Baby For The Mountain Man

I sighed. “Okay. Whatever. Sure.”

“Great,” Tobias said, clapping his hands together and hopping down from my desk. “It’ll be fun. You’ll see,” he said to Joanna.

She forced a smile and then exchanged glances with me again.

And I stood there, wondering how on earth I was going to be able to be in her presence for a whole evening and keep my hands off of her.

The gala was going to be a very long night, that was for sure.

CHAPTER 18

Joanna

“You’re going to love it here,” Libby said, pulling into the parking lot of the boutique she’d been promising to take me to all week.

After I had essentially been assigned as Anderson’s date by Tobias, I had sought out Libby, asking her what she knew about the gala and what I should expect.

“You’re going to the gala?” she had asked. I then explained the situation to her, subsequently causing her to eagerly start making plans for us to go dress shopping together. With the event being right around the corner, the day had arrived for us to go shopping. Libby had happily offered to pick me up from Tobias’s place so that we could ride together, and I had agreed.

“This is going to be so much fun!” she had said, turning off her car engine. “And let me just say it again, you are sooo lucky!” She slapped me playfully on the arm and winked before we got out of the car.

“Honestly, it’s no big deal,” I said. “I’m only going with Anderson because my brother is making him take me.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. You’re still going to the gala with the one and only Anderson Lawrence,” she said. “It doesn’t matter how you landed the gig, the important thing is that you did! He may not be all that important to you, but trust me—there are loads of women who would love to be in your shoes right about now.”

“Sure,” I said. “So many that the last one stood him up.”

Libby waved her hand dismissively as she headed toward the entrance of the boutique. “Lauren has always been a flake. She doesn’t count.”

“Well, whatever. Like I said, it’s not that big of a deal.”

Libby held the door of the boutique open for me and gave a jealous sigh. “Your brother should have forced someone more appreciative on Anderson as his date,” she said, shaking her head.

“You may have a point,” I muttered, I honestly couldn’t tell how appreciative I was feeling about the circumstances. Things had been so ridiculously busy at work that Anderson and I hadn’t been able to talk much. I hadn’t gotten a chance to ask for elaboration regarding the woman who was supposed to be his date to the gala. Even though she had reportedly bailed on him, it still sent powerful waves of jealousy through me to simply think about him going on a date with another woman. It nagged the hell out of me to wonder if he would have even bothered to tell me about it. It rubbed me the wrong way to have found out through Tobias, all the while Anderson stood there, looking close to fainting.

I had been hoping to get a chance to talk to Anderson about it after office hours, but he had been surprisingly distant with me lately. I just didn’t know what to think anymore.

Yet seeing how excited Libby was, I didn’t want to spoil the fun for her. So I pushed my reservations aside and tried to focus on the task at hand. It had been a long time since I’d been dress shopping; I could hardly even remember the last time I’d needed a formal dress.

Libby was excitedly droning on and on beside me, talking about the various new styles of dresses that were fashionable for the season. I looked around the store, instantly feeling overwhelmed. Perhaps seeing my distress, a saleswoman grinned as she made her way over to us.

“Good afternoon, ladies. Can I help you with anything?” she said. She was rather fashionably dressed herself, and I knew she would have had plenty of suggestions for us.

“We’re just looking around for now,” I said, before Libby got the chance to answer her. I had a feeling that Libby would have welcomed the woman’s help, but I didn’t want it. I never liked when salespeople hung over my shoulder, determined to make a sale, but confusing me with too many options. I preferred just taking my time and finding what I wanted on my own.

The saleswoman nodded her head. “Very well. Let me know if you need anything,” she said, and then headed toward another set of customers.

Libby nudged with her elbow. “She could have helped us find the perfect dresses!”

“We don’t need her. The perfect dresses will find us,” I said. “Come on.”

We began wandering the racks, stopping here and there to admire different gowns, and gathering ones we wanted to try on.

“I think I want something dark,” Libby mused. “You know, maybe like black, or navy blue, or forest green… Those colors aren’t necessarily in season, but they look good on me. I’ve always found dark colors to be more figure-flattering. How about you?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I’ve always preferred brighter colors. I’ve always been on the small side, so I feel like I need something to help me stand out. Otherwise, I’ll get lost in the crowd.”

Libby huffed. “Are you kidding me? Joanna, you are gorgeous. Nothing can make you get lost in the crowd!”