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Chapter Eleven
Wait, so you're going to New York with him?" Amelia asked, her voice revealing her excitement.
"Yeah. I don't exactly want to turn down the opportunity to meet with the galleries, no matter how it came about," Izzy told her best friend, wrapping her arms around her to hug. "And hello to you, too."
Amelia laughed, her baby belly making the hug awkward as she pulled Izzy across the threshold.
"I'd forgotten about your security. I felt like I was smuggling something in even though I wasn't," Izzy said, referring to the guarded gate at the end of Amelia's street.
"Oh, yeah. Oliver and Marsali both needed security after they moved here, and it just made sense to set it up that way what with Marsali's brother next door and Lincoln and Carter willing to put up with it to keep out the crazies. You'd be surprised how many people do not respect boundaries."
Amelia curled her arm through Izzy's for the walk upstairs, but when they made it to the top, Amelia tugged her to a spare bedroom down the hallway instead of the master.
"I've got everything already set up."
"What's that mean?" Isabel asked.
Amelia flung open the bedroom door, and Izzy gasped before laughing. "Did you leave anythinginthe closet?"
There were clothes everywhere. Tossed over the bed, hanging on a rolling rack. Not just clothes but shoes and boots and purses and wraps. And Marsali. "Oh! Hi, I didn't know you were."
"I told Marsali about your trip, and she asked if she could join the fun,” Amelia said.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Marsali said.
“Not at all.”
“Good, because I didn’t plan to leave,” the woman said with a wide grin. “And I also brought some clothes I thought you might like to try. Oliver and I went to New York a few weeks ago for interviews, and I did a little shopping while there."
Izzy glanced at Amelia, struggling to find the words. "I-I can't thank you enough for the offer but—"
"No buts," Marsali said. "If you like it, borrow it, if not, don't. It's that simple."
"She means it," Amelia said. "Besides, it's winter in New York and you need to look the part. I get why you didn't want to accept Everett's offer of a shopping spree—"
"Smart move," Marsali added in her firm, matchmaker voice.
"So we've got you covered. Besides, I won't be wearing any of this stuff until next winter, if then. Come on and I'll show you."
Amelia pulled Izzy deeper into the room and shut the door behind them.
"Formal gowns are hanging here. Cocktail gowns here. Marsali and I also grabbed some things I thought might work for meetings with the gallery people or just a day on the town. And some casual stuff, too. Oh, this is fun," Amelia said, her eyes twinkling as she guided her burgeoning body down into a chair across the room.
"Fashion show," Amelia ordered. "Hop to it. We want to see everything."
"This is payback for setting you up with Marsali, isn't it?" Izzy teased, nodding her head toward Marsali the matchmaker while grinning.
"Ha," Marsali said, eyeing Amelia. "Be careful how you answer that."
"Considering how well things turned out, what do you think?" Amelia shook her head with a sweet smile, hands cradling her belly. "I wouldn't have Lincoln or my babies."
Twins. How was it possible that, in a short amount of time, her best friend was going to have not one but two babies?
Her mind immediately pictured a dark-haired baby with dark brown eyes, an impish grin, and heart-stopping dimples. Tiny little fingers and toes.
"Earth to Izzy? Hello?"
She blinked at Marsali's voice and rolled her eyes. "Sorry. Just thinking. What should I try first?"
