window display for my grand opening. Of course, you probably don’t want to give it up. Who would? I mean, an original Bob Mackie…”
“Sky?” she said, waiting for him to stop staring at the garment and look at her again.
“Yes?” His eyes were wide and full of longing.
“I don’t want that gown. Anything you find is yours for the store. I already told you that. I have no intention of ever wearing that dress again. That night wasn’t a pleasant memory for me.”
“Oh. Right. Of course.” He carefully placed the gown back in the wardrobe and gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry. I should’ve realized you weren’t attached to any of these things after what you’ve told me. I just… you know me and fashion. I get a little overwhelmed when staring at greatness.”
She waved an unconcerned hand, trying to act like the unwanted memories weren’t flooding her brain. Gigi didn’t want to remember all the times she’d caved to James’s demands. The way she’d gone along with the lavish lifestyle, over-the-top parties, and wasted money on things that had never mattered. They’d lived their life for show, as if having the perfect address or hottest designer on speed dial made them important. James had wanted to impress the Hollywood types, while all Gigi really wanted to do was spend time in her gardens and make friends with the ladies at her local book club. She’d wanted a quiet, normal life, while he’d wanted to hobnob with celebrities. Now that she was in Premonition Pointe, she had that life she’d always longed for. Only it wasn’t a book club where she’d found her friends; it was the local coven. “Don’t worry about it. That life is behind me now.”
Skyler walked over to her and swept her up in a tight hug. “You aren’t fooling me, Gigi Martin. I commend you for looking forward and carving out a new life, but pasts don’t just fade away. No one knows that better than me,” he said with a sardonic huff of laughter. “I’m not going to make you talk about it, but just know that I’m here for you and I understand. Got it?”
Tears sprung to Gigi’s eyes. She hadn’t had a friend like Skyler in many years. Not since she and Sebastian had been close back in high school. Sure, she had Grace, Hope, and Joy. They were great and she loved getting closer to them, but they didn’t see through her the way Skyler did. It both warmed and shook her a bit. Still, she clung to him, grateful for his support, and said, “Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me.”
He pulled back and kissed her cheek. “I know what it means to live your life on someone else’s terms. Thank the gods, I’m not in that place anymore. Pete is the first person who loved me for me and supports me in anything I want to do. It’s my fervent wish that you find your own Pete someday.”
She shook her head but smiled gently at him as she said, “I’m not in the market for my own Pete. Not now anyway. All I was looking for with that dating site was someone to flirt with for a while and maybe have some dinner. Too bad I couldn’t even find that much. But it’s okay, because I still have you. And your friendship is more than good enough for me.”
The man who was always ready with a cheeky comeback and a teasing smile blinked back his own tears as he took her in his arms again. “Dammit, Gigi. I told myself I wasn’t going to cry today no matter what I found in your closets, but here you’ve gone and turned me into a weepy fool.”
She chuckled. “Oh, I’m fairly certain there’s something in these boxes of mine that will still make you cry, so you were never going to last anyway.”
Skyler laughed and pulled back. “You do realize that since you’ve moved in, you’ve turned into my favorite person, right?”
“Besides Pete,” she said with a glint in her eye.
“Besides Pete.” He nodded his agreement. “I knew five minutes after we met that we’d be besties.”
“Same here. But that might’ve been because of the cupcakes you brought me as a welcome to the neighborhood gift.” She winked at him.
“Someone had to take those damned things off my hands!” he said dramatically, pressing his hands to his flat stomach. “I was in danger of needing