Page 29 of All's Well that Friends Well

“That’s not convincing,” Poppy says in a soft voice; her lack of surprise tells me that India has already filled her in. Like Cyrus, she’s two years older than Aurora; unlike Cyrus, she’s cheerful and sweet, basically another sister to all of us.

“I don’t know,” Aurora says uncomfortably. She’s got on a typical work outfit today—a black pencil skirt, white blouse, and a light gray cardigan. Boring colors aside, she’s still a complete bombshell. I was always jealous of Aurora growing up, because she was so free-spirited, so naturallygood at anything she did. She always knew exactly what she wanted, and she went for it.

“I don’t know,” Aurora repeats, sighing now. “It’s fine. He’s fine. He’s just a little obnoxious sometimes. Very…business guy, sort of.” She pauses. “He probably wore polo shirts with popped collars when that was popular.”

“Ew,” India and I both say together, our noses wrinkling.

“You know,” Poppy says, nudging India with her elbow as a gleam of laughter enters her eyes, “I bet your boyfriend wore a popped collar, too.”

India groans and covers her eyes. “You’re probably right,” she says, even as I nod.

I bet Felix Caine did wear polo shirts with popped collars, and they probably looked great on him.

My thoughts jump to Luca as my mind tries to conjure an image of him with a popped collar, but the idea is so strange that I can’t even picture it. He wouldn’t wear anything preppy—not now, anyway. He’s practical, put together, but never flashy or showy.

The sound of a phone ringing pulls me back to my surroundings, and I glance over to find Poppy and India huddled around Poppy’s phone, which seems to be on speaker. A couple seconds later, Felix’s voice answers.

“Hey,” he says.

“I’m here with the girls,” Poppy says, grinning. “And we need an answer on one question.”

“Yes, I do like India best.”

Poppy and I laugh, but India’s cheeks just turn pink as she tries and fails to hide her smile.

“Not that question,” Poppy says. “Be honest: Have you ever worn a polo shirt with a popped collar?”

“Absolutely I have,” Felix says, completely unabashed. “In high school and college, too. Polo shirts look amazing on me.”

India groans again and lets her head drop onto the table, but I can see her broad smile. A glance at Aurora shows me that although she’s still moving around the kitchen, there’s a reluctant little smile on her face, too, and she’s looking less irritable than before.

Well done, Poppy and Felix.

I stand up and go with her once she heads upstairs to change, because I need to pick her brain on something.

“I need help,” I say, following her into her room.

“With what?” she says, glancing over her shoulder at me as she heads to her closet.

“So you saw what I wore this morning,” I say as she begins to change.

“I did,” she says.

I flop down on her perfectly made bed. “As much as I hate to admit it…”

Aurora throws me a grin. “It wasn’t a good choice?”

I clear my throat. “It was a step too far in the right direction, that’s all. I would still like to look professional and cute and pretty. But I can’t clean toilets and replace trash can liners in a skirt and heels,” I admit. “I need to be able to sit and crouch and stuff. So I need pants. Andcomfortableheels.”

“So…?” Aurora says, slipping out of her skirt now.

“So,” I say as she hangs it neatly in the closet. “Tell me what pants are your favorite, and also tell me about those insoles you put in all your heels.” I pause. “And also maybe could I borrow?—”

“Ha!” she says, whirling around and pointing at me. “Iknew it. You cannot borrow my nice pants to sit on a public bathroom floor, Jules?—”

“Not the pants!” I say quickly, sitting up. I wave my hands at her. “Not the pants. A set of the insoles for a pair of heels. I just want to know what pants you’ve found comfortable.”

“Oh,” she says, deflating. Then she shrugs. “Yeah, sure. I’ve got a pack of them in here.” She gestures at the neat row of shoes at the bottom of her closet. “They’ve got markings where you need to trim for different feet sizes.”

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