Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 101872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
“Don’t worry, you won’t even know I’m here.”
20
“I don’t know. I don’t know which one I like best,” Mrs. Winchester said, staring at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a gorgeous floral dress that highlighted all of her curves.
The blue dress she’d just tried on before had been boxy and the color hadn’t been right.
“If you like the blue one, then that’s the one you should get,” Liston said.
Opal knew what Liston was doing, but it was the wrong move. Mrs. Winchester wouldn’t be happy with the blue dress.
“That one looks amazing, Mrs. Winchester,” Opal told her. “Get it.”
“Really?” Mrs. Winchester turned to look at her, chewing on her lip.
“Really. It was banging.”
“Am I going for banging?” the older woman asked.
“You are,” Renard barked. “Get the floral dress. Opal knows what she’s talking about. The other dress sucked.”
Oh, dear Lord.
She turned to frown at him. “What are you doing? I thought you were going to be quiet.”
“Well, she needed some help. I got tired listening to her go on about that blue dress when it looked like a sack on her.”
“It looked that bad?” Mrs. Winchester asked.
“You know, Renard, my back is feeling a lot better. You can go home now.”
And it was. The medication from the pharmacy was doing a good job.
“Nope,” he replied, crossing his arms over his chest.
Opal turned back to Mrs. Winchester, trying to figure out what to say that wouldn’t sound awful while still being honest. “It wasn’t the best.”
Mrs. Winchester nodded, going back into the dressing room.
Opal frowned at Renard. “Are you sure you don’t have somewhere to be?”
“Nope.”
“What about the restaurant?”
“All under control.” He sat with his arms crossed over his chest, scowling at the next two women who entered. Opal didn’t know them.
She half expected the women to turn around and run with how he was staring at them. Instead, they started whispering to themselves, sending admiring glances his way.
Um. No.
He was hers.
So it was her turn to frown at them just as Mrs. Winchester approached the counter with the floral dress.
“I’ll take it,” she said decisively.
“You . . . you will?” Opal stared at her in shock. Because every week Mrs. Winchester came in to try on dresses and every week she left without one.
Opal had finally decided that she was just after some human company.
So this was a big shock.
“Yep. Decided this is the one.” And then the older woman nodded at Renard who nodded back. “Good idea having your man in here, Opal. Helps to have a male perspective.”
“I’d quite like a male perspective on this dress,” one of the women said, holding up a red, slinky dress that Opal was dying to try on but didn’t dare because it cost far more than she could afford.
Even with her staff discount.
“Won’t suit you,” Renard said abruptly.
The woman looked shocked, then frowned.
Ha!
Mrs. Winchester left and Opal turned to Renard to find those two women had gotten closer to him.
“What about this one?” The other woman held up a short black dress which would look amazing on her.
However, Opal didn’t like the way that she was staring at Renard. As though he was a snack and she wanted to eat him.
“Would you like me to take it to a dressing room?” Opal asked.
“What? Oh, yes.”
“And I’ll try on this dress.” The first woman had abandoned the red dress and picked up a lacy peach one which would not go well with her skin tone.
“You might like it in a dark blue instead,” Opal suggested.
“I want to try the peach one on,” the woman insisted.
Whatever.
Both women got dressed as Opal tidied up the mess they’d left.
“What do you think?” one woman asked with a giggle.
“Don’t you think she looks sexy?” the other woman said.
She turned back to find both women crowding in front of Renard. Then one of them reached out and touched his chest and she saw red.
“Both of you look terrible,” she said abruptly. “You need to take them off and get out.”
“Excuse me!” the first woman huffed. “We are the customers.”
“And this is my man. Get your hands off him now before I remove your hands for you and shove them down your throat.” The women gaped at her, then Opal leaned forward. “Boo!”
Both women let out small screams and headed into the dressing rooms.
Suddenly, Renard grasped hold of her wrist and started pulling her toward the back of the shop.
Great.
“Let go,” she told him.
“No. Opal is taking her lunch break. Sort them out,” he ordered Liston.
“Hey, you can’t boss Liston around,” she complained as they headed into the back room. He then drew her into a storage cupboard out the back which was mainly used for cleaning supplies. “Why did you bring me in here?”
“Because it’s private.”
“Why? So you can yell at me?” she complained.
“Why would I yell at you?” he said as he turned toward her, wrapping his hand around the back of her head.