10
Faith grabbeda cookie from the stash between the passenger’s seat and driver’s seat and popped it into her mouth. “Oh my God. So good.”
“That one is cherry chocolate,” Megan said from the other side of the car. It was early morning on the day of Erica’s wedding and they were on their way to the nearest mall, which was a reasonable drive from the bay.
“This is why it’s dangerous to be best friends with an incredible baker.” Faith switched on the indicator and turned a corner. “I’ve put on five pounds since you moved to town.”
“And it’s all gone to your boobs and butt,” Megan replied smartly. “You know you suit your curves.”
Faith shrugged. Most of the time, she liked her curves just fine, but every now and then an old insecurity filtered back in. Usually in the form of a memory she’d rather forget. She shook off the impending doubt. They were on their way to buy her a dress, and not just any dress, but one that would make Shane want to drag her into the nearest bedroom while simultaneously showing Mason exactly what he’d missed out on.
“What style are you looking for?” Megan asked as though reading her mind.
“Something that will blow Shane’s socks off. I’ll know it when I see it.”
“Hmm.” Megan nibbled on her own cookie. “How are things going with him?”
“He kissed me again.” She couldn’t keep the words inside. She’d never been any good at that. “It was quite a kiss, even though he might have been tipsy.” Remembering the moment, she had to fan herself. “Actually, maybe he kissed me because he was tipsy.”
Megan glanced over. “How do you figure?”
Faith stole another cookie. “I have a hypothesis.” She took a bite. “I hypothesize that he likes me, but for some stupid reason he’s decided he can’t have me, so he exercises his amazing self-restraint to keep away.”
“Interesting theory.” Megan nodded. “Maybe he thinks he needs to dedicate all of his time to Dylan and Hunter, and that it would be selfish to date.”
“I’m not sure I want to date him anyway.”
Megan’s brows drew together. “Why not?”
Ugh, of all the conversations she didn’t want to have.
“Let’s just say that I’m not sure I’m relationship material.” She waggled her brows. “But Shane is a great guy, and I enjoy it when he kisses me.”
“Of course you’re relationship material,” Megan countered because she was the world’s sweetest person and couldn’t let a slight against her friend go unchallenged. “Why would you think otherwise?”
Maybe because a string of boyfriends had told her so. She’d heard every variation of “You’re too much” imaginable. But she didn’t want to go down that road, so she changed the subject.
“I bet Tee is great in bed. Have you gone there yet?”
Megan’s jaw dropped and her face flushed violent red. But then she straightened and folded her arms primly. “He is pretty amazing.”
Envy lanced through Faith, swift and hot, but she slammed a lid on it. The last thing she needed was to be jealous of her best friend’s sex life. Megan had been through hell and deserved every bit of happiness she had.
“You’re amazing,” Faith said back.
They both laughed, and the tension evaporated. A while later, they arrived at the outskirts of Auckland. Megan directed Faith to the mall, and she cruised the parking building until she found a spot. They strode inside together, on a mission. Faith did most of her shopping online because that was the best place—other than thrift stores—to find retro outfits. But today, she wanted something different. Rather than being quirky, eye-catching, or any of the other adjectives people usually applied to her, she wanted to be beautiful.
Taking her arm, Megan steered her into the kind of boutique that screamed expensive. Normally Faith would run screaming at the first sign of anything with a designer label, but she had enough money in the bank to splurge this once. Maybe she’d get a purse too. Oooh, and a new lipstick. Because nothing said sexy like a brand-new shade of red, or maybe bright pink. She started for a rack, ready to flick through the options, but Megan stopped her and summoned a retail assistant with a wave of her hand.
“Can I help you?” the well-coiffed assistant asked.
“Yes,” Megan said. “We’re looking for an outfit for my friend. She has a wedding this evening and wants something sexy enough to outshine everyone but the bride.”
“No, I—"
Megan hushed her with a look. “Yes, you do.”
Faith’s eyebrows shot up. She’d never seen this side of her friend. Bossy. Confident. In charge. She liked it.