“You will. This one’s just a size too big.” Nova ripped open the curtain to reveal Alana, and she stepped out looking breathtaking.
I could feel the thrumming of my heart in my chest as my eyes followed down her figure. The need to get up and run a hand over her soft-looking skin was so strong, I had to tell myself to stay seated.
The dress glimmered under the bright store lights, hugging her body tightly and complementing her curves in all the right places. It accentuated her wider hips, slightly smaller waist, and belly, and she looked absolutely radiant in this stupid dress.
I was sure Alana wasn’t going to like that her stomach was fairly exposed instead of hidden under baggy clothing, but fuck did she look hot like this.
In that dress, Austin had no other choice but to notice her.
As Alana’s gaze met mine, her cheeks flushed, and she tugged self-consciously at the hem of her dress in an attempt to stretch the fabric. How was I supposed to make her understand that she was breathtaking? She’d never believe me.
Elliot let out a low whistle, clearly impressed, but he regretted it the moment I pushed my elbow into his side.
“You should definitely get that dress, Ally-Bear. It suits you perfectly,” I said, a pinch of hope that she trusted my words forming in my chest. She wasn’t going to. Alana barely even knew my name.
Nova squealed eagerly. “Just imagine it with some strappy heels and silver jewelry!” She turned toward Alana, grinning widely. “You’ll look like a movie star, Alana.”
“I’m more of a gold jewelry girl,” she admitted, something cautious in her tone as if she feared upsetting my sister by rejecting silver. It was good to know she preferred gold, though.
“That’s fine! Gold and red look amazing, too.” Nova pulled out her phone, but I couldn’t possibly imagine why she needed it. “My mom gets her jewelry from this amazing jeweler close to the Rockefeller Center. It’s very pretty and super high quality, so it’ll last you a while. I’ll check it out tomorrow, then send Eden some pictures so he can forward them to you. Then you’ll just let me know which ones you like, and we’ll go buy them, okay?”
“Uhm…” Alana’s eyes snapped to mine for a second as if to ask me to make my sister stop talking. “N-No, that’s… alright. Thanks, though.”
Oh, she was stuttering again. That wasn’t good.
Jumping off my seat, I took about two steps until I stood in front of Nova and Alana. While I wanted to pay attention to my fake girlfriend first, I figured getting rid of my sister was better for now. “Why don’t you go check out some jewelry here?” I laid my hands on Nova’s shoulders, turning her around. “I’m sure you’ll find something good.”
“But the one Mom goes to is?—”
“Expensive,” Elliot finished for Nova, though I was sure she had something entirely different to say. “Didn’t Mom just pay like a grand forearrings?”
“Yeah, but they’re high quality. Wouldn’t you rather spend a good amount of money on something that lasts for years than pay ten dollars for a pair of earrings that won’t survive the rain?”
Elliot sighed and wrapped an arm around Nova’s shoulder to probably lead her toward the less expensive jewelry store inthis mall. As they walked away, I could faintly hear him say, “We might want to have a chat about this with Mom and Dad.”
As soon as my siblings exited the store, I turned to Alana. “I’m sorry about that.”
Alana took a deep breath, shaking her head. “Your siblings seem nice.”
“Look, Nova’s never really had people in her life that couldn’t just…” How was I going to put this nicely? “She’s gone to private schools all her life. If she wanted something, she got it. It’s not that she doesn’t know other social classes exist or that she looks down on them, she just… forgets sometimes.”
It still sounded super wrong. It wasn’t even a good excuse, either. Rich kids could still be down to earth. Nova had her problems with that.
A faint smile pulled on Alana’s lips. “It’s okay. I’d probably forget too if I were surrounded by only rich people all the time.”
“It’s notjustrich people, I don’t think.”
“Are you kidding me?” She laughed once. “Eden, your family isrich-rich. Doesn’t your dad own like ten restaurants? And your mom? She used to model, didn’t she? And now she has like threesupersuccessful TV shows of her books or comics or something?”
It was like a punch right to the gut. I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to swallow the unease her words stirred up inside me. Alana hadn’t once been one to hold back with me, and that was something I both admired and feared about her.
“Yeah, we’re well off,” I replied, raking a hand through my hair. I was often reduced to my family’s money, so it shouldn’t have stung as much anymore, but it did. I couldn’t show Alana, though. “But that doesn’t mean things have always been easy for us, you know? Money doesn’t solve everything.”
If money solved everything, people wouldn’t have used me as much as they did anymore.
Alana studied me for a moment. “I didn’t mean to offend you, Eden. Your siblings seem lovely, really.”
“You didn’t,” I said quickly. Taking a deep breath, I decided to change the subject before she could attack me any more. “Back to that dress… we’re getting it. And don’t worry, you don’t have to pay for it. After all, I invited you to go shopping, so it’s only fair I pay for everything.” Besides, if Alana found out that the price tag read six hundred dollars, I was sure she’d fall into a coma or something. And it was only one of many pieces.
