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“If I say yes to the dress, will you back off my hair?” she asked

Helene gave her a skeptical look “You’ll try on whatever I suggest?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t et it”

“But I’ out thousands on a dress was no big deal, which for her it probably wasn’t

“I couldn’t accept” The last thing she wanted was to walk away fro his family

“You don’t have a choice Those are htly less distasteful than Clover picking out her own dress—“but I’ll let you pay for lunch”

The wo without her Thatforward to the distraction frorabbed her purse frootiate better than Sawyer”

“Darling,” Helene said with a satisfied grin, “tellI don’t know Co again”

As the elevator doors closed, Clover didn’t have a single doubt that Helene Carlyle could accomplish that with only minimal effort

Three hours later, Clover found herself under the heat hood at Helene’s salon She wasn’t sure how she’d gotten there, but the woman had outmaneuvered her at every turn She really was a force to be reckoned with So while Clover sat there with tinfoil in her hair, Helene sipped tea from a delicate china cup

After setting her cup down on the saucer, Helene gave her an assessing once-over “Sawyer’s very set in his ways, you know”

“You don’t have to tellthat all on her own Her hand automatically went to her belly

“I suppose I don’t,” Helene said “He’s just never had any other interests than Carlyle Enterprises, not froh to ride to ith his father As a little boy, he was just the same as he is now Simply shorter and with a more limited vocabulary”

“That doesn’t surpriseon between her and Sawyer because the e of hih I was surprised by how obsessed he is with the business that he’s never built anything with his own hands I guess that’s why it was so ether”

One perfectly waxed and shaped dark brown eyebroent up, and Helene leaned forward “Explain renovate”