Page 90 of Ugly Duckling
And awesome.
“I wasn’t a super confident person,” I admitted.
Honestly, I probably never would be.
Even with a new face, I was still so anxious about anything and everything that had to do with my appearance that it was unhealthy.
Hopefully I could get that part of me somewhat under control so the little girl that I found myself wanting to spend the majority of my time with didn’t also pick up the unhealthy habits.
“Maybe I should go see a therapist,” I confessed.
My mom inhaled sharply. “That would be a wonderful idea.”
She’d been trying to get me to go for years.
Maybe if I’d listened to her, I wouldn’t have married a man that didn’t make me happy. One that had shoved my face in our wedding cake even if I’d begged him not to, and caused trauma to my eye and face.
And I wouldn’t be visiting lawyers’ offices at eight in the freakin’ morning because he was suing me because I didn’t keep the sperm he wanted to use with his new fiancé.
“Want me to find someone? I can go with you, too, if you want.”
I hesitated for only a second, then I passed a boutique store that had the cutest little girl boots that would look perfect on my favorite little girl, and said, “Make me an appointment. But I’ll go on my own.”
“I’ll make one right now,” she said. “Oh, baby. This is so good for you.”
I nearly rolled my eyes.
“And we’re going to come down this weekend,” Mom continued. “Daddy and I want to catch a show.”
I frowned as I came to a stop at the shop window and let my gaze wander. “What show?”
“There’s apparently this interactive movie theater that allows you to watch a movie, and the seat moves, and they spray you with water. Daddy looked pretty excited when he saw a video online, and I started looking up places where they offered that. Dallas is the closest place. And I want to try all the cheesecakes from The Cheesecake Factory.”
I couldn’t help the laugh that slipped free of my lips. “That’s the real reason you want to come.”
“Damn straight,” she agreed. “I’ll call you back with the place and time of the appointment. Let me know when would be a good time to show up on Saturday morning.”
“Mom.” I opened the door to the boutique. “Gunner’s a dad. He doesn’t ever get to sleep in. So I’m fairly sure he’ll be up no matter what time you want to get there.”
“Okay, baby,” Mom replied. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
I always felt better after talking to my mom.
“Can I help you?”
The woman behind the counter smiled at me as she continued folding t-shirts in front of her.
“Hi, actually, I’m just looking around.” I smiled.
She nodded her head. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“I will.” I headed for the boots, my finger already hovering over Gunner’s name on my call log.
I hit send right when I got to the boots and picked them up.
The pink rhinestones sparkled in the overhead light, and I was just flipping them over for the size when Gunner answered with an impatient, “Hello?”
