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I arched an eyebrow at her. “The wine made you do it? That’s what you’re going with?”
“Sure is. Considering it’s the truth.”
I laughed and shook my head at her, but I didn’t give a retort like I wanted to. I let her go back to looking out the window and took out my phone, responding to a few more emails that had come up as we continued our trek toward the store.
When finally, the car pulled up along the curb and rolled to a stop; I opened the door and stepped onto the sidewalk.
Turning around, I extended my hand to Nell, who was about to pull herself out from the back seat. She stopped in her tracks, eyeing my extended offer for help wearily.
“What are you doing?” She scoffed.
“Trying to help you out,” I answered hesitantly.
She glanced at my hand like touching it would give her the plague and then pulled herself up, not taking it.
I couldn’t help but laugh as she looked at the non-descript storefront in front of us.
It was modest, with two large bay windows that bordered a door. There was a beautiful black gown in one window and a custom tux in the other with a scrawling font above the door that read ‘Miss Kitty’s Designs’.
“Ok, I’m definitely surprised with this choice,” Nell said, eyeing the front of the shop with apparent shock.
“Where did you think I was gonna take you?” I asked, amused as we walked forward, and I held the door open for her.
“Definitely not here,” she answered as she stepped forward into the space and started looking around.
There were racks of ready-wear gowns, dresses, and tuxes, some made by Kat and some that weren’t.
Then, in the back, there was an area for customs, a setup for her to tailor her clients, and a small dressing and staging area. There was a sound of someone ruffling around in the back of the shop, and Kat appeared a moment later.
She had a sleek bob of slate grey hair, oversized bright red glasses, a matching red lip, and, as always, was dressed head to toe in black. Her red-painted mouth split into a wide grin when she saw me.
“Blake,” she gushed, coming forward to greet us. Her eyes roved to Nell and lit with interest. “And who is this?”
“This is my friend, Nell,” I answered, deliberately using her new name, knowing that Jourdan and Justine, who also came to the woman occasionally, wouldn’t have told them about their run-in with her. “We need to buy a gown for the gala this weekend.”
“Ah,” she nodded. “Let me check my books to see which of my designs have been claimed for the event, and we’ll go from there.”
She glanced back, eyeing Nell up and down. “Size six, I’m guessing?”
Nell blanched and then nodded. Kat didn’t respond as she turned to head toward the back.
“How did she guess my size?” Nell asked me, eyes not leaving the direction the other woman had disappeared in.
“She’s very good at what she does,” I gave her a smile, but she didn’t see it. She was still watching and waiting for Kat. “She also does whatever she can to avoid two people wearing the same ensemble to an event. If you found a dress you loved, and someone else was wearing it to the gala, if she knew you were also going to it, she wouldn’t sell to you without permission from the person that bought it first.”
That got Nell’s attention, and her head swiveled to me. “Are you serious?”
“Very.”
The woman appeared a few moments later, carrying a notepad.
“Alright, we actually don’t have much that’s already spoken for for this event. So, you should almost entirely have the run of the place.”
Kat walked forward and grabbed Nell’s arm, leading her over to one of the racks. She fingered through the options.
“I have some ideas for you,” she said, not giving Nell a chance to speak.
Nell, for what it was worth, just stared at the woman with wide-eyed wonder as she flipped through a few and began pulling gowns off them.
