Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 104820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
“Close to surfing too,” Erin reminded her.
“Absolutely. I had to live somewhere I could walk to the beach with my board,” Mila said. “The great thing about being in my business is I see homes as soon as they come up for sale. I’d been saving for a while and grabbed this cottage the second I saw it.”
They went straight up to Mila’s bedroom, where she ushered them into a walk-in closet packed with clothes.
Tessa had never seen so many clothes in one person’s wardrobe. The shock must have spread across her face, because Erin said, “As you can see, my sister is a fashionista. It’s because she’s built like a Greek goddess. She got all the female height genes in the family, so clothes always look amazing on her.”
Mila brushed away the compliment. “I got used to being in the limelight from a young age, when I was surfing professionally. Did a lot of photo shoots and had some sponsorships. I don’t miss always having to be ‘on’ the way Arch and Damien so often are, but I do appreciate that it gave me a taste for fashion.”
It was the first time Mila had ever mentioned her previous career to Tessa. All she knew from Margaret Percy was that she’d had a terrible accident that had ended her surfing success, and then she’d had to rebuild her life.
Tessa could sympathize with Mila’s predicament. Remaking yourself when you thought you had it all figured out was a long and often excruciating process—but when you came out on the other side, you were all the stronger for it.
Mila began rifling through her dresses. Tessa felt a little apprehensive. She was of a similar height, but nowhere near as sculpted and toned.
“Come look for yourself,” Mila said over her shoulder. “So many of these will look amazing on you.”
As Tessa looked through the clothes, she felt more like she was in a boutique than someone’s home. How could one person own so many beautiful clothes? It was a far cry from Tessa’s own meager wardrobe that filled the suitcase stashed away at Arch’s.
Mila held up a floor-length, deep-green dress that was so figure-hugging it made Tessa blush. She’d never worn something that revealing before.
Erin looked up from her phone, where she’d been typing a message. “Love it,” she said, “but I’m not sure if it’s really Tessa.”
Tessa breathed out a quiet sigh of relief, but agreed to try it on for fun, along with a slinky black number that was backless, with a sexy draped neckline.
Mila told her to go ahead and change in the bathroom while she and Erin remained in the bedroom. As soon as the door was closed, Tessa slipped out of her jeans and white shirt and into the green dress first. It was, thankfully, looser than she’d imagined, but still so sculpted she couldn’t imagine actually wearing it.
“Oh, Tessa,” Erin said as she went into the bedroom to show the girls. “You’re such a knockout, and you don’t even know it.”
“Totally,” Mila agreed, appraising her. “You’d look good in anything.”
Tessa flushed deeply, and Mila steered her around to face the full-length mirror. “See?” she said. “This is your Cinderella moment.”
“Your sexy Cinderella moment,” Erin amended.
Tessa wasn’t used to seeing herself in something so figure-hugging and glamorous. It didn’t really suit her windblown hair and makeup-free face. She had to admit, though, that the dress looked like something you’d see on a red carpet.
“I’d say that’s a definite possibility,” Mila said, walking around Tessa and studying her. “Let’s try the black.”
Erin sighed. “I wish I had somewhere fancy to go in a fancy dress. But I can’t even get a date to the local Italian restaurant for a pizza, let alone a date with a movie star to an awards ceremony.”
Tessa whipped around. “It’s not a date. I’m just there to help out.”
Another look passed between the sisters, one she couldn’t miss this time. Oh no… they must have guessed something had happened between her and Arch.
She felt the familiar panic set in. They were really nice women and had been nothing but kind and welcoming, but surely they must think Arch was way out of her league. And they’d be one hundred percent right.
To deflect, she said she’d try on the other dress and raced back into the bathroom.
As Tessa shimmied out of the green dress, she heard Mila ask Erin about her love life.
“What about that photographer guy?” Mila was saying. “I thought he had potential.”
Erin scoffed. “The forensic photographer? He spends half his time capturing awful crime scenes. And he really enjoys it. Too macabre for me.”
Mila sighed dramatically. “Your standards are too high sometimes. You rarely date, and when you do, you find ten things wrong with the person before the main course has even been served.”