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“With your red hair, Elle, I think we need to steer clear of oranges.” Taylor held up a flaming red tank with tribal designs in oranges and browns across the midsection. “But Di could pull this off nicely.”
Diana snatched the top from Taylor and held it up to her chest in front of a full length rack mirror. “It’s pretty, but I prefer cooler tones.” She hung it back on the rack and selected the same top in a different shade.
“See, I wouldn’t even know where to begin,” Giselle laughed, overwhelmed by the choices.
“Well, lucky you have me here. I’m already Di’s personal shopper, so why not add you to my list?” Taylor turned to the rack behind her and found a vintage-looking button-front tunic shirt in heather gray. “This will look amazing. Dress it up with that patterned jacket over there, and finish with some super short jean shorts and a pair of light ballet flats, and you’ll have every guy in school wanting your number.”
“Every guy except Ash,” Di whispered under her breath.
“What was that?” Taylor asked.
Giselle’s eyebrow quirked up. Taylor must have been left out of the loop from this afternoon’s lunch conversation. “Di was just reminding me again not to speak to Ash.”
“With good reason.” Taylor continued searching through the racks of clothes, not really paying much attention.
Giselle didn’t feel like rehashing everything again, so she let it go. “How about blues? Can I get away with this, you think?” She held up a blue striped maxi dress.
Taylor looked up. “In the spring, yes. Pair it with a white jean jacket and sandals, and go with a nice long silver chain, and you’ll look stunning.”
“I can see why you’re so popular and on all the committees,” Giselle laughed.
Taylor flitted from rack to rack like a humming bird in a flower garden, yet her selections were spot on and oh so stylish. Giselle took note of each combination she came up with in the hopes of recreating them later. “I love to make people look good. I suppose that does help me gain friends. It’s a win-win.”
“You’ve got a friend in me, then. I need all the help I can get!” Giselle picked up a shirt and held it high.
“Put that back.” Taylor barked, shocking her by the sudden change in tone. “You are not falling back on grunge. I won’t allow it.”
Now it was Di’s turn to laugh. “Trust me, you don’t want to get on her bad side.”
Giselle smiled at the two girls and thought to herself that this must be what it was like to have sisters. That led her down a path she didn’t often allow herself to take. Subjects like family – her real family – were taboo. But she did wonder what must have happened to them. If Asher and the Hernandezes were any indication on what wolf families were like, her parents must have been wolf too. At least one of them. She’d like to think she had sisters or brothers somewhere. That maybe she had come from a pack, but something drastic had happened and she’d been sent away for safety. She’d always held onto the hope that she’d find them someday and learn the truth. But, the reality was, she was a lone wolf. Fantasy was one thing, but she didn’t have family in the real world.
“Hello! Giselle?” Taylor’s face was suddenly two inches in front of hers. “You still with us?”
“Yeah. Sorry. Lost in my own train of thought.”
“Sorry if we’re boring you – you’re just standing there zoned out like an idiot,” Di said huffily. “Kind of like earlier today in the cafeteria.”
“Yeah. I guess I was daydreaming.”
“Tall, dark, and wolfish? Do tell.” Taylor giggled.
“Taylor!” Di said, shocked. “You know we don’t talk to them.”
She didn’t need to know who them was referring to.
“Who said anything about talking? I just want to look... maybe touch. A little.” Taylor sighed.
Giselle was the one to laugh this time. “Only if I can too.”
“What is wrong with both of you?” Di sounded mad, but Giselle had the suspicion there was more jealousy there than anything else. She and Taylor had been two peas before Giselle had come into the picture.
“Seriously, though, I wasn’t dreaming about the wolfman.” Giselle said. “He’s not the only guy in school—”
“Oooh. I like that. I’m going to start calling him that from now on. Hello, Wolfman!” Taylor giggled and Giselle couldn’t help but join in, as that had been her first though too when she’d seen Asher.
“Please stop,” Di huffed.
“Brat,” Taylor said.
“You’re one to talk,” Di responded in kind.
This was what had been missing all these years – the small things, like arguing with a sibling and shopping. Even when she was younger, in a home that claimed to love her, there had never been anything like this. Di might be a little hard to get along with, but even arguing with her overbearing Alpha-in-training attitude was more fun than Giselle could remember. And Taylor – she was so warm and welcoming. Together, those girls were everything Giselle could want in sisters.
“There she goes again,” Di said. “We need to get her head examined. Hey, space cadet!”
“You guys are awesome. Just saying.”
“If that’s the response I get from picking on you, I’m doing it all the time,” Di laughed.
Silently Giselle dared Di to do just that. They’d have lots of fun going round and round. And part of her couldn’t wait for the opportunity. But she couldn’t find the words to appropriately express it without sounding like a soap opera actress. “Sorry. I just never...”
Taylor threw her arm around Giselle. “Totally understand. Don’t let smart ass over here make you feel bad.”
“I am not a smart ass.” Di crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“Would you like me to use other choice words?” Taylor smirked.
“No. but I do need you to help me find a cute outfit for the Mount Charleston trip.”
“Are we really going to that?” Taylor asked. “I don’t feel like dealing with snow. I’m ready for spring.”
“You can’t rush mother nature,” Di said.
“Oh, yeah, speaking of that. What do you know about Damien?”
Diana shrugged as if the name meant nothing to her. “He’s part of the local witch coven. Nothing special.”
“Okay, because he asked me up to Mount Charleston this weekend too,” Giselle said.
“Well, he’s a much better choice than Asher, so go. You’ll probably have fun.” Diana busied herself with looking through a rack of skirts.
“That’s it? You lecture me all day long about Asher but shrug your shoulders and tell me to have a good time with Damien?”
“Do you want me to stop you from dating every guy in school?” Di asked.
“Well, no... but it just seems odd that you’re so adamant about one.”
“Because he’s our pack’s enemy!” Diana’s face turned red with anger. Despite the twitch in her eye, Di said nothing further, though it looked like she had a few more choice words on the subject.
“Whatever.” Giselle threw her hands up in surrender. “So. I’m going with Damien. What should I wear?” She directed the question to Taylor, who had hidden herself among sweater dresses.
“Something warm,” Taylor said.
“So helpful.” Giselle sighed.
Taylor giggled and emerged from the rack, arms filled with clothes. “Why don’t you go try a few things on?” She loaded up Giselle’s arms and pointed to the back of the store.
“Wear whatever you want,” Di said. “As for me, Taylor. Boots are fun and all, but I’ve had my fill of sweater dresses for the year already. Can you find me something warm and flirty?”
“Of course! You’ll be in the lodge drinking hot chocolate with the boys when they’ve finished their ski runs. So we’ll find you something a little more snugly. I wouldn’t send you up the mountain in a sweater dress anyway.” She hooked an arm around Di and walked her off toward jackets.
The more she time she spent with the girls, the more and more she wanted to make herself a place in this pack. To have sisters and pack mates. To be able to take impromptu shopping trips and ditch class. To have someone to cover for you when you were dating the bad boy... Gods, why couldn’t she stop thinking about Asher? Even now when she was having so much fun with her... sisters. But it was more than just simple infatuation. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Asher’s warning about the family had taken roots, and the shadow of doubt it caused couldn’t be ignored. Why would he say her family was so bad and hers point the finger his way? What was missing from the equation? She’d have to find the answer somehow.
“Giselle, come try this on too,” Taylor shouted across the store.
She’d get the answers she needed soon enough, but at that moment, a teal paisley print skirt Taylor was waving in the air was calling her name.