Page 118 of The Heart You Kept

“Well, I don’t actually know but something that fits well and makes me look like…” I widen my eyes, “…irresistible.”

She smiles. “I have exactly the dress that you need.”

“You do?”

“This way, please.” I follow her to another part of the shop and I look around nervously, this is the expensive part of the shop, I’m sure of it.

You know what…who cares what the price is. If it gets the job done, then it’s worth every pretty penny.

She starts rattling through the racks and passing me things left, right and center. “This red one is fabulous.”

“No, I wore a red dress last time I saw him.”

“Right.” She looks me up and down. “What about this white one?”

“I’m not sure it would be flattering on me.”

“Trust me on this, it’s perfect on everybody.” She passes it over along with another pile of things that are way too overpriced. “The change rooms are this way.”

I hurry in and start undressing, I glance at my watch, shit is that the time? Oh my god he’s going to be here in three hours and I’ve still got to do my hair and everything.

I pull on the black dress. It looks okay, I turn around and look at my behind. Not very wow, though.

“What does it look like?” the sales assistant asks me.

I pull open the curtain. “It’s okay, I guess.”

She twists her lips and looks me up and down. “We can do better.”

I give her a half-hearted smile. “What should I try on next?”

“The white. Definitely the white.”

I tear the black dress off and step into the white one, no way this is going to work. Probably going to look like a giant polar bear or something. It’s fitted and off the shoulder and zips up under one arm, the skirt is tight around my waist but falls nicely over my behind.

“How does it look?” she calls.

“To be honest—” I open the curtain, “—better than I expected.”

She smiles as she looks me up and down. “This is the dress.”

“Really?”

“Do you want this man eating out of your hand?”

I give a half-hearted shrug. “It couldn’t hurt the situation, I guess.”

“Then this is the dress, here, let me find the shoes.” She marches off across the shop and my eyes go back to myself in the mirror and I turn to look at my behind again, it’s flattering without being too much. But then white, is that too formal just to go out for dinner?

With a fucking male escort….

Oh my god, this is ridiculous…. I just…what was I thinking? That’s the problem: I wasn’t thinking at all. I’m going to cancel Thomas Stone.

I’ll still go down to meet them at the bar, but I’ll just pretend that my date couldn’t come…. Why did I even tell that stupid lie, it’s just ridiculous.

I keep looking the dress up and down. But I do still want to look good tonight.

The saleswoman reappears with a pair of strappy silver stilettos and puts them on the floor in front of me. “These will match perfectly.”