ALERA SELECTED A PAIR of rhinestone-studded pumps from the collection of shoes occupying the whole surface of a large square table and dangled them before Farida’s eyes.
Farida grimaced. “Too much.”
“Okay.” Alera replaced the shoes with the rest of the pile. Her eyes landed on shoe boots in tangerine and gold. She yelped with delight. “These are fantastic.”
“Not for me. I don’t do shoe boots.”
Alera scowled at her friend. “For me, not you.” She lifted the shoes off the table, turned them over to check out the size and then moved to sit on a leather-padded chair next to the table. She tugged off one of the suede platform pumps on her feet.
Farida settled into the other chair parallel to Alera’s seat. Her eyes followed Alera as she slipped a flower-tattooed foot into a shoe boot. It fit
