Chapter 1
I rolled the window down and let the air play lightly through my hair. It would leave it windblown and tangled, but it was worth it for the sensation I felt. It had been one of the most amazing days of my life. I’d witnessed my good friend stepping right into her dream.
Dawn had opened up her own bakery, which had seemed to launch her into a life that was led by joy rather than obligation.
It had been so inspiring to see the transformation in my friend. When I’d first met Dawn, she’d worn over-sized clothes, barely made eye contact, and never seemed to have much to smile about. But in the relatively short time that I’d known her, she had blossomed in ways that I almost couldn’t even have imagined.
She was an example of exactly why I believed Zoe’s World—my fashion consultation business—was going to change lives.
I’d worked with Dawn on her wardrobe to help her find her own style, and the moment we’d found it, I saw the light born in her eyes. It was as if she could see her own beauty for the first time. It had nothing to do with the clothing and everything to do with her discovering herself—seeing past the fog and distortion of others’ expectations of beauty and recognizing that she was born beautiful.
Even the memory of it brought tears to my eyes.
And now? I laughed as I trailed one hand out the window and thought about the happiness I’d just witnessed.
It wasn’t just in Dawn either. It rippled through my entire group of friends.
We had come together to plan Hanna’s wedding, but our little bride tribe had stuck together from that moment on. I pictured us as a gathering of minds and hearts, a family that was webbed together through friendship instead of biology.
As much as I’d helped in Dawn’s transformation, she’d helped me equally to believe in myself as I opened my own business for the first time. With the support of everyone bolstering me, I’d been brave enough to take a step that, despite my confidence in most other areas of my life, I’d never been able to follow through with. It had taken me a long time to discover my passion and longer still to actually believe in it.
As I pulled into the parking lot of my home—a plush condo that had been a gift from my father—I took a moment to study the exterior. Everything was just as I’d wanted it, with small details that accentuated the overall architecture of the two-story building.
It was my sanctuary.
As I stepped inside, I felt the warmth and memories of the place wrap around me in a warm embrace. I spent a lot of my time decorating and re-decorating it. I believed in splashing myself across the walls in vivid colors and unique artwork. I particularly enjoyed things being off balance. A shaggy overstuffed chair beside a modem black and silver table. Not everyone would agree that it worked, but that didn’t matter to me, because it was me.
My condo was the one place I could feel one hundred percent authentic. Though I was always working on bringing that same authenticity into the rest of my life, here at least I could always count on it.
As I set my things down, I saw the text on my phone from my friend, Blu. It was one final goodbye before she headed back to New York City.
I smiled as I texted her back. She’d recently mended things with her longtime boyfriend. I was happy for her because she was happy.
I’d seen the ups and downs of my friends’ relationships over the years. Most recently, I’d noticed a strong tension between Dawn and her crush, Garrett. Garrett worked in the bakery with her. Just the looks between them—the way he stared at her when she didn’t know it and the blush in her cheeks when she did meet his eyes—left no question in my mind that their connection had been ignited. It filled me with joy, but also left me with the subtlest pang of envy.
I’d convinced myself some time ago that I was happiest free and single. I did date often, but never seriously. I’d never really felt the draw to that. But now? Maybe it was because I was thirty, or maybe it was because of Trent—an unexpected presence in my life—I felt a kindling within the depths of me and the stirring of a desire for something more.
“Trent.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head as I sat down in front of my computer. He was my tech guru, someone my father had recommended to me when I’d decided to launch my website for my fashion consulting business.
At first sight, Trent was skinny, sarcastic, and a little intense at times—not in any way my type. I liked a big man—muscular and tall.
Despite that, every time I spoke to him or worked with him, I seemed to make a fool of myself. I couldn’t get my words out right and I wasn’t able to comprehend half the things he said to me.
At first I thought I was just nervous, but then Trent looked into my eyes and touched my hand. All of a sudden I’d realized it was something far different than nerves.
“Ugh, it’s not going to happen.”
I pushed the thoughts out of my mind and focused on an e-mail I’d received from one of my clients. She raved about the outfit I’d chosen for her and how she’d never understood how to embrace the shape of her body. Her confidence had gone through the roof.
In particular, I loved working with plus-sized women—or curvier women—a term I embraced, as I was quite curvy myself. It broke my heart to see the way that many women allowed their self-esteem and power to be stolen from them simply because of their size.
It was my goal—the goal of Zoe’s World—to reveal to women their beauty, bolster their confidence, and set them loose on the path of the life they deserved.