Page 26 of Maximum Dare
He pivoted and hurried out of the room.
I listened to his footsteps as he rushed down the stairs—he obviously couldn’t wait to leave. When I heard the sound of the front door closing, I collapsed on my bed and curled into a ball, just longing for this day to be over.
This was probably against the Harvey Nichols staff policy—squishing my nose up against the outside showroom window and leaving a smudge. It was my usual pose when I left work, since I could never resist peering through the window at the beautiful evening gown on display.
Gold braiding and twinkling crystals adorned a fitted bodice, below which hung a delicate, wispy chiffon skirt.
God, how I love that dress.
I let out a sigh and my breath steamed a patch of glass. The gown represented hope. The promise of a life of glamour and excitement—that perhaps, by some miracle, a fairy Godmother would appear and give me the confidence to be more than what I’d always been.
The girl next door who rarely left the house.
My days at work kept me busy helping others…watching their faces light up with happiness when they tried on a dress. But it wasn’t all fairy dust and contented customers. Now and again, a snobby client came into the store, one of the stuck-up types. To them, I was the invisible shop girl whose only job was to fetch their size and then help them in and out of it. That’s how I’d learned to master a fake smile.
I turned my back on the display window and walked away, finally rising from my daydreaming to notice the sounds of traffic and pedestrians surrounding me, the noise nudging me home so that I could escape.
The Knightsbridge Tube was my usual way back home to Richmond. My mind felt as numb as my hands in the bitter cold, despite my parka and gloves. Once on the Tube, I buried my face in theVoguemagazine I’d found discarded in the coffee room, flipping through pages filled with women who looked incredible, having found happiness in a handbag. It reminded me of Morgan’s Instagram page.
A moment later, I did myself a favor and deleted the Instagram app off my phone. This was the kindest thing I could do for myself. An act of selfcare that might well save my sanity.
As soon as I made it home, I went straight to my bedroom.
I lay on my single bed, flipping through all the channels on the TV, not really watching anything. I tried not to think about what I could have done to prevent my life from going tits-up.
Competing with someone like Morgan was impossible. She was larger than life, and it hurt like hell knowing that Nick had spent time with her while we’d been together.
It was devastating to realize that my love had never been enough for him.
A knock at the door had me pushing PAUSE on the remote.
Barbara came in and glanced at the TV screen. “How are you, love?”
“Fine.”
She looked concerned. “You’re in your PJs already?”
“They’re comfy.”
“Well, you have a visitor.” She spoke the words as though offering me hope and encouragement.
“Nick?”
“No, it’s that handsome young man who helped you move.”
I shot up. “He’s here?”
“In the sitting room,” she said with a nod. “Do you want me to send him away?”
A rush of excitement made me giddy. “No, I’ll be right down.”
Maybe Max had come to give me a message from Nick.
Within minutes, I’d dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and had pulled my hair up into a ponytail. Feeling decent enough to face Max, I headed downstairs with my heart racing and my spirits rising.
Max was sitting on the sofa, balancing a small teacup on his knee. His worried stare was fixed on Auntie’s new Corgi, who was ensconced right next to him.
He’d removed his coat to tolerate the central heating—Barbara had the place as hot as a furnace.
