“And we’re going,” Paige stated, pulling on Lainey’s arm.
“Hey!” Lainey laughed.
Maisie laughed at both of them as they said their goodbyes and left her apartment.
She alsodidfeel as if she and India were getting a fresh start. India had seemed vulnerable today, really worried that she’d messed things up between them, and Maisie had tried to be vulnerable, too, given what Lainey had said to her before about that not being easy for her. She knew Lainey had been right and that it had been a problem in their relationship. Maisie had preferred to be the strong one, the one holding things together all the time. She supposed she had gotten a lot of practice with that after her mom had left. Then, again, after her dad died and her grams had needed a lot of help in the shop as she’d gotten older. And maybe lastly, when her grams had died and Maisie had had to take it all on herself.
It was much easier to push through it and not focus on grief or pain or how hard it could all be sometimes, just to wake up and go to work, with all the pressure of holding her family’s entire legacy together. She didn’t want that to beherlegacy: just holding things together until they crumbled. She didn’t want them to crumble. She wanted things to be successful, and she wanted to find someone who made her feel like shecouldbe vulnerable with them, and it would be okay. While Lainey had been great as a girlfriend, Maisie had never felt that with her, but with India, she hadn’t even noticed that she had; it had happened so seamlessly. She’d been well on her way to letting India all the way in or close to it, at least, when the whole Colter revelation had occurred, and she had even let India hold her at her apartment and then again, in the shop, which was unusual for her. Lainey had been right about that, too.
Now, she was on her way to pick India up for a date, and she worried that India, like Lainey, would think this was another test, but when India had mentioned ice cream to her, Maisie had known just the place. It also just happened that she needed to go there anyway, so she hoped it would make forthat fun, relaxed night she had promised them both, because at least Maisie really needed it.
“Hi,” India said when she opened the door.
“India, I said casual.” Maisie laughed when she took in India wearing a pair of black slacks and a blouse.
“I haven’t changed yet. I just got home,” India replied with a small laugh. “You wanted to pick me up at six, but I had a meeting go long and only just got here.”
“So, you’re not wearing those heels?”
Maisie looked down at the black heels that India wore.
“No,” India said. “Come on in. I think I have a pair of shoes that don’t have heels somewhere.”
“Wait. Are you serious?” Maisie asked her as she walked inside. “Only one pair? And you have tofindthem?”
“I’m kidding,” India said and took her hand. “Come on. You can just dress me. That way, you can approve what I’m wearing for wherever you’re taking me.” She started walking but stopped. “You should know, though, that I’ve never let someone dress me before, without them being an actual stylist, so this is a big step for me.”
“I amnota stylist.”
“I know,” India said softly.
They walked down the hall, through the open kitchen and living room, down the next hall, and into India’s bedroom.
“Okay. My closet is massive, but it’s organized. It won’t take long. Evening wear is back on the right. Work stuff is front right. Left is mostly shoes and accessories, but in the drawers, I think there are a few casual things.”
“You have drawers in your closet?”
“Yes, Maisie,” India said, laughing. “Want to check it out while I go to the bathroom?”
“Sure. Okay. You’re fine with me just going through your stuff?”
“Are you going to be touching everything as you do?”
“No.”
“Then, yes. I’m fine.”
India smiled at her and disappeared into the bathroom.
Maisie walked inside the giant closet, which was more like another bedroom in size, and noticed that most of the evening wear, as India had described it, was in hanging bags. India’s work clothes were easily recognizable to her because Maisie had only ever seen her in them. She turned to her left, where shelves and shelves were lined with shoes, and nearly all of them were heels. There were a few flat boots in the mix, but Maisie didn’t spy a single pair of tennis shoes. She pulled out a drawer and saw it filled with fancy pajamas – the kind women wore to sleep in movies, where they wore matching tops and bottoms, and the tops buttoned up. Maisie thought about how cute India would look in the dark blue set, which seemed to come with a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.
She closed that drawer, opened the one beneath it that held T-shirts, and pulled one out, thinking it would be fine. Moving on to the drawer next to it and expecting that to be pants or socks, she found it filled with lingerie instead. Deep reds, dark greens, and navy blues, along with a few white and black options, filled her eyes, and they weren’t just in a pile, either. They sat there in organizers, looking like they’d never been worn.
“Forgot about that drawer. I should have warned you,” India said.
“Huh? What?” Maisie slammed the drawer shut.
India laughed and said, “That’s my special-occasion lingerie drawer.”
