She took her time showering and getting ready, fretting a bit over what to wear. Fortunately, she and Julia weren’t going anywhere fancy, just the DMV and then to a shopping mall where she needed to buy some things for work. Since all of her office wardrobe had burned in the fire, she would have to purchase a few pieces to get her by for the next few weeks. Now more than ever, when she was officially living with Ian, they would have to exercise extreme discretion at the office. And that meant keeping the lavish, extensive wardrobe of beautiful designer clothes he’d bought her strictly for after work use. She would need to stick to the same sort of inexpensive clothing she’d always worn to the office so that Alicia, Gina, and the others didn’t get suspicious.

Deciding to go with comfort rather than high fashion, Tessa chose a pair of black cigarette pants, a black and cream striped sweater, and black ballerina flats. The black Prada satchel that Ian had bought for her as a gift in London wasn’t even half full after she put her new wallet, phone, brush, lip gloss, and house key inside. Most of the day to day stuff she carried around with her had been inside her old purse, another casualty of the fire.

Julia arrived promptly at ten, just as Tessa was putting her breakfast dishes into the dishwasher. As usual, the petite designer was dressed to kill in a gray cashmere sweater dress that clung to her curvy body, and a killer pair of black stilettos with a T-strap. Tessa had never seen Julia looking anything less than perfectly put together, and realized the only time she’d ever seen her in something other than a dress or a skirt had been in yoga class.

The very first thing Julia did was to give Tessa a fierce hug. “I’m so sorry, honey,” she told her sorrowfully. “What a horrible, horrible thing for you to have to go through. But you’re lucky you managed to get out of there without any apparent injuries that I can see.”

Tessa nodded. “I’m fine, just a little shook up. Ian practically dragged me to see a doctor yesterday, even though I told him I was fine.”

Julia grinned. “Get used to it, honey. He might be on the reserved side, but your man is definitely used to being in charge. And you couldn’t have picked a better man to take care of you, Tessa. Ian is a real prize, one in a million.”

“I know,” admitted Tessa readily. “He’s the most wonderful man in the whole world, and I still have to pinch myself something like a dozen times a day to really believe he’s mine.”

Julia gave Tessa’s hand a squeeze. “Well, believe it, girl, because you snagged yourself a real winner. And I’m not talking about his money or his position. I mean the man he is inside - how kind he is and how well he treats people. If I hadn’t already been head over heels in love with my Nathan, I’d probably have gone after Ian myself,” she teased. “Then again, I saw the way he looked at you during that very first meeting I attended, and knew right off the bat that no other woman would ever do for him.”

Tessa couldn’t help beaming with delight. “Really? I just never imagined that someone like him would ever notice me.”

“Oh, honey, he noticed you all right. I told you that when we had lunch together the first time but you didn’t believe me. I’m glad everything worked out. Especially,” she added mischievously, “since I got this fabulous pair of Manolo Blahniks as a result.”

Tess smiled. “I can’t believe you made a bet with Nathan about whether Ian was really the new boyfriend I told you about. But I am glad you won the bet.”

Julia gave her a conspiratorial wink. “I tend to win most of the bets I make with Nathan. Let’s just say it all has to do with the timing. Now, as much as I’m dying to get the grand tour of this awesome house - God, from what I’ve already seen I might just move in here with you - we’d better get going.”

Julia’s silver BMW sedan, which she told Tessa had been a Christmas present from Nathan, was parked right outside. The women spent a busy but pleasurable morning and early afternoon getting Tessa’s new driver’s license, and then hitting the mall for lunch and shopping. Tessa was glad she had Julia, with her innate fashion sense, along for the somewhat abbreviated shopping spree.

“I don’t need much, just a few pieces to get me through the next few weeks until I quit work,” she explained. “And I don’t want to spend very much, especially if they aren’t things I’m going to wear again.”

Julia shook her head. “That’s where you’ve got it wrong. There’s no reason at all you can’t mix low and high end pieces, and keep wearing the stuff you buy today. Look, this blouse here - it’s on sale for thirty five dollars, but it would look fantastic with those pants you have on. And I already know those are Stella McCartney and probably cost around four hundred bucks.”

“For these?” squeaked Tessa in dismay. “Oh, I’m going to have to talk to Ian again. I don’t want him spending that much money. You’re sure? For one pair of pants?”

Julia chuckled. “Uh, huh, pretty sure. And don’t fight it, honey. The man is absolutely crazy about you so let him spoil you rotten. Let’s face it, Tessa - he’s going to do it anyway so you might as well just accept it and count your lucky stars.”

But Tessa couldn’t help fretting over how much money he must have already spent on her, and worrying about what else he planned to buy her. As a result, she adamantly refused to purchase anything besides two skirts, half a dozen assorted blouses and sweaters, two dresses, one pair of plain black pumps, and an inexpensive purse. Everything was either on sale or from a clearance rack, and no amount of coaxing from Julia could convince her to buy even one more thing.

“This will have to do,” insisted Tessa as they walked out of Macy’s, which had fortunately been holding a huge storewide sale. “I don’t want to spend any more of Ian’s money, especially if what you’re telling me is true about these pants.”

“Look,” Julia told her gently, “if it’s any consolation, Nathan told me once what he guessed Ian’s net worth to be, considering the salary he probably pulls in and the percentage of the company he owns.”

She named a figure that nearly sent Tessa into a catatonic shock. She’d known he was wealthy, but not that wealthy. It was almost inconceivable that he could be worth anywhere near that much.

“So he can easily afford to buy you whatever you want without it even making a dent in his bank account,” assured Julia. “Most women wouldn’t blink an eye about accepting stuff from him. But I already know - that’s not you.”