I Waxed My Legs for This? Read Online Free PDF

enjoy this vacation because your workload just picked up.”
    Carrie’s hands trembled as she stared at the paper. “Do you mean it?”
    A small rose stood delicately next to her name. Carrington Rose.
    A Carrington Rose Original .
    Her own line of dresses.
    It was a dream come true.
    She hadn’t lied when she told Jack that she loved what she did and looked forward to going to work. She liked people, enjoyed working with them one-on-one at Encore, making them happy, dressing them beautifully.
    But she had bigger dreams.
    Her own designs.
    Creating her own line of dresses was a dream that fit neatly into the life she’d carved for herself here at Encore, working for Eloise.
    Encore was a rather eclectic store, with a loyal, ever-growing, circle of clients.
    Not only did they sell vintage dresses and gowns, but they sold reproductions and up until now they’d occasionally carried one of Carrie’s originals. But now her occasional creations would be her own line of clothing with her own label.
    She’d tried college, tried about a dozen jobs and then stumbled on an ad Eloise had run. Someone who could sew and sell.
    Well, she’d learned to do both and under Eloise’s tutelage, she’d learned to do both well.
    She stared at the label logo. This was the culmination of all that work and a lot of dreaming.
    “You’re sure it won’t flop?” Carrie asked.
    The idea of failure was a scary part of realizing a dream.
    “Carrie, you know how people rave about your work. Look at the trouble Jaycee Smith has gone to just so she can wear one of your designs to the award banquet in her honor at Tennessee State. She’s in the WNBA and could have picked any number of designers. But she chose you.”
    “My own label,” she whispered. Then louder, as the news really sunk in she sprang from the chair. “My own label.”
    “Your labels will be waiting for you when you get home in a week. And it might be tough, but forget your own label.” Eloise stood. “Right now, we have to do some shopping.”
    “For what?” Carrie asked as Eloise herded her out of the office.
    “You’re going to a romantic island with a man, and you have to ask? You need new clothes.”
    “Its just Jack.”
    Eloise shot Carrie a strange look she couldn’t quite define.
    “Yes. It’s just Jack and you alone for a week.”
    “But—”
    “Consider this a chance to advertise Encore. Because this is a special vacation package, there will be a lot of Erie-ites on that beach.”
    Before Carrie knew what had happened, Eloise was thrusting clothes at her in a dressing room and she was trying them on.
    “You’re going to be flying high,” Eloise promised.
     

~~~
     
    Carrie might be flying high, but she wanted nothing more than to set her feet back on solid ground again.
    “Oh, Jack, I forgot how much I hate flying.”
    “Care, you’ve never flown before.”
    “And I never want to again.” She clutched the armrests of her seat. She was sure her knuckles were almost as white as her face must be.
    She’d won.
    She’d left Jack no time to back out of the trip, and here they were, on a plane, flying to their doom.
    At the moment she didn’t feel like much of a winner.
    “Really, Care, it’s just some turbulence,” he said the soul of reasonableness.
    “I don’t believe you and I don’t believe Captain Dave, either,” she said. “We’ve probably lost an engine or a wing or something else that’s equally important when flying in a plane.”
    “It’s just turbulence,” Jack said again.
    “Yeah, you and Captain Dave keep saying that. And what kind of name is Captain Dave ?”
    “I’m sure he’s competent or they wouldn’t have him flying the plane.” Jack rubbed her shoulders.
    Carrie was too worried to enjoy his touch. “Competent shmompetent. The man is flying us to our doom.”
    “Lighten up, Carrie. This was your idea,” Jack said in his normal, confident way.
    Carrie hated that confident, self-assured part of him at this