hives appeared on my neck.
Max’s mum was probably permanently scandalized.
I was actually happy to be back at work, here amongst the zoned-out shoppers and my moody co-workers. One person who never changed her attitude was my friend and colleague Amber. She worked in the same department, and if anyone could shake me out of this post-traumatic nightmare, it was her.
I’d spent the last hour moving items from one end of the gown department to the other—mainly because shoppers had this annoying habit of picking a dress off a hanger and, half-way to the changing room, deciding they didn’t want the dress after all. Thankfully, most of the customers had thinned out since we were closing soon.
My feet were sore from walking around the vast showroom for eight hours straight. I was glad we only had fifteen minutes to go before I could go home and watch some mindless TV.
But sometimes, working at a major retail store could be kind of fun…when my heart wasn’t breaking—mainly because I got to hang out with Amber.
I found her in one of the back rooms, looking miserable as hell, sorting through returns—a job we hated, therefore, we took turns doing the dark deed. Basically, the only way you could tell if an item could go back on sale after a buyer had returned it was to sniff the damn thing—no kidding.
I watched as Amber sniffed the armpits of a Victoria Beckham gown. It would of course be dry-cleaned to remove the lipstick stain on the collar, but if it was worn it couldn’t be sold as new.
“Want some help?” I asked, with a please-don’t-say-yes expression on my face.
“Almost done.”
“We deserve danger pay.”
“I know.” She slid the gown down the rack, and then turned to me, giving me a look I’d gotten used to over the last few weeks. “How are you, Daisy?”
“Fine.” I forced a smile.
“A few of us are going out after work for fish and chips. Come join us.”
“No, thank you.” I wasn’t ready to be social.
“Are you getting out at all?”
“Yes.” I rested my hands on my hips. “I joined a Dare Club.”
Because some trickster bastard had signed me up—the man I missed, the man I hated and yet adored all at the same time.
Seeing her confused expression, I added, “It’s a club where a bunch of us get together and do things we wouldn’t normally do. You know, to shake us out of our comfort zone.”
“How did you find out about it?”
“A frenemy.”
Amber raised her eyebrows. “That was nice of her.”
“It was a him.” I pretended my emotions weren’t scrambled. “Nick’s older brother. The invite came from him.”
“That wasn’t weird?”
“No.” It was the way he’d done it that was weird.
“What sort of things do you have to do?”
“Hang off buildings. That kind of stuff.” I grinned at her. “It’s liberating.”
“Oh, my God, seriously?”
“The guy who runs it is super cool. It’s about pushing yourself beyond what you believe you’re capable of doing.” Might need a lifetime membership at this point.
“Good for you.”
“As long as it’s not flying, I’m fine.”
“Right, well, if they try to make you do that, tell them to F-off.”
“I doubt it’s in the budget.”
“I have a mannequin I have to slip this on.” Amber picked a dress off a hanger. “Come with me and tell me everything.”
“Is that Versace?” I reeled at its beauty.
She ran her hand over the silk. “Even with fifty percent off it would still cost me six months of my salary.”
“I’ve got a girlie crush on a dress in the window,” I admitted.
“I’ve been drooling over those shoes, too.” She pointed to the high heels. “I feel like I knew them in another life.”
She made me laugh. “Isn’t it funny that we both work in a store where we can’t afford to buy anything?”
Amber beamed at me. “We can afford a cupcake from the café.”
“True.”
She pulled the strappy shoes out of the box and held them up. “Love at first sight.”
We headed out onto the showroom floor.
I helped Amber redress a mannequin with the Versace gown. She took her time to fluff out the skirt.
On the other side of the divider was the dress I coveted, in the same display I always stopped to stare at after work.
A memory of me and Max at the Victoria and Albert Museum flashed into my mind—him knowing they had a shop window display that would wow me. Even though he’d hurt me, he’d done so many wonderful things, too.
Don’t think about it.
He’d tried to change me.