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Chapter 1
Beatrice
“I don’t know about this.”
I stared in the mirror, the dress clinging to me like a second skin. It was gorgeous without a doubt, the deep black shade slimming while hugging every curve I had and accenting them, but I’d never worn something like this.
Wasn’t it too much to wear to a housewarming party?
Kimberley wouldn’t care, but the gossip mill would go wild.
Alice beamed next to me in the mirror, her shoulder-length dark hair swept back as her eyes danced with impish delight. “You look amazing! I wish I could see the expression on everyone’s face when they see you.”
That was part of why I was doing this, so I couldn't wait either.
I’d been born and raised in this town; I knew every last person in it by face and name, but not once had anyone ever seen me as anything other than the scrawny little girl I used to be.
I was tired of it. I’d worked hard to get my degree and become a vet. I built my practice from the ground up and was now the town’s only animal healthcare physician, but still people wouldn’t see me as an adult.
They respected me and my job, but the amount of head pats I got from my patients was demoralizing. Most people didn’t mean it to be, which was cold comfort for my pride, but the truth remained: I wanted to be seen as a woman.
Not a girl they’d all watched grow up, and not the one that’d been the nerd of her school year.
I was both of those, but I was a woman too, and I was beyond sick of no one seeing that.
It’s not them you want to see it, be honest.
The little voice whispered at the back of my head and I flushed, warmth overtaking everything from my neck to my ears.
It wasn’t wrong. This entire thing started because I told Kimberley about my stupid crush. She’d been the one to suggest I wear a sexy dress and while it was beautiful, I’d never felt less confident in my life.
I looked like someone else, some kind of runway model, and it didn’t feel like me.
Wasn’t that the point, though? I’d worn nothing but comfortable baggy shirts and well-worn jeans for as long as I could remember.
Alice’s eyes softened and her arm wound around my shoulders, tightening her grip in a hug. “Hey, I know this isn’t usually your thing, but you look like a knockout.”
That eased some of my discomfort, though not all of it.
Great, can you tell me if William will say the same?
The thought came without my permission, and I locked it tight behind my teeth. I’d managed this many years without Alice finding out about my stupid crush on her brother, and with any luck, she wouldn’t learn about it now either.
It hadn’t been easy hiding it from her this long, especially when Will would all but parade through their house in nothing but a pair of jeans during the hot summer months. Back then he’d been just coming into his own body and his frame had towered over me.
As a wide-eyed and blushing sixteen-year-old, he’d been nothing short of drool worthy. Then he’d gone and left, coming back years later, and now I knew what the true definition of ‘drop-dead gorgeous’ was.
The muscles that’d been hinted at but not flaunted before were now fully developed, testing the strength of his shirts anytime I saw him in town, and all the baby fat was gone from his face, leaving a sharp, angular jaw on full display.
Dark stubble dusted it, and he’d nailed the ‘come hither’ look effortlessly. All in all, he had many a woman in town fanning themselves when he walked into the room, and I was far from immune.
More than anyone else in town, I wanted him to see me, the grownup me, but doubts rose, sinking poisonous teeth in me.
Would this really do anything? Even if he saw me as a woman, there was no guarantee he’d actually like me past lust.
Considering his playboy reputation, it was far from likely he'd ever want anything but a roll in the hay.
My head spun from all the information and I sighed, rubbing between my eyes. “I love what you did to me, but it feels like I’m an imposter,” I said, watching as sympathy warmed Alice’s eyes.
