Love or Lust - Rachael Brownell Page 0,43

she can still be in a great mood.

That’s the difference between us, though. She always views the glass as half full whereas I see it as half empty. She will find the positive in any situation, whereas I focus on the negative.

And like Lennon, she’s the silent type, but when she does speak, it’s with purpose.

When I finally step out of the stall, I find Bella standing in front of a series of mirrors, admiring herself from every angle. There’s a smile on her face that shows how much she loves the dress but, more importantly, how amazing she feels in it.

She looks stunning.

“It’s perfect,” I state, leaning against the wall.

Bella makes eye contact with me in the mirror, and her smile grows.

“You look beautiful. That color really brings out your eyes,” she says, turning to face me.

I hadn’t noticed, but as I look over her shoulder at my reflection, my attention is drawn to my eyes. The light golden honey of my hair already brought out my ocean-blue eyes but adding the dark navy as a contrast makes them even brighter. Once I add dark eyeliner and mascara, they’ll be highlighted even more.

“Thanks,” I reply. “You’re getting that one, right? I think it’s exactly the kind of dress Lennon had in mind for you.”

The sweetheart neckline accentuates her cleavage along with thin straps that crisscross in the back. The bust of the dress is pleated to a high waistline and features a band of beautiful beads and jewels that wrap around her body. The hem of the dress rests on top of her feet in the front but is slightly longer in the back. If her dress were white instead of a soft blush-colored pink, it could be mistaken for a wedding dress.

“I hope so. I’m in love with it.”

We both step back into our respective dressing rooms to change as we discuss where we want to go next. I need jewelry to accent my new dress along with shoes. Bella needs the same, and she wants to find something to put in her hair since she plans to pull it back and tie it low at the base of her neck.

With our dresses slung over our arms, we’re browsing the jewelry department when my phone starts ringing in my purse.

“What are you doing right now?” Naomi asks as I’m saying hello.

“Shopping with Bella. Why?”

Bella looks over at the mention of her name for a brief second before asking the lady behind the counter to show her a different hair comb.

“You’re trending everywhere. You and Bella. People are posting pictures of you two shopping.”

Without making it obvious, I take in my surroundings. There are no fewer than three phones pointed in our direction that I can see, and I haven’t even turned in a half circle.

“Great,” I growl as I cover the phone with my hand and say to Bella, “We need to go. I’ll explain why later.”

“Are you still there?” Naomi asks.

“Yeah.”

“Girl, you need to buy a hat. Your hair is a hot mess, but that blue dress you’re carrying around looks gorgeous.”

Patting the top of my head, I feel the stray hairs sticking up from putting dresses on and taking them off all day. I immediately release the messy bun that was supposed to be holding my hair in place and shake my head so my hair falls around my face. Not that I can hide from the people who have already recognized me.

“Thanks, Naomi. I have to get Bella, and we need to get out of here. Looks like we’ll be venturing deeper into the mall for jewelry and shoes.”

“Just go to a real jewelry store. They won’t let a bunch of people in there because shit costs so much.”

After sliding my phone back in my purse, I whisper in Bella’s ear, letting her know what’s going on. I feel her body stiffen next to me as she hands the ugly fake flower on a hairpin back to the sales associate. We casually walk to the register, pay for our dresses, and are attempting to get lost in the crowded mall ten minutes later.

“Pull your hair down and try and hide your face. We’re going to slip into the next shoe or jewelry store we see, okay,” I whisper as I slide my arm through hers, and we shimmy through the crowd.

“There’s a jeweler. Do we really want to go in there?”

I don’t even answer her, cutting off a stroller and pulling her through the open