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“What do you think?”
I gasped, startled, and looked over at Ryan. He was studying his reflection intently.
“What do I think about what?” I murmured.
He looked at me with an arched brow. “What do you think of the tux?”
“Oh!” I stammered a bit before saying, “It…it looks great.”
He nodded, fidgeting with his bowtie. There was something in his expression that caught me off guard. His jaw was tense, and he looked disgruntled now that Mary wasn’t around.
“Is…is everything okay?” I hesitantly asked.
“What do you mean?” His features instantly shifted, and his little smirk returned. He didn’t fool me, though.
I put my hands on my hips and faced him fully. “Don’t try to hide it. I can tell something’s on your mind. What’s wrong?”
Sighing, he let his mask slip and showed me just how exhausted he really was.
“It’s nothing,” he replied. “Just some issues at the company.”
There was a part of me that wanted to ask him more. To get him to confide in me so I could ease some of the tension weighing him down. I wanted to comfort him, and I couldn’t fully explain why. Or maybe I could, but I was just too scared to explore those feelings.
“Well, I hope whatever it is works out,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant but failing when my voice cracked at the end of my sentence.
He looked at me, the corners of his mouth twitching. “Thanks. It’ll be fine..”
“That’s good,” I murmured, swishing the skirt of my dress awkwardly. What was taking Mary so long?
“Sam,” Ryan said in a hesitant voice.
“Yeah?” I glanced back at him and was surprised to find he looked nervous.
“I was wondering if you…”
“All right, I’ll get you both finished up, and you can change,” Mary declared, suddenly returning.
Ryan pressed his lips together and looked away from me. I was burning with curiosity to know what it was he’d been about to say, but I plastered on a smile and turned to Mary.
“Great! I need to get back to work, so that’s perfect.”
I wanted to get out of the dress and out of the shop before Ryan. I was feeling so incredibly off balance, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what it was he’d been about to say to me. Thoughts of what we’d done on my couch flooded through my head, and my heart raced so fast that I couldn’t catch my breath.
Making my way back to the dressing room, I quickly changed out of the dress and into my own clothes. I left the gown on a hanger and quickly made my way to the front of the store.
“Thanks, Mary!” I called as I headed straight for the door. “I’ll be back tomorrow to pick it up!”
“I’ll be here!” she replied from where she stood behind the checkout counter.
I made it out of the store and onto the sidewalk, and I thought for a moment that I was home free. However, the door didn’t even shut behind me. Ryan caught it and stepped out next to me.
“Hey,” he said. “I wanted to ask if would you go to dinner with me tonight?”
The question stunned me so much, I didn’t think as I said, “Okay.”
He blinked, as if surprised. I couldn’t really blame him, though. I was rather shocked by my answer myself.
“Great,” he managed to stutter at last. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”
