Wash Read Online Free PDF Page B

she picked. It looked good
on the mannequin, but not on me. But you put her in her
place.”
    “ Well, that’s what friends
are for,” she said, shrugging. “You’re my best friend, you were
getting married, and if you needed all the time in the world and to
try on 100 more gowns, she could deal with it.”
    “ She just knew how rich my
mom was and wanted me to buy the most expensive thing in there. I
hate being treated that way.”
    “ Yeah, well, it worked out
to go to that bridal shop an hour away, where nobody knew who you
were.”
    “ Yep! And I bought the same
cheap gown I wanted in the first place.” I reached into my purse
and pulled out a picture of me in my wedding gown.
    Nadia reached for it and stared. “So
beautiful. It’s a shame you burned it.”
    “ That dress was chosen
especially for him. I didn’t want the memories.”
    “ Then why are you carrying
this picture around?”
    “ I haven’t been. I dug it
up last night after seeing Jake.”
    She dug in her purse and reached for
her lighter. “Let’s burn this now.”
    I let out a long breath. “Go ahead,” I
said, keeping it to myself that I had two more photos just like it
in my purse.
    The low-burning, flickering orange
flame engulfed the picture, and Nadia dumped her glass of ice water
over the ashy remnants.
    “ You’re gonna get us kicked
out of here,” I said, sopping up the water, “or arrested for
attempted arson.”
    The waitress came rushing over. “You
can’t do that here! I’m afraid I’m gonna have to ask you to
leave.”
    Nadia glanced up at her and grinned.
“I’m sorry. I suppose I got carried away, but we were burning up a
very bad memory.”
    “ See, I was dumped on my
wedding day and…” I chimed in, but I couldn’t bear to go on with my
sordid, heartbreaking tale, especially not to a complete
stranger.
    Her face softened, and I swallowed
hard, ashamed that I’d opened my big mouth; I’d never been one for
pity parties. “You don’t have to say another word,” she said. “Just
save the rest of your pictures for a big, roaring bonfire in your
backyard. Burn his clothes and all his stuff. That’ll teach him.”
With that, she smiled and walked off.
    I swirled the wine in my glass. “You
should’ve seen him. He’s been working out, and he looked so
hot.”
    “ I know. I saw
him.”
    “ What!? When?”
    “ At your mother’s
funeral.”
    I cocked a brow. “Oh. I didn’t even
know he was there.”
    “ Yeah, well, he kinda
lingered back in the shadows. He wanted to pay his respects without
upsetting you even more.”
    “ Why didn’t you tell
me?”
    “ Honey, you were a hot
mess. None of us wanted to add to your sadness.”
    “ Did you talk to
him?”
    “ We were all best friends
in high school, so yeah, but I really let him have it in the
parking lot. He just kept telling me how young and scared he
was.”
    “ So he lives here
now?”
    “ He said he moved back from
Texas a few days before your mom passed. He’s a firefighter, and
his job transferred him here. I bet he asked for the transfer so he
could be back with his family and, uh…his friends,” she said,
touching my arm.
    “ I’m glad you didn’t tell
me,” I said. “I’m not sure I coulda handled seeing him at my
mother’s funeral.”
    “ Oh, while I’m thinking of
it, I sketched some images for the fall line.” She handed me a
sketchbook.
    I studied the designs. “Wow. Bold,
daring, and beyond stylish. I love them.”
    She smiled. “I hoped so.”
    “ Any word on the loan
yet?”
    “ Not yet, but we’ll know
for sure by tomorrow or the next day.”
    “ We’re gonna soar, girl. I
want to cater to all women—slim, tall, petite, and
plus-sized.”
    “ Yep. Just think of us as female
entrepreneurs using fashion to empower women and design a better
world. ”
    “ That should be our
slogan,” I said. “I can’t wait to turn our fantastic ideas into a
successful business.”
    “ You’re always
so…motivating, and