Page 50 of Shameless
“Or shoes,” Isabel added. “Good shoes don’t hurt, and you know how soft the leather is right away.”
I tensed and hoped no one had seen my new, slightly swollen feet or my slip a minute before.
Kelly pressed her lips together. “You have to try on a lot of clothes and shoes to find that. Maybe I made the wrong choices years ago.”
I shook my head. She had every right to her opinion. “Look, you only need to buy one in the store to feel like you’re on top of the world. And browsing means you can be discerning till you find the perfect pair.”
She stared at me wide-eyed and asked, “And that’s how Michael makes you feel?”
Yes. My heart hammered. Michael was fucking perfect. I sat straighter. “Honestly, I don’t know what I’m doing. I just know I want to help, which means I think we need to find Bernadette a husband.”
Avril said, “She doesn’t get Kir.”
I craned my neck. Ki and Avril were planning a wedding.
“Of course not. But he’s her type?”
Avril wrung her hands. “Yeah. She offered herself to him back in college, from what Kir said.”
I’d had no idea. Michael’s sister had never joined our circle of friends.
“That’s good to know,” I said. “So we need to look like the American nobility there to shine at this ball.”
Kelly said, “Miley, Isabel, and I must wear white as we’re not spoken for.”
Hope added, “Technically, Avril and I need to wear white, too, as we’re engaged, not married yet.”
At the debutante ball for the world to see, I now had five friends being presented. And none of them had picked anything white in the stores so far.
“So I’m the only one wearing color,” I said.
Avril said, “Tell me you’re picking something bright.”
I left money to pay the bill and pushed my chair back. “Oh, I promise I’ll shine like a star, which means we really need to hit some bridal stores for y’all now.”
Then we headed back out into the shopping mist. Since I knew they needed five white gowns, I was excited to help and give my opinions.
I noticed Kelly checking price tags, so I arranged for the sales clerk to tell her the one she looked best in was seventy-five percent off, and I paid for the rest of it secretly as a gift.
As the moon started coming out, we headed back to the limo and the house.
“I should go find Michael,” I said.
Hope bumped into me. “And tell him you love him.”
“Stop,” I said.
Avril said, “Don’t be so stubborn that you lose out on happiness because you’re scared of how you feel.”
“You know me too well,” I said, pressing my hands to my heart.
Love wasn’t something I’d ever thought about before. In fact, I’d never believed in the idea at all, past two people making money to combine resources and have a higher buying power.
However, Michael was wonderful. As I got out of the limo and headed into the huge three-story mansion, staff held the double doors open for me.
I handed over my bags and headed into the library, where Michael sat with his laptop. He closed it the second I came closer and walked over to join me on a couch, asking, “How was shopping?”
Spending the afternoon with my friends had been good, but I took off my shoes and rubbed my sore feet. “I found a dress for this ball.”
