Bella put her head out from behind the changingroom curtain. âAre you ready, Mum?â she said in excitement.
Bellaâs mum, Suzi, put down the magazine she had been reading. âCome on then,â she said. âShow us what youâve found.â
Bella flung back the curtain. The silky t-shirt fell to her knees and the fabric felt really light and lovely on her skin. But the best bit of all was the big picture of a puppy on the front. The puppy was panting in the cutest way. All around the picture was a frame of sprinkled sequins that caught the shop lights.
Bellaâs little brother, Louie, stuck his fingers down his throat and pretended to throw up.
Ignoring him, Bella gazed hopefully at her mum. Suzi ran a dog parlour called Dream Dogs in Sandmouth, where they lived. She was completely crazy about dogs, just the same as Bella was. She was bound to love this outfit. Wasnât she?
âWhat do you think?â Bella prompted. âItâs for Amberâs birthday, remember â down at the beach. I can wear it over my cozzie if itâs hot and I can wear it with jeans if itâs cold.â
âItâs GROSS!â Louie hooted.
Bella looked scornfully at her brother in his grotty old Sandmouth Hornets football shirt. She wondered if Louie ever actually took his shirt off. âLike youâre a fashion expert,â she said. âNOT.â
At last, Suzi reacted by bursting into laughter. Bella wasnât sure if this was a good thing or not. She waited cautiously until her mum stopped spluttering.
âI love it!â Suzi gasped. âDo they have it in my size? Oh, you have to get that for the party, Bella, love. Itâs completely perfect.â
Louie groaned. Bella shot him a triumphant glance and whisked back into the changing room again to take it off. She could have it! Sheâd be the best-dressed girl at Amberâs beach party for sure!
âI saw something like this in one of your magazines, Mum,â Bella said happily as they went up to the till to pay for the new t-shirt. âMimi Taylor was wearing it.â
Taking out her purse, Suzi counted the money for the girl behind the till. âI remember,â she said. âOnly Mimi had it quite tight and cropped, didnât she?â
âWith a cute picture of her little dog, Crystal, on the front,â Bella said with a sigh. âShe got it done specially. Crystal goes everywhere with Mimi. I wish we could take Pepper anywhere we wanted.â
Bella, her mum and her brother all looked out of the shop. Pepper, their scruffy brown dog, was sitting patiently on the pavement with his lead tied to a post by the door.
âI bet Mimi can take Crystal into shops,â Bella continued.
âMimi carries her little dog in a special bag,â Suzi pointed out. âI donât think Pepper would like that very much. Besides, heâd be much too heavy to carry around all day. Iâd feel like I was lugging the supermarket shopping everywhere I went.â
Louie looked disgusted. âThe only interesting thing about Mimi Taylor,â he said, âis that sheâs married to Idaho Taylor.â
Suzi looked blank.
âThe footballer, Mum,â Bella reminded her. Her mum was well up on fashion icons, but not on who they were married to.
âOh yes,â said Suzi, nodding. âHe plays for Chelsea United or something, doesnât he?â
As Bella and Louie both rolled their eyes, Bella heard the girl behind the till clearing her throat. She was doing it in this special way which Bella knew at once meant that she wanted to say something important.
âExcuse me butting in,â said the girl, âbut I donât suppose youâve heard yet, have you?â
Suziâs eyes brightened. She could smell gossip a mile away. âHeard what?â she said at once.
The girl took her time folding Bellaâs new t-shirt and sliding it carefully into the bag. âAbout Mimi Taylor,â she said, pushing the bag towards Bella.
âWhat about her?â Bella asked. For some reason, her heart had started thumping. There was something in the girlâs face.
âSheâs moving to Sandmouth,â said the girl triumphantly. âHer boyfriendâs just been bought by the Hornets.â
Louie choked.
âSandmouth Hornets have bought Idaho Taylor?â Bella gasped out loud.
The girl leaned forward. âMy boyfriend works at the estate agentâs up the hill,â she said in a confiding way. âHeâs just sold a big house to a footballer who needed somewhere for himself, his wife, his son and his very small dog.