Page 16 of Smuggler's Beauty

“Thanks, L.I.N.D.A.”

She found a neatly folded stack of clothes just where L.I.N.D.A. indicated. Breezy linen drawstring pants in a taupe shade that hovered between brown and gray. A soft, stretchy white tank. A flowy hand-knit cardigan in the softest black wool Evelyn had touched in years, with gleaming mother-of-pearl buttons. Clean, utilitarian underwear.

The pants were a bit too big, but the drawstring took care of that. She folded the waistband over a few times to stop from tripping over the hem. The tank was tight, but since there wasn’t a bra in the pile of clothes, that was a bonus feature in her opinion. She wasn’t especially busty anyway. The cardigan was a snuggly layer of armor.

She realized there were no shoes, so she slid her feet into her fuzzy slippers and headed down the hall to the lobby area to find Lillian. Or Nannette. Or Cairn. Evelyn hoped to find Aiden waiting for her, but she couldn’t bear the pang she knew she’d feel if he wasn’t around, so she focused on the other folks she knew would be helping her shop.

It was foolish to get too fixated on his attention anyway. So what if their chemistry was explosive? She was a weird job complication for him. Granted, a more manageable one than a hold full of puppies. The second he dropped her off, he’d be off to smuggle pandas to rich idiots on Taurus 9 for all she knew. Maybe he left cute, thoughtful breakfasts for all his passengers. It could be part of the premium services they offered. She needed to read theRising Dawninformational pamphlet she’d snagged when she came onboard.

She rounded the corner to find Cairn and Veronique having what looked to be cappuccinos and croissants near the bar. Cairn’s face lit up, and he waved with such unbridledenthusiasm that Evelyn couldn’t help but laugh as she waved back and headed toward their table.

“And how did you sleep, lass?” Cairn asked, shoving out a chair with his foot. Evelyn sat down and crossed her legs.

“Like a brick. Which says something about eating three bowls of pasta after about a ninety-year nap.”

“Would you like a coffee, Evelyn? I’m about ready for my second. I can get you some. Breakfast?” Veronique asked, shifting her chair back to get up.

“I had some pineapple earlier, but I’d love a coffee. I can get it if you tell me where to go.”

“Nonsense. I’ll make you something.” She patted Evelyn’s hand as she headed toward the espresso machine at the end of the bar.

“Was the station on 14 And. up and running when you last were around these parts?” Cairn asked, ripping off a chunk of his pastry.

“I think they were settling on the last of the vendors. I’ve never been a big shopper unless it’s a bookstore, so I didn’t give it much attention. I take it the project was successful?”

“Aye. Supplementing the research station with the sales tax from the mega mall has really helped the mission.”

Evelyn fiddled with an abandoned napkin on the table. Attempting to look nonchalant, she asked, “Who’s coming with us? We’re not landing the whole ship in their docking station, are we?”

Veronique returned with two coffees and placed one of them before Evelyn. A perfectly executed leaf was present in the marriage of foam and espresso at the top of the cup.

“I’m going with you,” Veronique said. She reclaimed her seat. “Lillian and Elenor want to shop. Nannette is insisting on coming as a security operative and refuses to shop for herself.And Cairn will pilot the jump ship. So we’ll have a lovely girl’s day.”

“Sounds nice.” Evelyn had tried to inject enough enthusiasm into her voice to cover up her disappointment at the roster, but by the huge grin on Cairn’s face, she was pretty sure she failed.

Nannette had passedout mini blasters to everyone. Evelyn was a little surprised she rated one.

“You’re a royal. You’ve had basic security drilled into you since you were old enough to hold a fork. You telling me you don’t know how to use that thing?” Nannette had said, and when Evelyn had said she did technically know how, she moved on to lecturing everyone about solo bathroom breaks and not eating samples in the food court. Evelyn tucked the micro blaster into the pocket of her pants and sat down to listen to the rest of the safety lecture and gaze out the viewfinder.

Blasters always made her uncomfortable. She knew how to use one, sure, but she’d never fired one outside of a training scenario, and she had hoped she never had to. Evelyn’s current circumstances were making that seem more and more like a pipe dream.

At least blaster technology hasn’t evolved much in the last century.

14 And. was a sprawling, shiny mega-structure. It looked, to Evelyn’s mind, like an oversized beehive dipped in chrome and outfitted in neon lights. Store names and restaurant chains from a dozen planets flashed in a loop on the curved screen that covered the middle third of the structure. Could a structure hulk cheerfully?

Cairn maneuvered the jump ship to the docking area and unwrapped his fourth pineapple hard candy of the journey. Evelyn stole one of the wrappers when he wasn’t looking. Surely in a mall this size there had to be a candy store.

“Just send me a message when you’re ready to go, ladies, and I’ll be ‘round to get you in two shakes. And you, pay the toll.” This he said to Veronique, who rolled her eyes before giving him a sloppy kiss goodbye.

Evelyn realized her hand was in Lillian’s as they walked off the ship and into the airlock. She ran the other hand through her hair. Now wasn’t the time to be lost in her own thoughts.

Nannette handed her a black hat with a wide brim. “Here, shove this on. Even if no one is looking yet, it should slow down facial recognition if someone does bother to check camera feeds.”

Evelyn rammed the hat onto her head. She felt like she was dressed for a vaguely goth garden party.

“Where would you like to start, dear?” Lillian asked her. “Clothes? Shoes? Personal care products?”

“Shoes,” Evelyn said, glancing at her fuzzy slippers. “If we start anywhere else, these are going to be completely trashed by the end of the day.”