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“Well, I actually have a date tonight, and I need something to wear.” Alison blushed as she said it, surprising herself. She was normally pretty straightforward about her dating life. You had to be when, half the time, it ended up in the papers. There was just something about Troy—he made the whole thing feel fresh again, like it was all happening for the first time.
“Ooo la-la,” Ella crooned as she bustled around the store, collecting pieces and draping them over her arm. “Who’s the lucky guy?”
The blush deepened. She felt her skin getting hot. Pretty soon, she thought wryly, you won’t even be able to call it a blush anymore. It’ll technically be a rash.
“His name is Troy. He owns the place next to where I’m renting.”
Ella’s eyes widened. “Troy Valentine? Really? Are you serious?”
“Yeah, I am. Why?”
Ella’s grin stretched from ear to ear. “It’s just… I mean, that’s great. Don’t get me wrong. But let’s just say that you’re going to have to deal with some jealous ladies here in town. Troy is considered quite the catch.”
That didn’t surprise Alison at all. In fact, she considered him quite the catch, and she’d only just met the man.
“So, you know him, then?”
Ella laughed. Alison tilted her head to the side, not sure what she’d said that was so funny until Ella explained, “Sorry. You’re new here, you wouldn’t realize– but you’ll get the same answer to that question no matter who you ask, and no matter who you’re asking about. Everybody knows everybody around here.”
“Oh, right. That makes sense.”
“And, even if that wasn’t the case, yes, I do know Troy. He’s my brother-in-law.”
Alison’s eyes widened. “Oh. Wow. I…I’m not sure what to say. Does this make it awkward?”
Ella grinned. “Not awkward. But more difficult.”
“How?”
Ella picked up the items she’d draped over her arm one by one, studying uncritically and dividing them into two piles. “Because only half of these are going to make the cut now. I knew you had a hot date; I could tell by the look on your face when you told me what you needed the clothes for. But I didn’t know it was with Troy. This calls for something spectacular.”
Alison couldn’t agree more. She took the clothes Ella handed her into the small fitting room and pulled the curtain shut. She undressed with quick efficiency and pulled on each of the dresses, skirts, and pants in turn.
They were all lovely, hugging her figure in all the right places and then falling away gracefully exactly where they should, as well. Still, none of them was the piece. Not until the very last thing she tried on.
It was a dress, and it was black, but it was anything but basic. Her eyes widened as she looked at herself in the length of the mirror, stunned at what she saw.
She was beautiful.
She knew she was attractive. That was one of her “tools of the trade.” It was tough to be a performer without some level of good looks. But she never thought of herself as “pretty.” She was too steely, too determined to fall into that category. Not soft enough. Not frilly enough.
But there was no denying it as she eyed herself in the dressing room mirror. There was no other word for how the dress made her look.
She pushed the curtain aside and stepped out of the small dressing room. Ella put her hand to her mouth and then clapped her hands in front of her chest. “Oh my gosh, it’s perfect! Like, more perfect than I could’ve even imagined. So perfect that, even though we just met, I actually feel kind of choked up and proud looking at you in it!”
Alison smiled. She knew exactly what Ella meant. She’d felt shades of the same emotion herself standing in front of the mirror only seconds before. Then, even though she wasn’t normally a touchy-feely person or someone that connected with people immediately, she followed her impulse and gave Ella a quick hug.
Dang. Since she’d arrived in Valentine Bay, she’d done nothing but surprise herself.
“So, you think it’ll be okay?” She already knew the answer, but she wanted the reassurance of hearing Ella say the words.
“Oh, honey. It’s going to be so much more than okay. It’s going to be fan-freaking-tastic.”
