She's All That by Kristin Billerbeck Read Free Book Online Page B

from under a layer of fruit. I do hate finance. I love design. I love the way it makes me feel to see my dresses hanging on a Saks Fifth Avenue mannequin. To see the female form evolve into something breathtaking when draped in a beautiful, elegant silk. God created such beauty. It’s my calling to clothe it.

chapter 4
    F ashion is my calling,” I say as I get back to the room, convicted as only a cleansing facial can convict a person of depth and truth. Sure, I act like they convinced me, but what are friends for, if not for solid affirmation? They scratch my back; I scratch theirs.
    â€œA good handbag is my calling,” Morgan says, looking up from her romantic suspense novel.
    â€œA perfectly-curved spine is my calling,” Poppy adds, dropping her Health magazine.
    â€œNo, wait. My calling is finding the perfect man and learning how to make a pot roast without the cook on duty,” Morgan winks. “Romance can’t blossom with a cook for chaperone or on an empty stomach.” We all laugh at the thought of Morgan in an apron.
    â€œDo you even know how to turn on the oven?” I ask.
    â€œOkay,” Poppy interrupts, “then my true calling is finding the perfect man and not laying him out on a table to crack his back within the first ten minutes of meeting him. Romance can’t blossom with a man lying prostrate before you.” We all gaze at her. “It’s true. A guy doesn’t want a girl who can snap him like a stalk of celery.”
    â€œWell, now there’s a shocker,” Morgan giggles. “Twisting a man like a pretzel is not good for romance. Go figure.”
    â€œOh, we’re talking our real callings,” I say. “ Pardonez moi , I misunderstood. Forget fashion, then. Mine is meeting a man I find attractive, and not uttering something unintelligible. Not being Cyrano de Bergerac—except replace the bad nose with bad hair—that’s my calling. Oh, and wearing couture while I do it.”
    â€œWell, good,” Morgan sighs. “Now that we have that out of the way, and Lilly has decided to leave finance behind her, back there with her knowledge of geography, we’re all set.”
    â€œExcuse me. I know every back road on the San Francisco Peninsula.” I cross my arms.
    â€œWhere’s Missouri?” Poppy asks.
    I pause before saying confidently, “It’s in the middle.”
    â€œThe middle of what?”
    â€œDuh, the country,” I answer. “I’m a native Californian. Why do I need to know where Missouri is? It’s one of those middle states.”
    â€œWe’re all native Californians, Lilly. Who is more organic Californian than Poppy? I bet she knows where Missouri is.”
    â€œI do,” Poppy sits up straight. “It’s on the Mississippi River.”
    â€œSee? In the middle,” I say with more confidence than I feel.
    â€œThe middle of the country more toward the left or the right?” Morgan asks.
    Ack, a little lost here. It’s a fifty-fifty shot, and I’m a gambling girl. “The left.”
    â€œWrong!” Poppy and Morgan say in unison, falling into giggles. It’s a big joke that I can find any alley in the City, but I cannot tell you how to get to Nevada, our neighboring state. Since I don’t own a car, it doesn’t get me into much trouble.
    â€œI meant if you were facing south.” I raise my eyebrows and cross my arms.
    Morgan throws a pillow at me, “You are so full of it, Lilly.”
    â€œI’ve got my facial appointment now.” Poppy stands up and grabs her spa robe that comes with the room. There’s only one esthetician at Spa Del Mar, so we have to take turns. “How was that reenergizing mask, Lilly? Should I get that one?”
    â€œEnergizing. Not sure about the re part, but doesn’t my face look like that battery bunny? Pink and moist? I just keep going and going…”
    Poppy rolls her