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The shoe display makes my mouth water. The shoes are organized from darkest to lightest on the floor below the rack.

A slender woman with a French braid is waiting with her hands clasped in front of her.

Visiting stylists for a special evening out, like when my father got an award, or we went to a concert or play, used to be a regular part of my life, and grief swirls in my belly for all that I lost.

My mother and I left with a bag each of whatever we could grab while the Feds raided the house and our handbags.

At the time, I didn’t think it weird that my father had given me eight thousand dollars in cash the week before and put it in an envelope in my favorite Armido bag. I didn’t tell anyone about that, and I won’t. It’s helped my mother and I survive all this time.

“This is Cath. She’s helping us today. Mr. McIntyre, I put aside the suits you requested. Your custom Indochino suit arrived this morning. It’s lovely. I think you’ll like it.”

“I appreciate how fast you work, Veronica. But we need to focus on Mckenna.”

“Yes, I can see that.” Veronica steps close to me and takes my hand. She tugs me to stand on a white circle on the floor.

She and Cath slowly walk around me in a circle. “She has flattering hips.”

“An okay figure,” Veronica agrees.

In the mirror, I catch Adrian’s lips twitch.

With an effort, I stand still and let them do their assessment. “I want something that shows off her figure and draws the eye to her.”

“It’s Ava’s night. I don’t want to take her spotlight.” I put all the sarcasm I can into the words.

Adrian lifts an eyebrow. “The sun can’t take Ava’s spotlight.” He steps right in front of me, and I feel like I am prey about to be eaten. “I want everyone to know that you are mine. I need to show you off.”

“If I had her figure, I’d want to be shown off too,” Cath interjects.

My face burns red, but the way Adrian’s looking at me makes my pulse race, and I hate myself for it.

I am also relishing this moment because it’s been a long time since I was fussed over.

“A gorgeous figure, to be sure. What about this one?” Veronica takes a blue shimmery dress from the rack to her left and holds it next to me.

“Too dark of a blue,” Adrian says.

“Yeah, though it does look great with her complexion. She should get her hair taken care of. I can see the frazzled ends.” Cath frowns.

“She’s booked in for a hair appointment later today. I don’t like the blue. Can we see that gold number?” Adrian says.

“Of course,” Veronica says.

The gown is a dark gold color, and it’s gathered at the waist with a shimmery overlay.

“I’d like her to change into that one, please,” Adrian says.

Cath takes the gown and hangs it up on the empty rack.

“Mr. McIntyre, I have to suggest this one.” Veronica takes a light pink dress off the rack, and my stomach sinks to the ground.

I can’t recall the designer, but I have seen Ava wear this type of dress before. I can just imagine how she’d sneer at me.

“No. I need something more revealing,” Adrian says.

“We have this green one here. It’ll bring out her eyes,” Veronica says.

The green dress is sheer on the skirt with a cut up the leg that’d show a lot of skin.