“Andrea. Wait. Are you Andrea? Meredith, is that you?” I stepped forward and rapped lightly on her head with my knuckles. “You are insane.”

“You’re young, you’re perky, and you know no one here. Not that anyone would judge you. People sunbathe topless here, for God’s sake. Come on. I’ll get this emerald green one.” She held up the first dress she’d tried on that I’d tried to persuade her to buy.

“You hustler,” I griped. “You were going to get that all along.”

“Nope.”

“Yep.”

“Okay, I was debating. But now I will if you will. Come on. We’ll tell Evan we’re going to the club so no one worries about us. But let’s go have a dance for a few hours. Let’s feel like the awesome powerful gorgeous women we are. Maybe we’ll even be hit on.”

“You ever thought about starting a motivational podcast?” I deadpanned.

“Is that a yes?”

“Fine. Yes. But I don’t care if I’m hit on. I’m over men right now.”

Andrea clapped again.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” I reached under the dress and tried to unsnap my bra. “And I’m still not convinced you are actually Andrea.”

“I’m going to get offended if you say that anymore. Am I really such a stick in the mud?”

“No. Sorry. Just … sensible?”

“This is the most sensible idea I’ve had in ages.”

I rolled my eyes with a laugh and slipped my bra out from the dress under one arm. I winced when I saw myself in the mirror. “Are you sure about this?” I asked.

“You are stunning,” Andrea responded from behind a curtain where she’d disappeared to put her dress choice on. “You need a stunning dress and a stunning last night. I can’t bear to think you’ll go home with such a bad taste in your mouth from one of the most divine places in the world and one of the loveliest families I’ve ever worked for.”

I snorted at the last one.

“No, seriously,” she said as she whipped the curtain aside. “I don’t know what’s gotten under Mister P’s skin lately. But he’s a good man. One of the best. Now, let’s call Evan and let him know the plan. I’m sure he’s back on the boat by now. His primary protection duty is to Mr. P and Dauphine after all. And then you and I can go get us a glass of champagne.”

We paid the sales lady, and she fussed around us a couple more times, clipping out a label and folding up our own dresses into shopping bags. Then I linked arms with Andrea and let her drag me out on the town.

Chapter Twenty-Seven