Page 96 of On the Plus Side
She fluffed the ends of her new hairstyle.
They’d spent the morning at a nearby salon, where Jazzy and the color artist had added copper highlights to Everly’s auburn-brown hair. Jazzy had cut off a few inches and added long sideswept bangs and some face-framing layers. Her loose waves now barely brushed her shoulders. Everly had cried when Jazzy turned her to the mirror. Both because she hadn’t had hair this short since she was a toddler, and because she loved it.
She looked sophisticated and polished.
She looked like the person she wanted to see every time she caught her reflection.
After a quick makeup tutorial, Everly had been rushed over to Kisses and Hugs so she could try on an outfit with her new hair and makeup before lunch.
While Jazzy, Stanton, and the crew waited outside the dressing rooms, Everly studied the racks of clothes. Jazzy had said to pick whichever one she wanted, but there were too many choices. Everly wanted to see herself in all of them.
Not knowing how else to decide, she chose the nearest option: a linen maxi dress with a goddess neckline in vertical stripes of gray, pink, and cream. Jazzy had paired it with stacks of bangles, black gladiator sandals, and cream-colored clay statement earrings.
After getting dressed, Everly gathered the leggings and T-shirt she’d arrived in and plopped them in a different changing room so they wouldn’t get lost among the other garments.
The fitting rooms at Kisses and Hugs were set apart from the showroom and organized in two rows of curtained stalls that ended in a raised platform with a 180-degree mirror. Everly couldn’t help but walk to the mirror like she was striding down a runway. Hips swishing, shoulders back, chin tilted up.
When she climbed the two steps up to the platform and saw her reflection fully for the first time, she burst out laughing.
It was loud. Joyous.
Justenough.
Jazzy’s eyebrows flew up her head. Joe was filming from the floor, out of the way of the mirror, and he swung his camera toward the host to catch her reaction. Logan lowered his own camera, peering at Everly from his spot beside her, where he’d been filming close-ups.
Sady and Stanton gasped from the doorway to the dressing area.
“Do you hate it?” Jazzy asked.
Everly shook her head. Her hair brushed soft against her bare shoulders with the movement. “I can’t believe how fucking good I look.” She cringed. “Language, sorry,” she said to Logan.
He shrugged, that little affectionate smile on his face. “That ship sailed day one.” His smile grew. “Plus, you do look fucking fantastic.”
“Fuck yeah,” Stanton yelled.
Everly waved her hand in front of her face to keep her tears at bay. It was wild seeing herself the way others saw her. The surge of confidence and happiness threatened to overwhelm her. She would have paid a million bucks to be able to lie down on the floor, but Jazzy would murder her if she wrinkled this dress. Linen was such a bitch to iron.
Jazz snapped her fingers in agreement. “Amen, girl.” Joining Everly at the mirror, she pulled her into a tight hug as they stood together to assess Everly’s reflection. “You’re totally striking.” Both of them were battling tears.
Sophie appeared, squeezing herself between Stanton and Sady. “Car’s here for lunch,” she announced. Then she pointed at Everly. “Oh shit. You lookincredible.”
In a move Grandma Helen would have been proud of, Everly grinned and said, “I know.”
Stepping down from the mirrors, she headed for the changing room. “Let me get out of this and we can go.”
“Nope.” Jazzy blocked her path. “Lunch is for the rest of us. A certain cameraman has something planned for you here.”
Everly glanced to her right. “Joe, you shouldn’t have.”
Logan snorted.
“That’s all ready for you by the register,” Sophie told Logan before disappearing back into the store.
Everly had no idea how much the show had to pay Kisses and Hugsto close for so much of the day, but soon the hosts and crew (and Sophie) had left, and Logan and Everly were alone in the boutique. Their footsteps echoed off the walls as they wandered the store.
At the back, beside the register, was a stack of three pizza boxes.
Everly pointed to them. “What’s this?”
