Read Some Girls Do for Free Online

Collins chatting in the foyer. Wilhernina's makeup was much more subtle, and she wore a pink dress with some sort of jacket that concealed her penchant for cookies. Unfortunately, the effect was somewhat destroyed by a hat with a large red feather.
    Miss Collins's hair was still upswept in a tight twist, her eyes still shielded by black-framed glasses. Her dress, though a drab pale gray in color, fit her frame more closely, and Michael wasn't entirely surprised to learn that the woman was more curvy than lumpy. He remembered how small her waist had felt in that closet. Not only that, the hem of the dress stopped just above the knee, accenting the legs he'd already assessed the first time he'd seen her.
    “Good afternoon, ladies,” he said. “Did you enjoy your makeovers with Fernando?”
    “Oh, yes,” Wilhernina said. “Fernando was fabulous, but we did have a few disagreements with him.”
    “Really?” he said, placing mental bets on the areas of disagreement.
    “He didn't like my hat,” Wilhemina said. “He wanted Katie to wear her hair down and he chose a different color for her dress and suggested different glasses frames.”
    Katie shrugged. “He was too flamboyant for me, but if Wilhemina's happy, that's what is important.”
    “And I am happy,” Wilhemina said. “Two new outfits. I'm taking them upstairs to find hats to go with each of them. My big decision is which to wear on Saturday night.’ She smiled. “Ta ta for now.”
    Wilhemina swept past him up the stairs in a swirl of designer perfume. He watched the feather on her hat bob along the hallway. He turned to Miss Collins. “So Fernando couldn't get her to ditch the hat?”
    Miss Collins shook her head. “It belonged to her mother. It would have been a kindness for someone to burn the collection, but apparently no one had the heart.”
    “And Fernando couldn't get you to let down your hair,” he said, curious. “Afraid of change?”
    She slid a sideways glance at him and moved away from the stairwell. “The makeover was for Wilhemina's benefit. I was just along for her comfort.”
    “But it would have been a great opportunity for you to—”
    He paused at the frosty glance she threw him. Her mouth tightened and she led him into a small office.
    Turning to face him, she lifted her chin. “Mr. Wingate, my focus is helping Wilhemina find a man. Superficial self-improvement efforts for myself are way down the list.”
    Michael shrugged. “You could consider it a perk for taking on the mission-near-impossible.”
    Her eyes flashed with anger. “I don't consider it a mission-near-impossible. I believe Wilhemina has many good qualities.”
    “Not the least of which is the fact that her father has almost as much money as God,” Michael said.
    “Wilhemina has other good qualities. She has a good—” She broke off with a sigh and shook her head. “I don't expect you to understand. You don't need to understand,” she muttered under her breath as if she were speaking to herself instead of him. She met his gaze. “You requested a list of prospects. I have one,” she said, and pulled a sheet of paper from her desk.
    “Already,” he said, impressed at the number of names on the neatly typed list. Miss Collins definitely wasn't letting any grass grow under her feet. He pulled out a pen to eliminate three of the names. “Where did you get these names?”
    “These men will be attending the cocktail party on Saturday. I got the guest list through a professional connection,” she said.
    He raised an eyebrow. “Professional connection?”
    Miss Collins lifted her chin. “I'm acquainted with the head housekeeper at the Rogers’ house, and the head housekeeper is good friends with the social secretary.”
    Michael's lips twitched at Miss Collins's prickly attitude, but he couldn't fault her resourcefulness. She was definitely going to need it. He crossed out two more names and returned the list to her.
    Miss Collins frowned. “Why did you