Page 21 of The Summer That Changed Us

Honestly, she thought, amused, it never ceased to amaze her that men thought they could waltz into a lingerie shop and expect to choose something to fit their partner without having a clue what size they were. Few women could do that themselves without trying things on.

‘We do gift vouchers if you think that might be easier, that way the lady in question can choose something for herself and she’ll still be thrilled with the gift.’ More so, probably.

He scratched his chin. ‘I guess I need to know her size to do this properly.’

‘It would help.’

‘The thing is, the lady in question is my fourteen-year-old daughter.’ He looked down at the little cotton bra in his large hands. ‘I know I’m out of my depth, but I’ve got to try. This will be her first bra and it’s important that I get it right. Besides, if I bought her a voucher, I couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t just stick it in a drawer and forget about it.’

Katie tried to hide her surprise. She’d sold countless girls their first bras over the last ten years; some of them had come in alone, some with mums or aunties or even a friend. Never a dad, and certainly never a dad without his daughter.

She took the underwired bra out of his hand and replaced it on the rail.

‘Her breast tissue will still be growing, so we advise against wires for now. She won’t necessarily need a lot of support unless she’s bigger than you think. At that age it’s about modesty as much as anything.’

He nodded, absorbing all her advice. ‘Right. Good thinking. She’s wearing these little crop tops at the moment. Her mum bought her them for her two years ago. I think Amber would quite happily carry on wearing them, she’s very attached to anything Sophia bought, but … ’ He scratched his head. ‘This is really hard to describe without sounding weird.’

Katie took pity on him. ‘But she has begun to develop?’

He smiled gratefully. ‘Exactly. And I’m a single parent.’

‘Understood.’ She didn’t pry. Instead, she offered him Auntie Jean’s chair while she poured them both a coffee from the pot.

He refused sugar and milk and sniffed the coffee and grinned. ‘I’d have come in here sooner if I’d known the coffee was this good.’

‘All part of the service,’ she said lightly, and raised her mug to her face to hide how pleased she was. ‘Tell me about Amber.’

‘OK. Where to start … she’s a great kid.’ His face flooded with pride. ‘Sometimes she comes out with something so sensible that I wonder who the adult is between the two of us and then at other times she’ll get excited about a basket of kittens. She’s growing up, but she’s not ready to leave childhood behind. Thank goodness. Because I’m certainly not ready.’

Something about this man made Katie want to wrap him up in her arms. The thought made her warm inside. She really hoped she wasn’t blushing.

‘You know, I probably shouldn’t say this, but you might be better taking her to a big department store where there’s more choice,’ she suggested. ‘You can let her wander around the rails and get a feel for what she likes.’

‘Hmm.’ He considered this and then shook his head. ‘No, Sophia wouldn’t have wanted that. Buying Amber’s first bra was something she’d talked about. She looked forward to sharing these mum and daughter moments with her. She said getting your first bra is a rite of passage. And even though Amber has only got her old dad now that her—’ He paused to clear his throat. ‘Now that her mum has passed away, I don’t want it to be any less special.’

‘I’m so sorry for your loss.’ Katie’s heart twisted; poor girl losing her mum at such a tender age, and what a thoughtful dad she’d got.

He shook his head as if annoyed with himself. ‘I don’t know where that all came from. I’m not normally an oversharer.’

‘I think that’s a lovely way of thinking about it.’ She tried to swallow the lump in her throat. ‘When my Auntie Jean was alive and ran this shop and a teenager came in for a fitting, she used to treat her like a VIP and turn it into a real celebration. I can do that for Amber if you like?’

‘That’s kind of you to offer.’ He smiled. ‘How about this: I’ll take home a few different styles for her to try on in the privacy of her own room. That will give me a way in to broach the subject. Then she can perhaps bring back any she doesn’t like or that don’t fit.’

‘Perfect,’ she replied. ‘Sixty per cent of my clients are wearing the wrong size bra when they walk in here and they’re grown women. I’d feel much happier sending her out into the world in something that she feels confident in and that fits her properly. There’s actually quite a lot to bra fitting and it makes a massive difference if you get it right from the beginning.’

While he sipped his coffee, she gave him a quick demonstration of some of the main styles until he begged for mercy.

‘Who knew there were so many names for bras.’ His eyes crinkled with humour. ‘Thanks so much. I’ve been dreading getting it wrong. Until Sophia died, I’d never even taken Amber to buy shoes. It’s a very steep learning curve.’

‘I’ll make sure you don’t get it wrong,’ Katie promised.

‘Shopping was Sophia’s big thing. I’m more of a ninja when it comes to shops. I go in with a mission. I find it, pay for it and leave. I own four pairs of jeans all the same size and style in very slightly different colours. Why bother buying different jeans when I’ve already found the perfect ones? That’s my motto. Sophia could never understand that.’

‘I can’t claim to have quite that many identical jeans,’ Katie laughed, ‘but I do have about twenty baggy jumpers, so I’m not one to talk.’

‘I knew coming in here was a good move.’ He grinned. ‘Thank you, er … ?

‘Katie,’ she supplied.