his phone, no doubt putting the date on his calendar.
“Nine is early?” she asked, raising one eyebrow.
“Yes,” he said, nodding his head seriously. “Anything before noon on a Saturday is sacrilege.”
Shaking her head, Gigi started to make her way toward her stairs. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”
Skyler jerked his head up and stared at her, his eyes wide with surprise. “You mean you’re ready to face the past?”
She shook her head. “Nope. Just ready to let go of it one expensive garment at a time.”
“That’s my girl,” Skyler said, hurrying to her side and slipping his hand in hers. “Just point me in the right direction, and I’ll clear everything out. You don’t have to do a thing, or even stay up there with me, if you don’t want to. Just let your buddy Skyler take care of everything.”
“I just might do that,” she said as she sucked in a deep breath and took the first steps on her journey to not only rid herself of her past with her ex-husband, but also the one she’d left behind over twenty years ago.
Chapter Two
The narrow stairs creaked under Gigi’s feet as she made her way up into the finished attic. It was a room she hadn’t been in since the day she moved in months ago. A weak stream of light shone through the frosted glass window, illuminating the dust in the air, and the image invoked a strong memory of the attic in her childhood home. The one where she’d spent hours playing dress up in her mother’s old theatre costumes. Gigi stood in the doorway with her eyes closed as she did her best to calm the suddenly rapid beating of her heart.
Thinking about her mother always caused mild panic attacks. She’d hoped that enough time had passed that she’d no longer feel like hyperventilating when she thought of the beautiful blonde with the infectious smile and tinkling laugh. It appeared all the therapy in the world wasn’t going to help her overcome that particular response.
“Gigi?” Skyler said, pressing a hand to her shoulder. “Are you all right?”
She sucked in a breath of stale air and moved aside for him as she said, “I will be.”
Skyler squeezed her shoulder in support, giving her an encouraging smile. “You can do this. Once I carry those overpriced, overworked, over-the-top garments out of here, just think how much freer you’ll feel.”
“Overworked? Overpriced? Who are you?” She laughed at him and felt most of the tension drain from her body. Leave it to Skyler to find a way to put her at ease when she was ready to jump right out of her skin. He was right. Once this was done, she would finally feel free from a life she never should’ve jumped into.
“Just your friendly neighborhood designer who doesn’t take himself too seriously.” He winked and walked over to a portable garment closet. “I assume most of the items are in here?”
“Most might be a bit misleading,” she said with a sheepish smile and then waved a hand at a row of boxes.
Skyler’s eyes lit up. “Gigi, did I mention how much I love you?”
“Only about a dozen times today.” She grinned at him and then turned to a trunk, wondering what it contained. When she’d left her ex, she hadn’t exactly been clear headed when she’d hastily packed up her belongings. All she’d wanted to do was leave that old life behind and move on in her new home by the sea. And she’d done that. Now it was time to let go of the past for good.
“Holy son of a biscuit,” Skyler said from behind her. “You have a Bob Mackie?” His tone was hushed and full of reverence.
Gigi turned to find Skyler standing next to the portable closet. He’d unzipped the canvas and was holding a form-fitting silver-beaded gown that she’d worn to a movie premiere a million years ago. The star had been a client from her ex’s advertising firm, and he’d scored tickets when the partners had been otherwise engaged. “Yeah. It’s only been worn once.”
Skyler clutched his heart as he sucked in an exaggerated breath. “Gigi, my love, I’m about to die on the spot. You have no idea how happy you’ve made me.” Suddenly his grin vanished as he clutched the gown and peered at her. “You don’t want to keep this do you? I mean, I’d understand if you did, since it’s just so… glorious. But this would make the most stunning