“You’re miles away,” Carly said.
Startled, Ria looked around. She remembered she was waiting for Carly to try on an outfit that Ria had to practically force on her.
Ria smiled. “More like a zillion miles.” When Carly looked confused, Ria laughed. Then she got a good look at her friend.
“Wow!” The snug black jeans rode low on Carly’s hips and the white top hugged her curves, veeing low in front to show the swell of her breasts and short enough that her belly button winked.
Carly blushed. “Wow? Really?”
“Oh, yeah. Really wow.”
Carly turned and faced the mirror, then blinked. “Good Lord,” she breathed. “Ria, I look…so different. This isn’t me. I feel as though I’m looking at someone I’ve never met.”
Ria walked up behind her. “You look sexy as hell. This is the woman you should’ve met a long time ago. I’ve been trying to get you to dress like this for years, but all you ever wear are dull brown clothes. You remind me of a little mouse.”
“But my brothers would kill me if they saw me dressed like this.”
“Because they have some mistaken idea that you should be forever pure. Look at the women they date, for pity’s sake. They wear a lot less than what you’re wearing right now.”
“You’re right, they do. And my brothers all act like idiots when they come around. Maybe I should stop caring about what they think.”
“That’s the attitude! Finally!”
Carly turned to the side and ran her hands over the top, tugging at the hem. “I look so tall, though. Someone like me shouldn’t wear heels.”
“Neil is tall.”
She frowned. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“You like him, but you don’t feel confident around him. When he sees you dressed like this, believe me, his eyes will pop.”
Carly’s shoulders slumped. “You’re just saying that because you’re my friend.” She turned to the other side. “I don’t know, I’m just not sure about this new look.”
Was she blind? Apparently. Ria looked around, and spotted a couple of hotties in business suits walking down the sidewalk. She dragged Carly over to the window.
“What are you doing?”
“A test.” She knocked on the window. The men stopped and looked at her. Ria pulled Carly from behind, waving her hand in front of her.
One guy grinned. The other rushed toward the door.
“Ria, what have you done?”
Oops. She hadn’t expected quite this kind of reaction. The guy opened the door and rushed over, sliding to a stop on the tiled floor.
“Can I have your phone number? I mean, was that some new way to ask a guy out? It worked.” He grinned.
Carly stepped closer and whispered, “Do something, Ria.”
“Actually, uh, my friend wanted a man’s opinion to see if her husband might like what she has on.”
His face fell. “Oh, you’re married.” He brightened. “Ever wanted to have an affair?”
“No,” Carly said over Ria’s shoulder.
“Opinion?” Ria asked again.
He grinned and Ria wondered if she shouldn’t at least get the guy’s number for Carly, but then thought about the wishful look she’d seen in Neil’s eyes. No, that wouldn’t be right, and she wouldn’t do that to him.
“Hot. If she models that in front of her husband, expect to be in bed in under ten.” He turned his attention to Ria.
“We’re both married,” she quickly told him.
“Just my luck.” He smiled once more, winked, then joined his friend on the sidewalk.
“I can’t believe you just did that,” Carly said.
“I was tired of you not believing me. Now, will you buy the outfit?”
Carly walked back over to the mirror and looked at herself from all angles. “I always thought I was too tall.”
“I’d kill for legs like yours.”
“And Neil will like this look?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Carly took a deep breath. “Then I’ll buy it.”
When Carly went into the cubicle to change back to her street clothes, Ria came to a decision and made a call. This was not distancing herself from Kristor, but she needed his help. They talked for a few minutes. She was just saying good-bye when Carly stepped back out.
“Mom.” Ria smiled and waved the cell before dropping it back into her purse. A small lie, but it was for a worthy cause.
They shopped some more, then chose a tea room for lunch. The frilly atmosphere was the perfect place. There were white Christmas lights draped through a grapevine edging the ceiling, rather than molding, and around fake trees. The tables were covered with red cloths with little bouquets of dried roses, and the room smelled like sweet potpourri.
The waitress showed them to a corner table beneath an alcove, then gave them a couple of menus. After she left, Ria inhaled. “Ginger spice. Isn’t it wonderful?”
“We haven’t been here in a long time,” Carly said. “It’s very relaxing.”
“Mom and I came a few weeks ago. I can’t get enough of their flavored teas.”
They decided on what they wanted, then placed their order. Ria completely and totally relaxed as she drank in the Victorian surroundings.
“So, what is going on with you and Kristor?”
Sucker-punched. “Going on?”
Carly raised her eyebrows. “Don’t play coy.”
“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully.
“But you like him.”
“Yes, I do. If the circumstances were right, he’d be the ideal man.”
“And they’re not?”
Ria shook her head. “He wants me to leave with him. Go back to his…home. He’s leaving next week.”
Carly drew in a sharp breath. “You’re not, though.”
Ria didn’t say anything.
“You haven’t known him long. Please say you won’t go without letting me know. He could be here illegally or something.”
Here illegally? That was pretty much a gimme.
“I promise you’ll be the first to know if I decide to leave.” She really hated that she might have ruined their outing, but she wanted to prepare Carly for anything. Or was she preparing herself?
“She’s in the bathroom so I can’t talk long,” Carly told Donald. “Kristor is leaving next week, and Ria might go with him. We can’t let her. Not until we know more about this guy.”
“You called immigration, right?”
“Yes. I already told you that. They acted like they were bored and underpaid.” She frowned. They probably were. “Maybe I shouldn’t have hinted rather broadly that Kristor was an alien from another planet.”
“Why the hell would you do that?”
“I was desperate for a response from them and I thought they might pay more attention.”
His sigh came across the phone. “I’ll see if I can’t be a little more persuasive. Stay close to her, and find out everything you can about this guy.”
“I’ve gotta go, here comes Ria.” She snapped her cell closed and dropped it back in her purse. “Moms.” She chuckled, knowing it came out sounding strained.
“Let’s pay the bill, then run get a manicure and pedicure,” Ria said. “I feel the need for more pampering.”
“I’m all for that.”
Carly needed something to relax her jangled nerves. She was not about to let her friend leave town with a man from God-knows-where, to an imaginary country just so he could murder her or something. Even if it meant that what she was doing would end their friendship, she was willing to take that chance. Ria meant too much to her.
There was a place in the mall that took walk-ins. They were lucky and got right in. Maybe it would settle her nerves. What if Ria never spoke to her again? Her stomach did flip-flops just thinking about it. She glanced at Ria. What was she thinking? Did Ria suspect that her best friend had notified the authorities that Kristor might be here illegally? She didn’t look as though she did.
Ria eyed Carly out of the corner of her eye. She was starting to act a little funny again. Kind of nervous. Ria wondered what was going on with her.
But then, maybe she was just anxious about wearing her new clothes in public. The girl had looked seriously hot, though.