Free If She Dares (Contemporary Romance) by Tanya Michaels Page A

shoppers wouldn’t hear. “You made it! You are my favorite sister, you know that?”
    “Only until Rochelle comes by and spends more money than me.”
    “Naturally.” Wren watched two women walk toward the register with their selections. “You look around while I ring up these customers.” Nodding toward the back of the store, she added in a whisper, “We keep the
really
naughty stuff around the corner.”
    “Uh...good to know.”
    Riley meandered through the shop, wincing at a few of the price tags on exquisite lingerie. Maybe she should cross the aisle; the display of candles and luxurious scented lotions might be more her speed, budgetarily speaking. There was no question the merchandise was high quality, but how could she justify spending so much money on dazzling undergarments no one else would see anytime soon?
    Then again
... Frowning at the memory of opening her door in unflattering lumpy purple chenille, she stopped by a rack of silky robes. There was one in deep blue, with a bit of lace detailing at the collar and sleeves. Classy, but still sexy. Unfortunately, she only saw two sizes—one that would be almost too small to cinch around her waist and another that would swallow her whole. She’d have to ask Wren if they had more in the back or another shipment coming in soon.
    After helping a rapid succession of customers check out, Wren was free. For the moment, the store was empty. She put her elbows on the counter and propped her chin on her hands. “This is the first chance I’ve had to catch my breath since we opened this morning. Seems like everyone is out shopping today! Marissa didn’t come into work because of morning sickness, and Meg has been busy making emergency wedding phone calls. There was a burst pipe situation, and the venue she was supposed to use for the ceremony now has flooding damage.”
    “That’s awful,” Riley said, remembering how uncharacteristically frenzied Rochelle had been in the weeks leading up to her wedding. She could only imagine how stressful it must be to make last-minute changes.
    “Luckily, I have an awesome best friend who knows a lot of people in commercial real estate, and we have fixed the problem.” This came from a pretty strawberry blonde as she emerged from a back room. She grinned. “Hi there. I’m Meg Rafferty. And let me guess, you’re...Riley?”
    Riley nodded, unsurprised that Meg had noted the family resemblance but impressed she’d identified the right sister. “What gave it away?”
    Meg indicated Riley’s outfit, a long red ombre skirt with an open-weave dark orange sweater and beaded sandals. “Your clothes look a little more, um, free-spirited than how she described Rochelle.”
    Wren smirked. “I may have said our sister wears business suits at all times, except when she goes to bed—at which time she wears business casual.”
    Since their sister wasn’t here to defend herself, Riley tried not to laugh. And failed. “To be honest, I’ve been leaning more that way myself lately. Today I wanted to liven things up.” When she’d gone to the closet to get dressed this morning, she’d stared at the hangers, perplexed. When had navy, black and khaki taken over her wardrobe? Inspired by the bright sunshine outside, she’d dug around until she found something colorful and seasonally appropriate.
    “Well, welcome to our store,” Meg said. “Your sister has been a godsend. Nice to know I can go on my honeymoon without worrying or feeling like I left Marissa in the lurch.”
    Wren grinned. “Like you’ll give this place a second thought. No woman in her right mind could obsess over the store while she was in the Caribbean with Hot Architect.”
    “Wren!” Riley wasn’t sure how professional it was to call her boss’s fiancé hot.
    “What? That’s her nickname for him,” Wren said. “And it’s entirely appropriate. The first time she showed me a picture, I asked if he had any brothers. And he has an identical twin!” She