"Rise and shine," I called, opening Alexis's door.
She groaned. "No, I'm tired."
I laughed. "Well, I'm driving Jamie to school in half an hour, so don't miss the ride." I shut the door and walked back to the kitchen.
"Miley, can you make pancakes?" asked Jamie.
I sighed. "Jamie, it's a school day, we don't have time. We can make pancakes on Sunday."
He nodded. "Okay." He reached into the pantry and pulled out the frosted flakes.
I laughed to myself. Boy, it wasn't hard to make a kindergartener happy.
I ruffled his hair and quickly ran into the laundry room, throwing a load in the washer. I was running out of clean clothing.
"Alexis," I called, "Hurry up!"
"I'm coming," she said, walking out of her room. She put her blonde hair up in a bun and sighed. "I have no clothes."
I looked at her skeptically. "Alexis, I'm a designer with my own boutique. We always have enough clothes."
She poured herself a cup of hot chocolate. "Please, Miley? Can I come to the store this weekend?"
I sighed. "I'll think about it."
She grinned. "Thanks!"
"Okay, guys," I said, grabbing my purse, "Into the car."
Alexis and Jamie piled into the car. I pulled out of our parking lot and dropped everyone at school before driving the thirty minutes from New Rochelle into the city. I parked a couple of blocks away from my store and got out of the car.
I stopped at Starbucks and picked up the usual. A white chocolate mocha for Taylor, a cinnamon dolce latte for Selena and a caramel macchiato for me.
"Clothes over Bros, how may I help you?" I heard Taylor say into the phone as I walked into the store.
I walked over to the counter, setting down my bag and the coffee's.
"Yes, of course we can design something special for your daughter's wedding day, but it comes at a higher price then if you pick from our already made designs," said Taylor.
I walked into the back design room where Selena was working on how to display the new collection. "Hey, Sel," I said, handing her her coffee.
She looked up and smiled. "Hey Miles. How are the kids? They haven't been by the store in a while."
I grinned. "They're good. Alexis feels the need to have even more clothes in her closet, so they'll be by soon."
She looked at me closely. "You're such a good person, Miles. I don't know how you raise all of them so well."
I shrugged. "They're my brother's kids, and I love them. I couldn't just throw them in the street."
Jackson had knocked up his high-school girlfriend Cindy, and they had married right before Alexis was born. No one thought they would make it, but they had. They even had another little boy. My dad and his wife Lorelei had decided to take Jackson and Cindy on vacation for their upcoming anniversary, a gift that had shaken up my world. They didn't make it back, after being run off the road by a drunk driver. It had been a year and a half since that day, a year and a half since I found myself a single parent to two grieving kids. It had taken a lot, but we were all in a better place. Jackson and Cindy are still a big part of our lives, but we'd learned to keep living.
Selena smiled. "Well, you're the bravest person I know."
I laughed. "Not by a long shot." I sat down, ready to look at some last minute sketches that needed to be added to the summer collection.
Taylor walked in ten minutes later. "You have an appointment in two weeks for a wedding dress design. Is that okay?"
I nodded. "Perfect."
Taylor had been my best friend in high school. She'd always been there for me. She got her degree in business and pretty much handled all of the technical stuff for the company. We'd met Selena at a job interview, and she had quickly become one of us. We were best friends.
"Well, what can I do today?" asked Taylor. "I'm still waiting for the paperwork for the summer collection to come through, so I'm pretty much free."
"Can you do inventory?" I asked.
She groaned. "Fine."
I grinned. "You asked if there was anything you could do." I walked out of the back room and into the store. I was waiting for Lilly to come by to pick up her bridesmaid dress. Oliver's sister was getting married, and since Lilly and Oliver were still going strong, I offered to do the dresses at half price.
The little bell above the door rang as Lilly walked in. "Hey, Miles," she said, putting her purse down on the couch I had in the middle of the store. "How's it going?"
"Good," I said. "Want to see your dress?"
She grinned nodded.
"Go get into the dressing room and I'll bring it to you," I said, walking into the back closet. I brought the pink dress back to the dressing room and slipped it through the door. "Try it on."
Lilly came out a minute later. "How does it look?"
I smiled. "You look so beautiful. Is Tiffany coming to see?" I asked, referring to Oliver's sister.
Lilly rolled her eyes. "She'll be here in a minute."
I chuckled. Lilly and Tiffany didn't get along at all. Lilly was sporty and a little funny and Tiffany was a girly-girl who stood for no nonsense. Oliver couldn't really stand her either.
"Hello, Miley," said Tiffany, walking into the store. "How have you been?" She grabbed me and kissed either side of my face.
"Hi Tiffany," I said. "I'm good."
She looked at me skeptically. "Miley, you don't need to lie, okay? It must suck having to take care of those kids."
I took a deep breath, not wanting to lose my temper and walked into the backroom, away from her.
Taylor looked at me. "That girl is such a bitch."
I nodded. "Yeah, she is."
Selena walked over and gave me a hug. "Can I please mess up her dress?"
I giggled. "No." I walked back out, knowing I couldn't hide forever.
"Sorry about her," said Lilly. "I sent her back out to the car."
"Thanks." I looked at her. "You really do look great, by the way."
