impossibly white grin. To be fair, my black nail polish was looking the worse for wear, since I hadn’t been topping it up in recent days.

Cassidy handed me an envelope, and I could tell Anneka was working very hard not to squeal.

I smiled tightly. ‘Thanks, this is very generous.’

‘You should have told me it was your wedding you were shopping for!’ The words burst out of her mouth as if she’d been working hard to hold them in.

‘Like I said,’ Anneka interjected, before I could even think about how to respond. ‘It’s all very low-key and Flora’s not much of a talker.’

‘I know, I know. Sorry, it’s just so exciting! Congratulations! A spontaneous New York wedding – it’s like the most romantic thing ever…’ Cassidy didn’t stop talking during the entire refund transaction.

‘When do you think the alterations will be done?’ Anneka asked, as Cassidy handed me the refund receipt, which I placed in the carrier bag with my new shoes and manicure voucher.

‘I asked them to put a rush on it, so definitely by closing time today.’

‘Can we collect it tomorrow?’ I asked. My main priority right now was getting the hell out of here so I could fill my lungs with oxygen that was marginally fresher than the air in here.

‘Oh! Um, of course. Tomorrow morning, I assume?’

‘Sure,’ I said.

‘Great, I’ll let the team know you’ll be swinging by, before ten?’

‘Sounds good,’ I said numbly, guiding Anneka away from the counter and back towards the lifts.

‘And can you book her in for that manicure at ten o’clock as well?’ Anneka called over her shoulder while I practically dragged her by the arm.

‘Consider it done!’ Cassidy replied, just before the door to the alterations department swung closed behind us.