Always With You (The Connor Family 6)

I shook my head but didn’t interrupt. I enjoyed this too much.

“I’m going to bring you a few pairs of shoes.”

The second Hailey was out of earshot, Bianca said, “I love her. I really, really do. Now I can see why Mom was going on and on about grandkids.”

I groaned. “Bianca.”

“Oh, now I’m Bianca again, huh? Well, this is payback for calling me Bee-Bee in front of Hailey.”

Bianca looked as if she was going to say something else, but Hailey returned with five pairs of shoes.

While they were discussing the pros and cons of each pair (thankfully they kept me out of it, because they all looked the same to me), Mom called.

I stepped away from the girls to answer.

“Hey, Mom!”

“Darling, how is shopping going?”

“We’re almost done. I think.” I hoped.

“You sound exhausted.”

“Shopping with Bianca isn’t for the fainthearted.”

“Why don’t you all stop by for dinner? We’d love to have Hailey too.”

“Hailey and I already have plans for tonight.”

“Plans can change,” she said. “Just ask her and let me know. I’d really love to chat with her again.”

I caught Bianca’s expression and had the nagging suspicion that she knew with whom I was talking.

When she disappeared back into the changing room, I pulled Hailey aside.

“What’s wrong?”

“Mom called. She asked if we’d like to stop by for dinner. I know we have plans, so we don’t have to go.”

“Uhhh... dinner with your parents? I feel like that’s a good opportunity for me to make a second first impression.”

“You did fine the first time around.”

“You think? Well, then. All the more reason to go to dinner. Cement that impression.”

“Did you and Mom plot this?” I asked Bianca while we waited in line to pay.

“Of course. You never tell anyone anything. We had to invent our own way of guessing what’s going on. So I spied on you two the whole day, reporting to Mom.”

At least I was in the clear about that.

“Fantastic.”

“Oh, don’t be so insufferable.”

We headed straight to the car after paying, and Bianca climbed in the back seat with all the bags. Hailey glanced at her reflection on the car door.

“What are you doing?” I asked.