Page 72 of A Texas Hero

Zoey meant to go to the annex alone, to have a minute to get her thoughts and emotions in order, but Robin followed her. She seemed too happy, too joyful, and was totally oblivious to the fact that Zoey was having a hard time with this. At the very least, Robin could be a little more sensitive, considering Zoey was being tasked with finding a wedding dress for her mother’s replacement.

Robin gasped when she entered the showroom. “Oh, my! This is fantastic.”

Now the woman was laying it on a little thick. The room was a work in progress, the racks of dresses not nearly as full as she’d like them to be. The mirror and pedestal in the middle of the room were secondhand, and it showed. But, baby steps. She would get there…eventually.

Zoey focused, putting to mind all of her creativity and fashion insight. She found the vintage dress she’d envisioned on an older woman the moment she’d seen it: a sequined taupe and off-white cocktail-length gown that could be a bridal dress. In fact, it had been the bridal dress for the wife of a CEO, who’d worn it for her fifth marriage. Zoey had picked it up at an estate sale not long ago. She also selected a few others—all tea-length dresses—because c’mon, she couldn’t see Robin in a long white gown. Zoey had an entire section of white gowns and grew concerned when she saw Robin eyeing the dresses. She couldn’t be serious.

“When I saw this one, I thought this would be ideal for a sophisticated woman over fifty.” Zoey turned, showing her the sequined dress which, according to the estate sale, was from the 1940s.

“It’s not white,” Robin said, nibbling on her lower lip.

Zoey was about to explain her thought process when Robin said, “You really get me.”

“Do I?”

Zoey was trying to be helpful. Mostly because she couldn’t stop reliving the look on her father’s lovesick face and hearing Archer’s voice, reminding her of her faith in love. He’d reminded her that her father deserved a chance to be happy. He did, but with the right woman, and maybe not so soon. If Robin was the right one, surely waiting a little wouldn’t hurt. That way they could be sure.

“I worried you’d want something else,” Zoey said, handing her the dress. “Something white.”

Robin took it in her hands and lifted it up, turning it back and forth, inspecting it with a slow smile on her face.

“I’m not a first-time bride, so this is perfect. Just what I had in mind.”

“I feel I should tell you first about the history of the dress,” Zoey said. “I got it at the estate sale of a prominent family. She was the wife of a CEO, and it was her fifth and last marriage.”

“A dress with history. I love it.”

“Want to try it on?” Zoey gestured toward the changing room.

Almost giddy, Robin strolled in the room, carrying the dress. Zoey took the moment to find Archer in the store. He was holding court with a middle-aged woman Zoey had never seen before. She had no fewer than three dresses she was holding up for his approval, one after the other. Archer shook his head, shook his head again, then eventually pointed and nodded to one.

When he saw Zoey watching, he hurried over to join her.

“Is everything okay?”

She nodded. “She loves the dress and is trying it on now. I don’t know, maybe she’d love anything I chose just to win me over.”

Archer narrowed his eyes. “She doesn’t look like the kind of woman who would wear something she doesn’t love.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

Robin had an easy fashion sense about her, but today she’d come in wearing a black pantsuit. Zoey thought she looked like a politician, but hey, to each her own.

“I know I am.” Archer clasped her shoulder reassuringly. “Face it, you have an eye for this.”

“Okay, I guess I do.” Zoey smiled and went to rejoin Robin, who’d just come out of the dressing room.

She gracefully stepped on the pedestal for a view in the mirror. The dress fit too loosely on her, especially around the hip and waist.

“We could take it in,” Robin said. “I have a favorite alteration shop.”

Zoey stood behind her and pulled it in at the sides, seeing that with a few minor adjustments, it could fit like a glove. The taupe and off-white complemented Robin’s flawless ebony skin beautifully.

“I’ll take it!” Robin said. “I could look for weeks and I wouldn’t find anything more perfect than this. Sometimes you get lucky the first time.”

That made Zoey think of her father and Robin, because they’d met before her parents had. Maybe if things had been different, Robin would have been Zoey’s mother. The thought made her heart ache.

“My father was your first love,” Zoey said.