“Only if you’re sure this is what you want,” he said. “We can go somewhere more affordable, or you can easily wear something you already have.”
“I’m sure,” she told him firmly. “I want to do this.”
“All right, then.” He wouldn’t argue the point if it was this important to her. “So, what do you have in mind?”
“I have no idea,” she told him with a small smile. “I’m terrible at this. The last time I had to pick out a dress, I let Elle choose for me. And then I put up a fuss when she wanted me to get the more colorful, extravagant dress because I’d found a simple black one that was just fine.”
“Nothing black, then.”
“Agreed.” And then she marched across the store with her chin held high, approaching the salesclerk who’d been watching them.
“Something to wear to the theater,” the clerk said with an approving nod. “Oh yes, you’ve come to the right place.”
Ruby tossed a silly smile over her shoulder at him. She followed the clerk along a rack of dresses, letting her fingers trail lightly over the various fabrics and textures. “This one is pretty,” she murmured, fingering a yellow dress.
“Oh, I agree,” the clerk said, plucking it from the rack.
Ten minutes later, they had picked out a handful of dresses for Ruby to try on. He saw a rainbow of colors on the rack. Nothing black.Good job, Ruby.
“Will you come with me?” she asked him shyly. “You can help me pick.”
“I’d be honored,” he told her.
The clerk led them toward the dressing rooms. There was a sitting area with several plush armchairs and full-length mirrors along the back wall, arranged at various angles. Flynn settled himself into the nearest chair.
“May I offer you something to drink before you get started?” the salesclerk asked. “Wine? Tea? Champagne? Water?”
Ruby’s eyes widened behind her glasses. “Um, water would be great. Thank you.”
“And for you, sir?” she asked Flynn.
“I’ll take water as well. Thank you.”
She nodded and walked to a serving station along the far wall, opening a mini fridge and removing two bottles of water. “I’ll get your dresses arranged for you in the fitting room,” she told Ruby as she handed out the waters.
“Thank you,” Ruby said, peering over at Flynn again with an excited smile.
He returned it, hoping to help encourage her and put her at ease, but she seemed to have fully embraced this new leg of her adventure. She went into the dressing room, and a moment later the clerk left, closing the door behind her.
“I’ll leave you two to it,” she told Flynn. “I’ll be just over there. Please let me know if you need any assistance.”
“We will,” he told her. “Thank you.”
And so, he sat there, trying not to imagine what was happening on the other side of the fitting room door. After a few minutes, the door opened, and Ruby stood there in a red dress. It hung just past her knees, sleek and form-fitting. It had a black lace overlay with flower-shaped cutouts that allowed the red fabric beneath to peek through.
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Embarrassed, he cleared his throat. “It’s stunning.”
“It’s pretty, right?” she asked, walking to the full-length mirrors along the back wall. “I really like this one.”
He rose and followed her, stopping a step or two behind. “I think it’s absolutely perfect. I want to see you in them all, but I can’t imagine anything topping this one.”
She twirled in front of the mirror, drawing his attention to the way the dress flared at the knee. She ran her hands over the bodice, surveying herself critically in the mirror. “Okay, I like it, but let’s keep going.”
He nodded his agreement, returning to the chair as she disappeared into the fitting room. A few minutes later, she was back in a royal blue dress the clerk had selected for her. “I already tried on the yellow one,” she told him. “It was too tight. I couldn’t even zip it.”
“Want me to ask the clerk to look for one in a larger size?”
“No, that’s all right. I didn’t like it as much as the red one anyway. But what do you think of this one?”
