Free The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society by Beth Pattillo Page A

three-way mirror outside the dressing room door. Camille hung the sweaters on a nearby rack.
    “That’s a lovely dress,” Camille said. “Is it Diane von Furstenberg?”
    Esther was gratified that the girl knew enough to appreciate her designer original. “Yes. I bought it in New York last year.” She smoothed the modern black-and-white print of the silk jersey and adjusted the tie at the waist.
    Camille frowned. “I’m not sure either of these cardigans will do it justice.” She slipped the plainer of the two sweaters from its hanger and held it out for Esther as if she were helping her on with her coat. “But since your dress is a wrap style too, this traditional cut might be better. Belting a sweater on top of that wrap dress might make you look thicker through the middle.”
    Esther bristled. “I just need something to keep me warm during bridge club,” she snapped and slid one arm and then the other into the sweater. She quickly stepped away from Camille and moved toward the three-way mirror.
    Hmm. Well, it would have to do, especially since Camille was right about the other style adding too much to her midsection.
    “I’ll take this one,” she said with as much asperity as she could muster. “I’d like to wear it out of the store.”
    “Of course. I can cut the tags off for you.”
    Esther followed her to the counter and watched as Camille rang up the sale.
    “I brought something for you,” Esther said, reaching into her voluminous handbag and withdrawing a plastic sack. “The usual arrangement.” She set the sack on the counter.
    Camille looked at it, then at Esther. “Are you sure?” Esther ignored her question and signed the credit card slip. She handed the paper and ballpoint pen back to the girl.
    “Thank you.” Esther stood still while Camille removed the tags. “You’ve been very helpful.”
    “You know, I’d be happy to help you with your knitting sometime if you’d like. With a little extra coaching, I’m sure you’d get the hang of it.” She eyed Esther’s dress approvingly once more. “I know a wonderful black silk yarn with pre-strung beads. It would make an amazing shawl to go with that dress.”
    “Perhaps. I need to finish the project I’m working on right now first.”
    Camille gave her a funny look. “Well, I’m happy to help.
    Anytime.”
    “I’ll keep your offer in mind,” she said to Camille. “Thank you for your help.” Gracious but distant. Kind but not familiar.
    And if she felt a little wistful that she couldn’t accept Camille’s offer of assistance with her knitting, she neatly tucked the feeling away with all the others that she refused to acknowledge. Just as she had never acknowledged, in their entire encounter, that she was paying Camille to do her knitting for her.

    Camille flipped open her cell phone when it rang, not bothering to say hello. “You’ll never guess who was just in the store.”
    “Hello to you too.” Alex’s soft chuckle felt like one of the new cashmere pashminas against her skin. “And here I thought you were mooning around Sweetgum missing me.”
    Camille leaned one hip against the counter as she watched Esther walk toward her car, a low-slung forest green Jaguar. The cardigan looked pretty good with the Diane von Furstenberg dress if she did say so herself. For a brief moment, she imagined herself in that kind of dress, walking down a New York street with Alex. Someday.
    “I do have a job, you know,” she reminded him in a teasing tone. “As do you. What are you doing calling me during the day?” For once she was going to play it cool. Or at least a little more subtly. Last night she’d watched the season finaleof a dating show where a man got to take his pick from a group of more than twenty beautiful women. As always, the bachelor in question had picked not only the prettiest girl, but also the one who had made him chase her instead of chasing him. When she had turned off the television, Camille vowed to learn