“I was talking to Parker about it last night. But he also said you and your date are free because y’all own the place. So, nice try.”
“Fine, we’ll think of something else. You can take me out to eat one night.”
This man infuriates me sometimes, even if I appreciate what he’s trying to do. Everything he’s done for us has been out of kindness. He expects nothing in return. There’s no use arguing with him because he’s not going to back down.
“Fine.”
“Thank you.” I can hear the smile in his voice. Dammit, why am I smiling? “You and Lexi have a fun girl’s day. I’ll come by after we get off work.”
“Okay.” I love you is on the tip of my tongue, but it’s too soon for that. I can’t forget we’re just now getting together even if we’ve known each other our whole lives and I’ve loved him just as long. “See you later.”
“Bye.” He hangs up as soon as the words leave his mouth.
We had to go to the next town over. As much as I love Asheville, they don’t have much in the way of clothing stores. Well, except for the boutique ones. And I’m not that type of girl.
“Mom, come look at this dress.” Lexi calls from a couple of sections down. She could have come and got me. Not yell at me from across the store. I’m pretty sure I did the same thing at her age, though.
I hurry over to where she’s standing so she doesn’t disturb the other shoppers. She’s holding up a bright red dress. It’s strapless and looks way too short for me to wear. It looks more like something she would wear to a formal dance.
Except it is beautiful. If I were about seventeen years younger, I’d snatch it up in a heartbeat.
“Absolutely not.” Lexi shoves the dress at me. “My butt would hang out.”
She rolls her eyes. “It’s a form-fitting dress, Mom. It’s going to fit you like a glove.” Grabbing my arm, she leads me toward the dressing room. “Please, try it on.”
She’s pleading with me. I’ll try it on to humor her. Maybe then she’ll see I’m much too old for this dress. “Fine.”
“Is this what it feels like when you force me to try on clothes during school shopping?”
“Probably.”
“Yikes. Remind me to remember this moment.”
I roll my eyes and go into an empty room and begin stripping off my t-shirt and leggings. Now I need to put the dress on. It looks like I need to slide it up my body isn’t of the over. I can’t reach the zipper, though.
Cracking open the door, I whisper for Lexi. “Can you help me?”
I turn around so she can’t see the full look. She tries to get on her tiptoes to see the mirror, but I block her.
“This is so unfair.” She mutters as she pulls up the zipper.
I smooth out the dress and take a step to the side to let her in the room with me. “What do you think?”
Lexi’s eyes widen and she claps her hands. “I think I told you so. Mom, you look hot!”
I don’t know about that part. But…I love it. It hugs my curves in all the right places. The dress is shorter than I would normally wear, way shorter. My butt doesn’t hang out, though. Even my legs look longer.
“Do you think Peter will like it?” Is it weird that I’m asking my teenager this? Under normal circumstances, I’d probably say yes. However, she’s been orchestrating this since she saw the way we interacted that first night we saw each other.
“If he doesn’t, he’s dead to me.” She twirls her finger for me to spin around. “Actually, you might make him pass out.”
She’s ridiculous. “Let’s hope he doesn’t.”
“Now, we need to find you the perfect shoes and accessories.”
“Didn’t Peter tell you not to go wild?” I give her a stern look.
“Mom, that dress is discounted. I know how to shop, I learned from the best.” She grins at me. “Get changed so we can finish the look.”
