Read Online Playing for Keeps by Kate Perry - Free Book Online

drinking our beverages.
    Chloe looked around, her lips puckered in that way that said she was impressed. “Posh.”
    Translation: expensive. I tallied all the costs I knew of so far in my head. Maybe I needed to intercede with Nell? But I was so used to taking care of my sisters that sometimes I stepped in when I shouldn’t have. I forgot they were grown up and had to make their own decisions.
    Pete would tell me to mind my own business. What did it matter to me if Nell spent a small fortune for a party that was going to last several hours when she could have put the money toward the down payment of a house?
    I hadn’t really seen the dresses Devon picked out for Nell, but I’d expected Nell to come out of the dressing room looking like a princess.
    That wasn’t the case. She shuffled out, a hand gripping the bodice to keep it from falling to her waist. She looked like a little girl playing dress up in grown-up’s clothing. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud.
    Chloe had no such compulsions. She guffawed loudly. “Nell, did you shrink?”
    Devon turned a supercilious brow toward us. “The sample dresses come in one size. Once we find the right one, we take measurements and have one made.” She spoke to us like we were unruly children. I waited for her to get her ruler out and swat us.
    Nell was so intent on keeping her top on that she wasn’t paying attention to the hem, which had to be at least a foot too long. As she neared the mirrors and platform, she tripped. We all gasped when we heard the sharp sound of fabric ripping.
    Chloe looked like she was going to lose it any moment. I turned horrified eyes to the Mistress, wondering if we’d have to buy the dress now.
    Devon walked to Nell. Her mouth looked pinched. I wondered if the whip was coming out.
    She fluffed out the dress around Nell’s legs. “What do you think of this style?”
    There was a collective sigh of relief. The Mistress wasn’t going to punish us after all.
    Nell examined herself in the mirrors. “It’s nice but I don’t think it’s quite right. It’s too heavy.”
    Not surprising. The dress looked like it was encrusted with beads. If it were my dress, I’d want it completely simple.
    Devon nodded and suggested Nell try on the next one.
    It was better. It still looked gigantic, but it had less ornamentation. I squinted, trying to imagine what it’d look like if it actually fit.
    The Mistress began pinning it in the back. By the time she was done, even I had to admit Nell looked dynamite. It was a straight, fitted column that highlighted her curves while making her look taller. It had strategic insets of lace and a long slit up one side, baring her leg. It was less traditional, which suited Nell.
    “I love that one.” Chloe pointed her now empty glass at Nell. “The peek-a-boo lace thing is sexy. One look and Riley won’t be able to help mauling you through the ceremony.”
    I elbowed her.
    She glared at me. “What the hell, Gracie?”
    “I like it too, but I don’t know.” Nell twisted left and right, checking it out from all angles in the mirrors. “Do you guys really like it?”
    Chloe nodded. “I do.”
    I kept quiet because I wasn’t convinced.
    Nell must have heard my doubts because she looked at me in the mirror. “Gracie?”
    “Well… It’s not very matrimonial, is it?” At the Mistress’s frown, I hurriedly amended my statement. “Not that it doesn’t look great. If you want something nontraditional, I’d go with that one.”
    Nell scrunched her face at her reflection. “You think I should try on a more traditional dress?”
    I shrugged. “Then you’d know if this one is what you want, right? And didn’t you say you wanted a wedding like Mom and Dad’s?”
    Devon went to a rack and pulled out another candidate. “Let’s see if this is more what you’re looking for.” She ushered Nell back to the fitting room.
    Chloe got up and rifled through the bridesmaid dresses. “I always wanted