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"Whatever." Briana Leigh rolled her eyes. "Let's go."
Twenty minutes later Ariana found herself standing in a dressing room in a small, chic boutique, loaded down with the most hideous collection of garments she had ever seen--all florals and plaids and stripes in bright, offensive colors. It wasn't as if the store didn't carry some tasteful things. There were several, actually. But every time Ariana tried to sneak in a simple jacket or a straight skirt or a white top, Briana Leigh caught her and tossed the garment aside.
"Which one are you trying on?" Briana Leigh asked from outside the dressing room door.
"A Calvin Klein," Ariana replied, sliding her arms into the three-quarter sleeves of a gray shirtdress.
"What Calvin Klein? I didn't pick out any Calvin Klein."
Ariana gritted her teeth. "So have you and Teo set a date yet?" she asked, hoping to divert her. Briana Leigh had talked of nothing but her engagement for the past two days.
"Not yet," Briana Leigh replied. "I still can't even believe we're engaged. I'm going to have kids right away."
Ariana blinked. Briana Leigh was only sixteen. How could she be thinking about having children. "Really?"
"I always wanted a big family," Briana Leigh said, her tone wistful. "I never had any brothers or sisters... not really, anyway."
Ariana's heart skipped a beat. Was Briana Leigh thinking about Kaitlynn?
"And with my parents gone... I just want to start over," Briana Leigh finished.
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Slowly, Ariana buttoned up the dress. It was the first time that Briana Leigh had sounded genuine. Hopeful. Not at all bitchy. It was as if she had just let her guard down, right there in broad daylight and without the help of alcohol. The girl actually had dreams.
There was a long moment of silence and then Briana Leigh suddenly rapped on the door. "I'm getting wrinkles out here! Let's see!"
And then the bitch was back. Ariana tied the ribbon belt on the dress and opened the door. Briana Leigh's face screwed up in disgust.
"What are you going for? Lame librarian?"
Ariana turned to look at herself. She liked the dress. It showed off her slim waist and toned calves and made her new hair color pop. Plus, it was totally her style. Understated. Refined. Definitely not lame librarian. But still, she couldn't contradict Briana Leigh. Ariana had searched the house twice since finding Briana Leigh's secondary checking account but had found nothing. She needed to keep staying at the mansion, meaning she needed to stay on Briana Leigh's good side, even if it meant being the second-worst-dressed person below the Mason-Dixon Line.
"You're right," she said, tugging at the ribbon belt. "I don't know what I was thinking."
Briana Leigh made a snorting noise of agreement. "Here. Take that off and put this on."
She shoved a pink-and-yellow Betsey Johnson frock at Ariana and slammed the dressing room door shut. Ariana sat down on the bench in her cubicle and looked into her eyes in the mirror.
"It's just temporary," she whispered. "When this is all over, you can
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come back here and buy anything you want. Better yet, you can go to Milan and buy anything you want."
Comforted by the thought of herself and Kaitlynn strolling past Milan's gleaming flagship stores loaded down with glossy designer bags, Ariana was buoyed enough to continue with her freak fashion show. As she slid the Betsey Johnson over her head, she mapped out her next search in her mind. She'd already ransacked the basement and Briana Leigh's parents' old bedroom, so tonight she was going to try the computer in Mr. Covington's office again. There had to be another bank, some other account she hadn't seen. Kaitlynn had said Briana Leigh had gotten everything when her dad died. There just had to be something Ariana was missing.
Ariana zipped up the dress and looked at her reflection. The frock was one-shouldered, tightly ruched, and way too short. Grimacing, she turned and opened the door of the dressing room. Briana Leigh's eyes widened in delight.
"What do you think?" Ariana asked, afraid of the answer.
"Now that is a dress!" Briana Leigh cried. "You should totally wear that out of here," Briana Leigh decided, standing next to Ariana to view the reflection in the mirror.
"Actually, I think I'll change back into the--"
"Shut up. You're wearing it." Briana Leigh ripped the tag off the dress to bring it up to the counter. "Get the rest of that stuff and let's go pay."