by Parker, Ali
“Okay, I think we should start here,” Yara announced, and she gestured to an enormous, glitzy store to our left.
I hung back for a moment, still feeling as though I didn’t belong in a place like this.
“Trust me, you’re going to find a bunch that look great on you in here,” she assured me, as though sensing my hesitation. “You’re only trying stuff on, right? No need for commitment.”
With that, she had managed to convince me to get inside and start seeing what there was on offer. I was sure that I wouldn’t be able to find much that actually fit me, but Yara, as though she’d already had plenty of experience working with stores like this, plunged in and pulled out a few dresses that she thought would look good on me.
“I’ve never been to an event like this before,” I admitted to her. “I just don’t want to stand out too much.”
“Oh, trust me, you’re going to stand out whether you like it or not,” she teased lightly. “You’re going with Harry. I think there are going to be a lot of women pretty seething that they’re not the ones on his arm.”
“Oh, don’t say that. You’ll make me back out of this.”
She tossed a handful of dresses into my arms and shook her head. “Not a chance,” she replied cheerfully. “You know how long I’ve been waiting for Harry to actually start dating someone worth a damn? You’re coming to this event. And you’re going to look amazing when you do.”
I tried on a few of the dresses, and Yara roped in an assistant to help us find the perfect cuts for me. She was totally confident and moved around this world like she had been a part of it all her life. I tried to muster up some of the same feeling, but I wasn’t sure that I was doing a very good job of it.
She cracked jokes with me to keep the mood light as I tried on dress after dress, trying not to catch sight of the price tag on any of them. I knew that these things cost a ton, and I didn’t even want to think about how much money I would have to spend to keep up with the rest of the in-crowd in this city.
As the assistant headed off to grab another size for me, I looked at myself in the mirror, in a shimmering silver dress. It was truly beautiful but looked like something that should have been at a movie premiere, not hanging out at a Portland charity event.
“Oh, I love you in that one,” Yara remarked, leaning out so she could look at me in the mirror. “You look like a movie star.”
“And I bet it costs movie-star prices too,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.
Yara glanced around, making sure nobody was listening in to us, and beckoned me in close. “You want the truth?” she told me.
I nodded, curious at once.
“This is a company event,” she explained. “Which means if we wanted to expense this to the company card we could.”
She pulled a credit card from her pocket and waggled it back and forth in front of me.
My eyebrows shot up. “You’re serious?”
“Well, that’s what I’m planning to do,” she replied
I bit my lip. It felt like cheating, but if she was going to do it anyway, I didn’t see why I shouldn’t take advantage and have a little fun.
“Okay, well, then, I think I can stop worrying about the cost,” I admitted, and I returned my gaze to the mirror. I felt like a million bucks in this dress, but now that I had a cool million to spend on what I was going to wear, I figured that I might as well cut loose and have a little fun, right?
We headed from store to store, trying on everything that we could find. As soon as people found out that we were connected to Harry, they were tripping over themselves to sell us anything that they could. It was still crazy to me, the power that his name had in this town. Did he know what the mere mention of him could do to people?
“Okay, well, if I have to try on dresses, then you have to as well,” I told Yara as she handed me yet another stack of gowns that would have been fit for a minor European princess.
“Oh, I’m probably just going to wear something I already have.”
“No chance,” I told her firmly.
She grinned at me, apparently sensing that I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “All right then,” she conceded, and she gestured for me to lead on. “Why don’t you pick a few things out for me?”
I chose some dresses that I was sure would look awesome on her willowy frame, and soon, the day turned into a genuinely fun shopping trip for the two of us. She seemed to loosen up as time went by, and I wondered if she had been as nervous as I was about doing this.
I had been freaking out at the thought of hanging with Harry’s best friend. His niece was one thing, but Yara was a grown-ass adult, and if she took a dislike to me, then there wasn’t much I could do about that.
But she had a light, easy way about her, a brightness that made everything run a little smoother, and her confidence and outgoing attitude made it easy for me to just tag along and go with what she knew.
I was glad to have a guide through this side of the lifestyle because I didn’t want to make a fool of myself when I was out and about with Harry. I was sure it was going to happen, one way or another, but the least I could do was take steps to try and put it off as long as possible.
Eventually, and in what felt like the dozenth store we checked out, I found it—the dress. It was a deep midnight blue in velvet, and it hugged around my waist and my hips and flowed out over my legs. I loved the way it looked and the way it made me look. I twisted back and forth in the mirror-like I was trying to find some kind of flaw with it, but I knew that it was basically perfect.
“You look amazing in that thing,” Yara told me, and she beamed at me in the mirror. “You’re going to be the most gorgeous girl there. Trust me.”
“Well, I better be if they’re all going to be gossiping about who Harry’s dating,” I replied.
Yara laughed. “You have nothing to worry about,” she promised me. “I know that for sure.”
We paid for the dress with the company card, and we looked a little further until we found the perfect suit for her. It needed to be pulled in a little to fit her frame, but I knew she was going to look stunning. In fact, I really hoped she would.
I had expected to feel a little insecure around the woman that Harry spent so much time with, but she was the sweetest thing, and I couldn’t imagine being anything other than totally supportive of her existence in his life.
“Okay, so we got the outfits,” Yara announced as we stepped out of the last store. “You hungry?”
“Yeah, actually, I am,” I agreed, patting my stomach. “Though I feel like I shouldn’t eat anything for the next week if I want to look good in that dress.”
“Bullshit,” she replied cheerfully. “Just for that, I’m getting you an extra taco.”
“An extra one?”
“Yeah, there’s a truck not far from here,” she explained. “They do awesome food. And I feel like getting outside for a while, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I really do,” I agreed. And so, I let her lead me down to this taco truck that sat about fifteen minutes away from the fancy department store that we had been shopping at.
“You know, I thought you wouldn’t be into stuff like taco trucks,” I remarked as we grabbed a decent serving from the slightly rundown looking truck and found a bench to sit and eat at.
“How so?” she replied before she started chowing down. I didn’t know how a girl as tiny as her could put away so much food. Maybe with all the running around she did for the company, she just didn’t get that much time to eat.
“I thought you’d be... well, I guess I thought you’d be a little more snooty,” I admitted. “To be so close to Harry, I mean.”
“And what about Harry says that he’s a snob?” She laughed. “If anything, he could stand to switch it up a little with that.”
I laughed. “It’s been really good to meet you,” I blurted out, hoping that I wasn’t coming across as too forward.
“You too,” she replied. “I was worried th
is was going to be awkward, but—”
“Oh, me too!” I admitted. “But it actually went pretty well, right?”
“More than pretty well,” she replied. “I actually have someone to talk to at this event now. You know how boring most of those people are?”
“You’re not exactly making it sound appealing.”
“Sorry, sorry.” She chuckled. “But trust me. It’s going to be a lot easier to handle with you around.”
She smiled at me, and I smiled back. I didn’t expect to come out of this with a new friend, but it looked like I had managed to do just that. And frankly, I would take any chance I got to get closer to the people in Harry’s life. Because it meant that I fit there.
And I wanted that more than anything else in the world.
Chapter 30
Harry
I left work with Tink in the backseat and headed over to pick up Winnie from school. I had a lot to take care of today, and I wanted to make sure that I stayed on top of every moment of it.
Winnie rolled into the backseat of the car, petted Tink hello, and then turned her attention to me.
“Is it still okay for Julie to come around tonight?” she asked.
I nodded at her at once. “Of course it is,” I promised her. “I just need to stop off and pick up some food first, okay? What time are her parents dropping her off?”
“At five,” she replied, and she laid her head down next to Tink and nuzzled her nose against his. He snuffled at her happily, and I smiled at the two of them in the mirror. They were the perfect pair, the two of them, and I knew that getting him had been one of the best things I had ever done for Winnie.
I dropped the two of them off at home, ordered a pizza, and headed out to pick it up. The pizza place was just around the corner so I wasn’t stressed about leaving them for a minute or two. When I returned with the boxes in my hand, I saw a familiar truck in the driveway and realized that we had an unexpected visitor.
“Hey!” Raina called to me as she climbed out of the truck. “You okay? Need a hand?”
“I think I can handle it,” I called back, balancing the pizza boxes on the flat of my right hand so that I could wave to her in greeting.
“You having a party tonight?” she asked as she got closer. She greeted me with a kiss on the cheek, and I couldn’t help but feel that little flutter of joy being close to her again. She was so peaceful, so pleasant to be around, like she was a cool salve on a hot day.
“Winnie’s just having a friend come over,” I replied. “I’m trying to get in all the supplies I’ll need for the two of them.”
“Oh, I don’t want to get in the way of anything,” Raina replied, furrowing her brow. “Sorry. Just that now that Rita’s back at work, I can actually come out and do house calls again, and I thought now might be a good time to check up on Tink and how he’s healing up.”
“You’re always welcome here,” I told her, and I meant it. “I’m sure Winnie will be delighted to get a chance to see you.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing her,” she replied. “She did such an amazing job at the shelter. You have no idea how much the two of you helped out.”
“She loved it there,” I replied. “She’s been talking about it all week, seriously. Saying how she wants to run a place like that one day.”
“That’s so sweet,” Raina replied with a smile, clasping her hand to her chest as though she was touched by what I was telling her.
“Come on in. I think Tink and Winnie are in the back yard.”
She followed me through the house and toward my niece and our little dog. Winnie shrieked with excitement when she saw Raina approaching, and she bounded to her feet and sprinted over to her to give her a warm hug in greeting.
Raina let out a little oof sound as Winnie threw herself at her, but she didn’t seem to mind the onslaught of her affection.
“I’m here to check on your little buddy,” Raina explained, and she gestured to Tink, who was sitting in the grass, wiggling his little butt back and forth as though he was ready to play.
“How’s he been doing?” Raina asked with interest as she got down on her knees to say hello to him.
“He’s seemed pretty well since he got back from the operation,” I replied. “I’ve been making sure to keep him away from my socks. So that’s been helpful.”
“Is he going to be all right?” Winnie asked, a furrow in her little brow.
Raina smiled at her. “Hey, now, you know I’m the best vet in the city,” she replied. “Of course he’s going to be all right.”
And with that, she set about her check-up of him. Tink seemed happy to see her, and he was lively and full of energy. His stitches were almost healed up by now, and he had been good about leaving them alone and making sure that he didn’t pick at them.
By the time that Raina had straightened up again, she had a big smile on her face and seemed happy with what she had found.
“He looks like he’s in totally fine shape to me,” she announced. “I give him a clean bill of health. Provided you keep him away from socks in the future.”
“Yay!” Winnie exclaimed. “Did you hear that, Tink? You’re fine again.”
Winnie dove back down onto the ground with Tink, and the two of them started rolling around together once more.
Raina beamed at them, her eyes a little misty, and then glanced over at me with a smile on her face. “If you want me to, I can give you some space for your night.”
“Oh, not a chance,” I told her. “I’m dealing with a couple of lively ten-year-olds. I feel like I could use another adult around here, you know?”
“I do,” she agreed. “Besides, seems a shame to put all that pizza that you got to waste.”
“Bold of you to suggest that I would ever let anything as good as pizza go to waste,” I shot back, and I jerked my head toward the house. “Come on. Let’s leave these two to it. And Winnie, don’t forget to clean your room before Julie gets here, okay?”
Raina followed me inside, and as soon as the door was shut behind her, I leaned over and planted a kiss on her lips. She smiled into the embrace, and it was obvious that she had been waiting to do that from the moment she had seen me as well. It felt strange, being around her and not being able to kiss her, like something was wrong, amiss, out of sync.
“I missed you,” she murmured, and she was still smiling when I pulled back.
“I missed you too,” I agreed. “Did you have a good time with Yara?”
“Yeah, I really did, actually,” she replied. “I was worried that she might be too... I don’t know, too cool for me or something, but she seems really nice.”
“Oh, she can put on that front when she’s around clients, but I know that she’s a giant goof at heart,” I assured her. “You guys find a dress?”
“Yeah, and I think you’re going to love it,” she told me with a flirtatious smile.
I couldn’t wait to see her in it. I couldn’t wait to take her out of it, either.
“I’m sure you’re going to look incredible,” I told her, and I kissed her again, just because I could.
Her body sank against mine as though this was some sort of relief, and I wondered how much she had been thinking about me these last few days. And if it even came close to how much I had been thinking about her.
Before long, Julie had arrived, and she and Winnie were clattering around, making so much noise that I eventually had to banish them to the living room with their dinner. I didn’t mind them being so loud. It was great to see Winnie so full of life and with a friend who clearly made her feel so comfortable and excited. I was never going to get mad seeing her that happy.
“You want to share the rest of this with me?” I suggested, gesturing to the pizza that was left in the kitchen.
She slipped onto one of the stools at the breakfast bar and pulled her hair out of the slightly messy ponytail that she’d been wearing it in since she arrived.
“I would love to,” she agreed.
> The two of us sat down, and we ate dinner together. It wasn’t exactly a candlelight rendezvous at a romantic restaurant—we could still hear the girls next door, singing along to some song and playing with Tink—but when I was with her, none of that seemed to matter even a little bit. We could have been in Paris as far as I was concerned, down by the river, gazing into each other’s eyes like there was nothing else in the world.
Because as far as I was concerned, there wasn’t.
“It’s so good to have you here,” I told her.
She took a bite of her pizza and nodded. “Hey, I’m just here for the free food,” she teased me lightly. “The company is just something I have to suffer through to get to it.”
“Oh, you’re suffering right now, are you?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow and giving her a hard look.
She shrugged. “More than you could ever know,” she replied, playing at dramatics. She ran a hand through her hair and got to her feet to grab herself a glass of water.
I was glad that she seemed so comfortable in this house. It made me happy to think that she was already starting to see this place as a home. I wanted it to be that for her. When she walked through the door, I wanted her to feel like she had made it back to somewhere she could feel safe and comfortable.
“I’m sorry for busting in on you like this,” she remarked as she finished the last of her pizza. “I was just a little... I don’t know. I was missing you. I wanted to see you in person.”
“I know how you feel,” I agreed, and we shared a smile that was meant just for the two of us.
How was it that just being close to her made me feel like I was spinning out of control? I wanted to pull her into my arms and take her up to the bedroom, paying no mind to the two little girls in the living room. Every moment I could steal with her, I would take it.
“You know, as much as I would love to help you babysit, I have a date with my couch and a movie,” she told me when she was finished eating.
“You sure you don’t want to stay a little longer?”
“Yeah, I’ve never been much good at babysitting.” She laughed as another burst of noise came from the room next door.