LITMIR.BIZ

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dusty and smelled funny, but she and Averil had enjoyed playing dress-up.

      She walked to a rack of ball gowns from the 1940s. She’d loved dancing around, a rusty tiara on her head.

      You be the queen and I’ll be the princess, Averil had told her.

      Nina had resisted, saying there could be two princesses. Even at nine, she’d understood that being the queen meant taking responsibility. All she wanted was to escape for a few minutes. But Averil had been stubborn.

      You’re my queen, Neenie. You’ll always be the queen.

      She touched another dress, remembering her sister claiming she could tell whether or not the wearer had been happy simply by the scent of the fabric. As everything smelled dusty to Nina, she couldn’t decide if her sister had been telling the truth. But Averil would only wear castoffs from happy people and carefully inspected all new inventory.

      Nina supposed that everyone had strange memories from his or her childhood. Hers were about pockets of chaos followed by blissful periods of calm. Bonnie had been big on love, but not so much on structure. If there was no one to watch the girls, she thought nothing of taking them out of school for weeks at a time when she went on her buying trips.

      When Nina turned twelve, she informed her mom that she was old enough to be left alone. She’d been armed with a list of reasons why she should be trusted by herself, but Bonnie had simply agreed with her. The following year, Bonnie had deposited Averil in her care, as well. She’d made sure the house was stocked with food before she headed off. There was money in the drawer and the checkbook. Nina had been faking her mom’s signature on checks for years, so paying the bills wasn’t a problem.

      Nina paused by a desk lamp that Bonnie swore was genuine Tiffany and touched the smooth, colored glass. Memories lurked in this store, she thought. Hiding in corners like dust bunnies. As she couldn’t figure out how to get rid of them, she avoided them and this place. Which probably explained why Tanya had stolen. There was no one watching her.

      The front door opened. Nina tensed, wondering if Dylan would be stopping by. She’d phoned to thank him for his help, but her call had gone directly to voice mail. She still wasn’t sure if she was disappointed or relieved.

      But he wasn’t the one who walked in. Instead, it was a well-dressed woman with short, dark hair. She was about five-five, with dark blue eyes and a wide smile.

      “Are you Nina?” she asked.

      “Yes.”

      “Great. I’m Cindy Yoo. I’m here about the job. I saw it online last night, and I’m very interested.”

      In reality, shutting down the store made the most sense. Unfortunately, that wasn’t Nina’s decision to make. She didn’t feel prepared for an interview, but they had to hire someone.

      “Thanks for coming by,” she said. “There are application forms in the back.”

      Cindy withdrew a folder from her large leather bag. “I brought a copy of my resume, along with several letters of recommendation.”

      Nina took the papers. “That’s very professional of you,” she said slowly. As far as she knew, no applicant had ever come in with a resume before.

      “I’ve got coffee going in the back,” she said, motioning to the open doorway. “Want some?”

      “Sure.”

      Cindy followed her into the office. Nina cleared a stack of invoices off the spare chair, then poured them each a cup.

      “Black is fine,” Cindy told her, then reached for the mug.

      Nina poured her own and settled behind the desk. “I didn’t know the ad had gone up already.”

      “I was online checking when it popped up.” Cindy smiled at her. “I’ll just say it. I don’t have retail experience, but I’m open to learning.”

      “It’s not a complicated business,” Nina murmured, studying the other woman. She didn’t know all that much about fashion, but she would guess Cindy’s clothes were expensive. Her bag seemed to be real leather, and her wedding band was a row of sparkling diamonds.

      Cindy pointed to the folder. “I can get more recommendations if you need them. I’m very excited about this opportunity.”

      Maybe a little too excited? Nina opened the folder and studied her resume.

      Cindy had graduated with a degree in history from a university in the San Francisco area. From there she’d become a secretary in a law firm. Four years later, she had been a paralegal in the same firm. That had been followed by a move to Seattle, where she’d done more of the same.

      Behind the resume were a half dozen letters of recommendation. All glowing. Each had a phone number and a vow that he or she would hire Cindy back in a second if she was interested.

      “Impressive,” Nina said, then looked at her. “I’m looking for someone to run the store. It involves managing inventory and selling to customers. I can’t help but think you’re overqualified.”

      Cindy clutched her mug in both hands. “To be completely honest, I really need this job. My husband is a few years older than me. I’m his second wife. Our children just left for college. One is at MIT, the other is at Stanford.”

      So it was a money thing, Nina thought, able to relate to that.

      “My husband is Korean. My mother-in-law, while a lovely woman, has a very traditional interest in the life of her only son. Apparently his first wife was also traditional. Perfect, according to my mother-in-law, chosen by the family. She died and he fell in love with me.” Cindy paused. “Have you heard about the Tiger Moms?”

      Nina frowned. “I think I read a couple of articles. They’re focused on their children succeeding.”

      “Multiply that by a thousand and you’ll understand what I’m dealing with. I’m never good enough, and while she doesn’t come out and say it, I’m certain her daily prayers include me being dead.” Cindy flashed a smile. “Or at the very least, having her son come to his senses and kick me out.”

      “That could be uncomfortable.”

      “Yes, it is, and she’s coming to live with us.” Cindy swallowed. “This week. He’s helping her pack right now. I want to be nice to her. But to keep myself sane, I need a job. A place where I can go and think about something else. A place to pour my energy. I swear, I’m highly motivated to learn everything I need to know.”

      Nina felt her concerns melting away. “You don’t have a criminal record, do you?”

      Cindy’s eyes widened. “I assume that’s not a prerequisite?”

      “No. Our last employee stole from us. We wouldn’t have known except she went to a local pawn shop to fence our property.”

      “The pawn shop on the island?”

      “That’s the one.”

      Cindy leaned back in her chair. “Seriously, that’s just dumb. But lucky for you. As to the question, no. I’ve had two speeding tickets and that’s it. I’m a good person. Ask anyone.”

      Nina grinned. “Except your mother-in-law.”

      “Right.”

      Nina handed Cindy the application. “I’m going to check inventory while you fill this out.”

      She left Cindy in the office. She would ask Sam at the sheriff’s office to run a background check on Cindy, then call a couple of references. If that worked out, she was going to hire the woman and consider herself lucky to have found her.

      Chapter Four

      AVERIL HAD GROWN UP in the Pacific Northwest where the ocean temperature rarely climbed past sixty and that was in the summer. California wasn’t all that different. Right on the beach

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