If The Shoe Fits (Some Girls Do It #8) - May Sage Page 0,2

my friends, I wear sweats." That wasn't exactly accurate: Helene wasn't hanging out with anyone at all, these days. She went out with couple of old college pals on weekends, occasionally, but they weren't close enough to spend time at each other's places.

"We went out for dinner before," Cassie explained, typing furiously on her phone's screen. She shoved the device in a round clutch bag, and smiled up to her. "Carter asked Vera, the new housekeeper, to prepare one of the guest rooms for you. He says you can stay as long as you'd like."

Helen felt her cheeks heat. She wasn't surprised that the offer had come from her brother-in-law rather than Cassie; he was more practical, while Cassie would have thought about her emotional needs, first. "That's really nice. I don't have anything on me. I'll get my bank to send me new cards, and start looking for a new place Monday. I'll be out of your hair in no time, promise."

Her sister rolled her eyes. "As long as you'd like," she emphasized. "If you stayed a year, I'd be delighted. Plus, the house is too big for us, anyway."

She was right there. They'd bought a ridiculously gorgeous townhouse overlooking Central Park.

"All the same, I need to find a place soon." After a beat, she added, "Without Sarah."

She might have to get another roommate, given how expensive NYC rent could be, but if she did, it'd be someone with fewer proclivities toward pyrotechnics.

She was seen three hours later. The doctor said her vitals were good, and she didn't appear to be in shock, surprisingly. They offered to observe her for the new few hours—when Helene declined, they recommended she avoid driving, and made sure someone was available to help her in case she needed it.

"Like anyone drives in the city," Helene grumbled.

Cassie straightened her spine. "I'll stay with her all day. She's coming home with me."

Helene could only sigh. "You've always liked to play nurse." Cassie was a natural caregiver—she always made sure everyone around her was comfortable.

"And for once, you have to let me," Cassie replied smugly.

Helene

The elegant town car slowed to a crawl in front of the grim, gray TriBeCa building where Helene worked.

"Thanks for the lift," Helene said, beaming at the man seated by her side.

With his gray eyes and his dark wavy hair perfectly styled, her sister's husband gave off a serious Superman vibe, as Cassie often said.

He peeled his gaze away from his phone long enough to glance at her. "I can pick you up around six."

Helene rolled her eyes. "I feel like a six-year-old on my first school day. Thanks, Daddy, but I can find my way back."

Carter laughed. "All right. Play nice with the other children."

A taxi blew its horn impatiently. Helene opened the door, exchanging the warmth and comfort of the car for the light trickle of rain of a September night.

Helene didn't mind the rain. She was just glad to have escaped the heat of the summer in the city, finally. She stopped to ponder whether her apartment could have been saved if it had rained the previous night.

Probably not. The whole building had been destroyed in the span of mere minutes. Funny how she hadn't truly understood how destructive fire could be until then. It had seemed like a scene from a movie.

"Did you find yourself a sugar daddy?"

Shaken from her reverie, she noticed the woman standing next to her and snorted. "I wish. That's my sister's man, not mine."

Em, one of the girls down in admin, grinned knowingly, eyes still on the car that sped away in the distance. “Bald and twice her age?"

"Hot and in his thirties," she corrected. "He's kind, and treats her like a princess."

The admin woman grimaced. "Not fair. Some women have all the luck."

Any other day, Helene might have defended Cassie, pointing out that it wasn't just luck that had made her sister's life a modern fairy tale. Cassie was kind, and talented in her own right. Her ever-growing list of published novels could have afforded her a town car with a driver, too, if she'd been one for such status symbols. Left to her own devices, though, Cassie preferred catching a yellow cab, if she couldn't walk to her destination.

But after seeing her life reduced to ashes, and then squatting in her sister's luxurious townhouse for a weekend, she could only nod. Cassie truly had all the luck.

"Hey, do you want to go for drinks after work?" Em offered as they walked