Free Kiss a Frog (The Book Club Series 1) by Scarlett Jade Page A

back home and change for her date, she would have to change in the mall bathroom quickly and rush across town.
    Gathering up her makeup and her toothbrush and toothpaste, she shoved it all in the bag and hurried out the door to make it to work on time. The store was dead the first half of the shift, but by the time the afternoon came, it was like every teeny-bopper in Boston just had to come to the store and buy clothes. She busted two thirteen-year-olds trying to layer shirts and steal them, and after calling the cops, she got the shirts back. The girls were warned never to come back into the store, and sent on their way with police escort.
    Then a middle-aged woman had wanted to unfold each and every shirt in a size extra-large, trying to find one that would fit on her rubenesque frame. After she stretched and skewed each one, grumbling as they didn’t stretch quite far enough, she threw them into a pile. Lily worked in silence, not trusting her tongue to behave as she cleaned up the mess.
    Olivia manned the cash register, and they were so busy that there was no time to talk until the last half hour of their shift. “Are you excited to see my brother?” Olivia asked, her brown eyes sparkling.
    “Yeah, I think we’ll have fun.” Lily smiled at the younger girl.
    “Well, I can lock up. You go get ready.”
    “Are you sure?” Lily asked. Olivia had locked up so many times before that she wasn’t concerned with her being able to handle it or not.
    “Yeah, go ahead.” Olivia waved her on.
    “Okay.” Lily hurried to the back and clocked out, grabbing her bag and going back through the front of the store.
    “Have fun!” Olivia called, and Lily grinned back at her friend.
    Once in the bathroom, she stripped off her clothes and pulled the dress on quickly. It was a simple gauzy dress, and it fluttered with every movement. Sidling out to the counter, she pulled the rest of her things out and shoved her work clothes inside. Moving at a breakneck pace, she smeared on deodorant and squirted perfume, brushed her teeth, and applied a little makeup. Raking the brush through her hair, she left it loose around her shoulders and attached the chunky necklace around her neck.
    She looked presentable. It will have to do…
    Checking her phone, she grimaced, realizing she had barely ten minutes to make it across town to the restaurant. She would be fashionably late. She jammed her feet back into her sneakers, deciding to wait on the pumps until she got to the restaurant and stuffed everything back in her bag. As she left the bathroom, she jogged through the mall, pausing only for a moment to see Olivia sliding down the bars outside the store.
    “See you!” she called, and Olivia’s head jerked up.
    “Woo woo! Hot mama!” Olivia whistled, and Lily laughed as she left the mall and ran for the parking lot.
    Her hands shook as she fumbled with the keys and opened her door, tossing everything into the passenger seat as she clambered in and started the car. She drove fast through the city, breathing a sigh of relief as she pulled into the parking lot of the illustrious Chateau Parisienne. She turned on the light inside the car and checked her reflection in the rearview mirror.
    You’ll do. She scrambled out of the car and across the street to the restaurant. A maître d’ opened the door for her. “Mademoiselle.”
    Lily froze as she looked down at her feet. She still wore her sneakers. “I-I’ll, be back!” She choked, turning to stumble down the stairs like a drunk person and dodge cars as she sprinted back to the car and got her heels. Slipping them on, she blew out a slow breath and forced herself to calm down. According to her phone she was now ten minutes late for her date. Bile rose in her throat as she crossed the street and climbed the stairs again.
    The man opened the door again, a funny little smirk on his face. “Mademoiselle?”
    “I’m good now,” Lily whispered.
    She stepped inside the opulent restaurant and