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always better than a full reveal.”
    “And here I assumed guys just wanted us wearing less material all over.”
    “Not unless you’re talking about a bathing suit, which we will deal with later. No, sexy elegant is always better than slutty trashy, at least for any type of man you’d want to attract. You need to leave some mystery to yourself when you dress. It’s more tantalizing and it also gets you more respect. I know, it seems counter-intuitive, but it’s true.”
    “I feel like I should be taking notes,” she joked.
    He nodded. “Maybe so, because I’m going to let you try picking out the next two dresses. We want one that’s white and one that’s red. Then we’ll move on to daywear, swimsuits, all that kind of stuff. We’ll get you some shoes, too.”
    “I’m not sure I can afford all this.”
    He smiled. “Another one of the reasons why this store is so popular? The prices are cheap enough it will shock you. We’ll work it out, don’t worry.”
    It took another two hours but when they were done Cindy had enough clothes for the trip and it didn’t break the bank. She thanked Dave and headed home. As she neared her house she realized that she was singing softly to herself. She smiled. Sometimes all a girl needed was a good shopping spree.
    She turned onto her street and a moment later pulled up to her house only to be surprised to see Jeremiah’s car in her driveway. She parked next to him and got out. He wasn’t in the car and he wasn’t on the porch. She could see that the lights were on in her living room, though, and she was pretty sure she had turned them off when she left. Cautiously she approached the front door. It was unlocked.
    She opened it.
    “Hello?” she called, hesitant to go any further until she knew for sure what she was walking into.
    Jeremiah appeared from the kitchen, a frown on his face. “You weren’t picking up your phone,” he said.
    “Sorry. I was out shopping and I didn’t hear it. What’s wrong?”
    “We need to talk.”

 
    4
     
     
     
     
    Cindy was pretty sure that there was no one on the planet who enjoyed hearing those words ‘we need to talk’. She knew she certainly didn’t feel good after hearing Jeremiah say them.
    “Should I sit down?” she asked as she closed the front door.
    “Yeah, come in,” he said as though inviting her into his home instead of her own.
    “Thanks,” she said drily as she moved into the living room and took a seat on the couch.
    Jeremiah stood in front of her, forehead wrinkled in concern. “I worried when you weren’t answering your phone. I let myself in.”
    She nodded, not bothering to comment on the fact that he must have picked the lock.
    “I could tell that you were busy trying to pack for the trip,” he continued.
    “Yeah, sorry, the place is a bit of a mess.”
    “It’s okay. Mine’s in a bit of chaos as well.”
    She very much doubted that he had the entire contents of his closet strewn around his room, but she refrained from saying that. “Jeremiah, why are you here?”
    He took a deep breath. “I realized that we needed to get our stories straight for the retreat and lay some ground rules before we get there.”
    “Oh, okay,” she said, relaxing somewhat. “So, where do you want to start?”
    “Well, they’ll likely ask us personal questions and we should be on the same page and remember what we’re saying so it doesn’t throw up any red flags. We are there undercover after all, and we don’t want that cover blown.”
    She nodded as she realized that he must be used to doing undercover work. She hadn’t even really given much thought to what backstory they were going to give to the people at the retreat center. Once he said something, though, she realized that it would be important to have a consistent story.
    “So, how long have we been together?” he asked.
    She felt her breath catch slightly in her throat. “You tell me.”
    “Okay. We’ve known each other for about two years,