She came up behind me and stared at me in the mirror. I wore a turquoise cocktail dress that fell just above my knees. The chiffon flowed beautifully and the sweetheart neckline showed just enough cleavage to raise eyebrows, but not enough to have my father trying to cover me up all night. The crystal-beaded waistband added a nice touch.
“Now, can I please talk you out of wearing your cowboy boots and into putting on something a bit more…formal?” Lori asked, winking at me in the mirror.
I looked down at my boots. “But my boots are comfortable.”
She handed me a pair of silver pumps and said, “They look great with jeans I’m sure. These? These are what you need to accent those killer legs of yours. Do you run?”
“Nope. I hate running.”
“Elliptical?”
I shook my head. “Nope.”
She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at me. “Stair climber?”
“Um…I ride horses a lot and I love to walk.”
She pursed her lips and said, “I officially hate you now.”
We both busted out laughing as I slipped the silver shoes on. I had my hair piled on top of head with a few curls falling loose. I had to admit I looked good. I took a picture of myself and sent it to Keith. Next time he got a signal, he’d have something to look at.
Lori and I walked down the stairs of her parent’s house and rounded the corner to the main living room. Of course, the first person I saw had to be Walker. He had on jeans that should really not be allowed to be on his body with how perfect they made his ass look, a light blue button down dress shirt, and a cowboy hat to round it all off.
Lori leaned over and whispered, “God, that stubble is hot! Hell, he’s hot. Look at his eyes with that cowboy hat on!”
I slowly nodded. I was fucked.
Walker plus cowboy hat equals Liza wet between the legs.
I started chewing my lip. I bet his blue button-down brought out the color in his eyes. My phone buzzed so I pulled it out of the little blue clutch purse Lori had leant me. I smiled when I saw that it was Keith. I couldn’t wait to see what thought of the dress.
Keith: Where is your engagement ring?
My heart dropped as I stared at the text message. I’d taken off the ring when Walker and I were working the horses. It was still in Walker’s glove box. Shit! How the hell do you forget about your engagement ring being in another man’s glove box? Wait. Nothing about this conversation in my head is making sense!
Me: I was working some horses and took it off. I just forgot to put it back on.
Keith: So, in other words, you’re going out without your ring.
I sighed. Bastard. My phone immediately began to ring and my father, Walker, Mr. McMurphy, and Lori’s fiancé, Robert, all turned and stared. My father smiled, but what I really noticed was Walkers jaw dropping. I had to admit, I liked that the dress had that much of an impact on him. Our eyes met and I smiled slightly. His eyes widened and he smiled back. I hadn’t even noticed that my phone had stopped ringing. As Walker came over to me, I couldn’t help but notice his eyes moving up and down my body. When he stopped, they landed right on that perfect amount of cleavage.
“My eyes are up here, Mr. Moore.” I said, barely above a whisper.
The way he was looking at me had my body kicking into over drive. I felt like I needed to step into a freezer to cool the hell off. He was about to say something when my phone rang again, making me jump. It was Keith…again.
“Shit! I need to answer this. I’m so sorry.” I said as Walker barely nodded his head.
“Um…hello?”
“Liza? Where’s the ring?” Keith’s voice sounded distant. Cold.
“Hello to you, too, Keith. I’m about to put it back on. I’m sorry. I didn’t notice it wasn’t on.”
Walker immediately looked down at my left hand. If he thought I didn’t notice his grin, he was wrong.
“If it meant anything to you, Liza, you wouldn’t forget to put it back on.”
The hurt in his voice about knocked me over. This wasn’t the person I wanted to be. Wearing one man’s ring while in love with another.