Free A Perfect Proposal by Katie Fforde

short,’ Sophie said when she had put on Milly’s dress and was inspecting herself in the mirror. It wasn’t the first time she had borrowed Milly’s clothes. Milly being that bit older than the other two, her wardrobe was more sophisticated than her friends’, and Sophie and Amanda had always raided it.
    Milly was inspecting her from behind. ‘It’s fine, as long as your tights haven’t got ladders in them.’
    ‘They’re new,’ said Sophie with her nose in the air, ‘I bought them today, and they’re called pantyhose.’
    Milly laughed. ‘Glad you’re picking up the language. What about shoes?’
    Sophie made a face. ‘I haven’t got anything smart. It’s these old flat boots or trainers. On the whole, nannies don’t need killer heels.’
    Milly nodded. ‘I’ll lend you some heels. We’re more or less the same size.’ She burrowed in a box under the sofa.
    ‘Those aren’t shoes, Milly,’ said Sophie when she saw the proffered footwear, ‘those are stilts. I won’t be able to walk.’
    ‘But look how beautiful they are! Just put them on and quit moaning.’
    Sophie fitted her feet into the shoes, unwilling to admit just how gorgeous they were. ‘If you love them so much why aren’t you wearing them?’
    Milly looked quizzical. ‘I could tell you it’s because I wantyou, my joint-best friend, to wear really heavenly shoes, Louboutin no less, to her first New York date.’
    ‘But?’ Sophie’s mouth was twitching. She knew a better excuse was on its way.
    ‘The truth is I’m working and you can’t run around in those things. So I’ll let you be the one to just stand about and admire your feet. Now, if you don’t mind shifting yourself from in front of the mirror, I’d like to get my own slap on.’
    Sophie went and perched on the sofa. ‘While obviously New York is big enough for both of us,’ she said, ‘your flat really isn’t. I’m going job-hunting tomorrow and I’ll focus on the ones that say ‘”live in”.’
    Milly paused in her application of her second coat of mascara. ‘Why don’t you forget about trying to get a job, Soph? You can just stay with me and we’ll have fun together. I know it’s a bit cramped but I don’t want you moving to the other end of town. That would be so dreary.’
    ‘I’d feel bad just sponging off you. And you have to work. Besides, I’m on a bit of a mission. If I stayed with you I’d have to go home after a week – if I can change my ticket. I’ll have run out of spending money, probably. Although if my air fare has been refunded directly into my account that would help.’
    ‘There you are! No need to get a job or go home. We can just have fun together!’
    ‘I must say it’s just like when we were teenagers, getting ready to go out.’
    ‘Yes,’ agreed Milly. ‘We just need Amanda to make it perfect.’
    ‘Is it really going well for you in New York, Mills? Do you think you’ll stay for ever?’
    Milly shrugged. ‘It’s all just perfect now, of course: lovely boyfriend, lovely job; but I think I’d miss England eventually.’
    ‘Amanda’s really settled too. It’s just me who isn’t.’ She sighed.
    ‘We’re all too young to settle down really. Even me. Anyway, what mission? It sounds interesting,’ said Milly, applying kohl under her lashes.
    ‘It might be. When I was working for Uncle Eric I came across some papers that implied there are some drilling rights to some oil wells, left as shares to various members of my family …’ She paused.
    ‘Well, go on!’ Milly said, reaching for her lipstick.
    ‘It’s such a long shot, but I’m going to see if I can track down everyone who’s got shares and get them to join together so we can do something with the rights. Lease them out or something. Apparently some ancient relation was doing that before. She has an address in New York. If I could find out how far she got with the project, I could possibly carry on with it.’
    ‘Mm, sounds fun – if a bit