She whipped her head around, her mouth falling open. “You knew?”
“That you asked for this dress because you wanted Zach to notice you? Yes. You’ve a tender heart, mija, and no
one knows it better than me. I don’t know all the details. I don’t need to. It was obvious things didn’t work out as you’d hoped, and that whatever happened—or didn’t happen—changed everything. I know you’ve spent a lot of years avoiding the hurt from that.”
It sounded cowardly when she said it out loud. Which was probably why Lexi had never said it.
“You’ve never called me out on it.”
“What good would that have done? You weren’t going to face him before you were ready.”
Lexi snorted a humorless laugh. “I wasn’t ready this time either.”
“You did it anyway. And it’s been good for you—both of you—to remember what was. But I’m not blind. I’ve seen things changing between you and Zach since you’ve been back. So have you. You wouldn’t be so wound up about it if you didn’t. The fact is, if you can free yourself of the past, put it behind you, you’d be free to explore what is, right here and now. Stop holding on to what happened and what didn’t happen back then, and letting that guide your life. Stop letting that hold you back from what could happen, if you would just take another chance.”
Did she have it in her to do that? To put herself out there again? It wasn’t like before. So many times these past weeks, she’d caught Zach looking at her, and she’d stepped back, telling herself it wasn’t attraction, that she’d imagined it. But he’d tried to kiss her at the wedding. She hadn’t imagined that.
What if she hadn’t run from him then? What if she hadn’t run from him and his question this afternoon? He didn’t know the truth of her humiliation. And maybe he never had to know. Maybe she really could put this whole thing behind her and take this step toward Zach instead of away. It was what she’d wanted all along. If she could be brave, maybe things could be different this time.
Lexi wrapped her arms around her middle, anxious but a little bit hopeful, too. “I don’t even know what taking that chance would look like.”
Leandra cut her eyes toward the dress. “I think it looks like that. I think it looks like you going to that reunion and letting him see you as you’ve wanted to be seen. Go ahead, try it on. Let’s see if I got it right.”
Unable to resist the siren song of peau de soie, Lexi stripped down, unzipping the dress and slipping it off the hanger. She stepped into it, drawing it up and over her hips, feeling the heavy satin settle against her like water. Zipping it took a little contortion, but she managed, then she simply stared at herself in the full-length mirror. Because it fit like a glove. Exactly as it had been made to do.
She reached a hand toward her reflection. “It’s perfect.”
“Some of my finest work.”
Lexi ran her hands softly over the skirt, where it molded to her curves. “It makes me feel like Cinderella.” A very sexy, siren version, in this rich red that made her skin glow. Which was so far from how she usually felt, it was almost like stepping into another skin.
Leandra grinned. “Does that make me the fairy godmother?”
“You’re certainly magic when it comes to a needle and thread. Thank you for this. Again.”
“You’re welcome, mija. But you’re not Cinderella. You don’t have to wait for a fairy to give you a pumpkin coach and permission to go after what you want. The power to grant your own wish has been yours all along. You only have to reach for it.”
In this dress, Lexi was almost certain she could do it. In this dress, she felt brave and beautiful.
Maybe she’d go to the reunion. Maybe she’d kiss the bejeesus out of Zach. That would get the point across without room for misinterpretation. It would change things. But her mom was right. Things had already changed between them. It was time she stopped running away from that.
The doorbell rang. Lexi glanced at the clock. Zach would still be at guys’ night. Which was good. Despite the peptalk and her newfound resolve, she wasn’t quite ready to face him yet. It was probably another casserole. They’d been rolling in with regularity since word got out about her mom’s ankle.
“I’ll get it.” Lexi picked up her skirts and swept down the hallway. She loved how the dress swished around her and how the bodice wrapped her body. A little giddy at the idea of surprising this unsuspecting, casserole-bearing neighbor, she opened the door.
It wasn’t a casserole.
Zach stood under the front porch light, a worried frown bowing his lips. “Hey, I…” His words trailed off to nothing as he took her in.
Lexi felt naked. She wasn’t ready to face this, for him and her and this dress that symbolized everything that went wrong to be in the same place at the same time. She had no armor, no time to prepare.
But he was really looking at her. Her brain snapped a burst of pictures, one after another, capturing every nuance of his expression, as his mouth dropped open and his eyes traced her from head to toe and back up again, lingering at her hips and breasts. It felt like a caress, like those hands that had led her with such confidence in a dance were cupping and molding her flesh. Lexi couldn’t stop the shiver of arousal that raced down her spine.
When his gaze came back to hers, it was full of unadulterated lust, and his voice was low and full of gravel. “You look stunning.”
Lexi’s limbs went soft and pliant. Her nipples pearled beneath her bodice and a flush of heat swept along her skin, settling low in her belly, as she let herself enjoy his very male reaction. This wasn’t what she’d planned, but maybe it was Fate intervening. Why else would he have just showed up on her porch?
Before she could take that step toward him, Zach shook himself, visibly sobering. “I wanted to talk to you.”