“Sorry!” He threw his hands up, flushing pink but grinning, letting her know he wasn’t too mortified by what he’d said. “I sometimes forget you’re not quite as open as my other friends.”
“I’m open,” she said, biting her bottom lip, feeling a little embarrassed herself. “I swear I’m not a prude, despite my preferences for leaving the dick pics to the bedroom and politely declining threesomes.”
“Of course you are.” He nodded, looking serious for once. Skyler had a penchant for humor and teasing. It was rare when he wasn’t making a joke. “I just meant that some of my friends have zero filter. I didn’t mean to imply you were uptight.”
“It’s fine,” she said with a sigh. “It’s just disheartening to get a look at the options out there.”
Skyler tilted his head, making his stylish blond hair fall over one green eye. “Tell me again why you don’t just go out with Sebastian? That guy is smokin’ hot. How can you resist those smoldering gray eyes or his thick dark hair? Not to mention that chiseled jaw. And you do realize I’d kill to have those lips of his, right?” He touched his long fingers to his mouth and said, “Maybe I should make an appointment at the spa and see about some lip fillers.”
“Stop.” Gigi rolled her eyes. “You have no need for lip fillers. Besides, I’m fairly certain that Pete would not be on board with any cosmetic enhancements.”
Sighing, Skyler nodded his agreement. “You’re right. He’s all about growing old naturally or whatever. Mr. All Natural would throw a fit if I modified anything.” He smirked as he added, “But I bet he wouldn’t be complaining when I wrapped my new and improved lips around—”
“Stop!” Gigi held her hand up, laughing at her friend. She knew he’d only added that last bit to tease her after their earlier conversation.
“I was going to say popsicle,” he said innocently, batting his long eyelashes at her.
“Sure you were.”
They both laughed, and then Skyler glanced at the stairs. “Ready to face the past?”
Gigi’s smile slipped from her face as she followed his gaze. She’d actually invited him over to go through a sizable portion of her wardrobe. She had a lot of designer clothes leftover from when she’d been married to James. He was the type of man who’d wanted his wife to look a certain way and dress to impress his country club crowd. It meant she’d shopped at all the high-end retailers and collected a number of expensive, well-made articles of clothing. Most of them were gorgeous, but they weren’t anything she planned to wear again. They held too many memories she’d just as soon forget. Also, she was a beach girl now. Her current wardrobe consisted of peasant blouses, cotton skirts, and leggings with oversized shirts.
“We don’t have to do this today,” Skyler said, gently placing a hand on her arm. “We don’t even have to do it at all. You can forget I ever even asked. I’ve already got a list of places to find used designer clothes.”
“Like Always in Fashion?” she asked, referring to the new used clothing store that had just opened in town.
He clutched at his heart and stared at her in horror. “You can’t be serious. Have you seen what they try to pass off as fashion in that place?”
“Jeans, sundresses, and graphic T-shirts?” she asked, raising one eyebrow.
He snorted. “That sounds about right, but no. Last night I made a list of all the estate sales in the area. We could skip your attic and start bargain hunting instead.”
Being a designer, Skyler had a passion for high-end garments, and when Gigi had mentioned she needed to do something with her collection, his eyes had lit up. He was in the process of opening his own boutique shop in Premonition Pointe and had been contemplating having a sister store for used designer duds. While Premonition Pointe was a relaxed beach town, it did have its fair share of well-to-do residents and tourists who would likely love bargain hunting while strolling through their quaint town.
“You know, I’d love to go estate sale shopping. Tell me when, and I’m there,” she said with a smile. While Gigi was no longer interested in fancy clothes, she did love art deco jewelry and modern art.
“Perfect. There’s one this Saturday at an estate about twenty miles down the coast. We need to get there early, so be ready to go by nine.” He tapped something into