I looked at her a moment before asking, “Do you really mean that?”

She nodded.

“I have some parties coming up with Nicholas, and I don’t have anything to wear.”

“You want to borrow my clothes?”

“Right,” I said. “I couldn’t fit this body into anything you own. But I’m not good with fashion. I’ve been out of the game for too long. And everyone he works with is rich and cool.”

She suddenly smiled. “You want me to dress you?”

“If you would.”

“I’d love to.”

“I don’t have much money.”

“We don’t need money,” she said. “I have friends. Can I work on your hair too?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll knock Nicholas off his feet,” she said. “I mean, you will. I’ll just help you.”

“Thank you.”

“When’s your next party?”

“Saturday night.”

“This Saturday?”

I nodded.

“Okay. I hope your Saturday is open, because we’ve got some work to do.”

Chapter Nineteen

CHAPTER

Nineteen

Nicholas is like a golden ticket.

Elise Dutton’s Diary

December first. Exactly one month since Nicholas had approached me in the food court. Zoey arrived at my apartment Saturday afternoon with a pile of dress bags, two large makeup boxes, a jewelry box, four shoe boxes, and a canvas bag filled with hair supplies. It took us three trips to get everything in from her car.

She had found me four dresses, all on “loan” from Nordstrom, where one of her ex-boyfriends was a manager. There were also several sets of matching jewelry for each dress.

All the dresses Zoey brought were stunning. I tried them all on, and Zoey snapped pictures of me with her phone. It took us an hour to settle on two. The one I would wear that night at the firm party was a black, form-fitting crepe sheath with a sheer top.

The other dress was the most expensive of the four: a one-shoulder nude evening gown with beads. I decided to save it for the partners’ party, because we guessed it would be the fanciest of Nicholas’s events.

We looked through her boxes of shoes, and for the first dress I chose a simple but elegant pair of black patent leather pumps. For the partners’ party I chose a glittery pair of peep-toed high heels. Then we chose earrings and necklaces for both dresses.

With the dresses and accessories selected, we took a break and drove to the nearest Starbucks for a latte. After we got back we discussed my general look, experimenting with different shades of makeup for almost an hour. As Zoey worked on my makeup, she taught me some new techniques.

“You can teach an old dog new tricks,” I said.

Zoey stepped back to look at me. “You’re not old, and you’re not a dog. Never, ever call yourself that.”

“I was just joking,” I said.