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Mimi was right. All she had to do was ask and Allie would have come running. There would have been no need for subterfuge. Still, Mimi couldn’t seem to make eye contact. She was hiding something. Allie was sure of it.
“So maybe you didn’t write the letter yourself, but…you know who did.”
Mimi’s eyes widened.
“Busted!” Allie said.
“Okay, so I had no idea she was going to actually write it. We’d talked about different strategies, and if I’d known you were going to pin your hopes for a new job on that ghost story I swear I would never have gone along with any of it.”
“She? Who exactly are we talking about here, Mimi?”
She sighed and wiped the icing off her hands with a kitchen towel. “Lauren Donalan, who else?”
Lauren Donalan was Concerned Citizen? It made no sense. “Start from the beginning, please.”
“You know that Henry and Cameron have become fast friends,” Mimi said, “and Lauren and I have become friends, too.” She made a pleading face. “Please don’t be mad, but we kind of thought it would be neat if we could get you and Tom back together.”
“Did you ever think of maybe just setting us up on a date?”
Mimi rolled her eyes. “As if you’d ever agree to that.”
“Of course not, but—”
“I know what we did was wrong. Sort of. But to tell you the truth, I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. If you’d seen your face when Tom came to pick you up the other night, well, you can tell yourself whatever you want but I’ve known you since you were thirteen-years-old. Whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing, he’s the one you want. So while I feel bad that this might have interfered with your job, I’m glad Lauren had the balls to do it.”
*~*~*
Allie pulled her car into the last parking space and killed the engine. The Bistro by the Beach was hopping, as usual. She studied the entrance to Lauren’s shop, Can Buy Me Love. Gone was the Partridge family window display. In its place were two mannequins dressed in retro Halloween costumes. She peered in through the glass window.
There was no sign of Lauren. Which didn’t mean anything. There was no sign of anyone, actually. Compared to the buzz of people coming and going through the Bistro door the little retro shop practically looked like a graveyard. How did Lauren make a living with this place?
Allie placed her hand on the doorknob and hesitated a moment. Mimi had made her promise she wouldn’t make a scene and she intended to keep that promise. She wasn’t mad at Lauren. More like confused. She understood Mimi’s rationale for wanting her and Tom to get together, but Lauren’s? That, she didn’t understand. Not one bit. But she wanted to.
She’d told Lauren she’d visit the shop before she left town so she had a legitimate reason for being here. But she suddenly felt…shy. And nervous. Talking to Tom’s ex about the weather was one thing. But talking to her about Tom himself was something else entirely.
Allie stepped inside the shop, setting off a chime. Although she didn’t usually frequent boutiques of any kind (Target was more in line with her current budget), she had to admit the place had a certain appeal. Racks of clothing were strategically placed along the weathered hard wood floors and each wall was painted a different color. It didn’t take but a few seconds to realize that each “section” held clothing from a different decade. Allie had thought the place was a sixties retro shop, but she recognized clothing from the fifties and seventies as well as the eighties, too. The Shirelles’ Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow played in the background.
Goosebumps erupted along her arms. Allie shook off an eerie feeling of…what? An odd sort of familiarity?
Lauren emerged from a back room carrying a hanger with a pleated skirt. By the expression on her face she seemed genuinely surprised to see Allie. Good to know Mimi hadn’t forewarned her partner in crime. “It’s you! I’m so glad you’re here!” She hung the skirt on a side rack and pulled Allie into a hug.
Allie awkwardly hugged her back. “Yes, well, I did promise I’d stop by before I left town,” she said, feeling squirrelier by the minute.
Lauren’s face momentarily fell, but she rapidly composed herself. “You’re leaving town? Right now?”
“Tomorrow. I’m going to the big football game tonight.”
“Along with half the town. It should be fun. Kind of like old times, huh?”
Allie nodded absentmindedly. Old times meant Tom playing first string quarterback, Lauren leading the cheerleading squad, and Allie sitting in the bleachers, watching.
“So, what can I show you? There’s an adorable navy blue pencil skirt that I think would look awesome with those legs of yours. What size are you? A six?”
“Lauren, I know you’re Concerned Citizen. Mimi told me all about the plot the two of you hatched up.”
Lauren frowned. “She did?”
“I kind of guessed. At least, I guessed Mimi’s involvement. But yours? Sorry, but I don’t get it.”
