“I’m not willing to go the rest of my life without at least trying. You?”
Put that way, Devon knew there was only one answer. “No, I’m not.”
“It’s time to take the gloves off, Devon. We’ve kept our feelings hidden long enough.”
Devon agreed wholeheartedly, but deep down he prayed it didn’t blow up in their faces.
“Wow, you look…hot,” Summer said, her gaze raking Tory from head to toe. “Devon won’t know what hit him when he sees you in that dress, girl.”
Tory laughed. The sapphire blue halter dress did seem to complement her coloring. And the slit up the front wasn’t too shabby either. As she spotted Summer’s hourglass figure in the dressing room mirror, encased in a short, ruby red satin dress with spaghetti straps, Tory let out a whistle. “Next to you, I may as well be invisible. Gage will be drooling for hours when he gets a load of that sexy little number.” Tory turned around, smiling at the excitement in her friend’s expression. “You’re simply stunning, honey. He’s going to love it.”
Summer smoothed her palms down the front of the dress. “It’s strange, you know.”
“What?”
Summer didn’t meet her gaze, and that troubled Tory. “Looking forward to Christmas. It’s been so long since I had a reason to smile on Christmas Eve. After Seth’s death, I just sort of…” she shrugged, “…I don’t know.”
“Tried to forget this holiday existed?” Tory interjected, her heart clenching for her friend. After Seth’s car accident, Tory had worried for Summer. Despite having her husband snatched from her much too early, Summer had pulled herself together. She’d even managed to make her bed-and-breakfast a success. There was no one Tory admired more.
“Yes, I suppose that describes it.” She waved a hand in the air. “Anyway, I can’t wait to show Gage this dress.”
Tory laughed and patted Summer’s bare shoulder. “You might not be in it long.”
Summer blushed. “Gage does have a way about him, that’s for sure.”
The look that stole over Summer’s face said it all. She loved Gage. And why wouldn’t she? Gage was smart, kind, strong, and he owned his own successful private investigative service, to boot. He was one heck of a catch. As Tory turned back to the mirror, she wondered if she’d ever find her own knight in shining armor. She had a sudden vision of herself as an old woman, living alone, a dozen cats as company. Crap, why was she suddenly feeling so alone? She’d dated plenty of great guys over the years. So why the ticking biological clock now?
“So, did you decide? Is it to be the blue dress or the gold one?”
Summer’s question shook her back to the problem at hand. Looking over the blue, shimmery
dress, Tory knew it was the one. “Blue. Definitely the blue.”
“That was my choice too. The gold is pretty, but the blue matches your eyes.” Summer went back to her own dressing room and shut the door. “Next up, shoes,” she called out.
Tory started to unzip the dress, groaning a little as she spied the price tag. “I’m going to need the credit card if we’re doing shoes too. This night is getting expensive.”
“I have a feeling it’ll be worth it, though,” Summer shot back. “Don’t you?”
Tory stared at her reflection, Devon’s deep voice haunting her thoughts. “Yeah, I do.”
They fell silent as they finished. When they both emerged from the dressing room, Summer flung her dress over her arm and grinned. “Maybe a trip to the lingerie store is in order, huh?”
Tory blushed, which was totally unlike her. Maybe she was coming down with something. A virus would explain the strange mood she’d been in ever since Devon’s phone call. “For you, maybe. I’m going out with Devon, my friend, remember?”
“Hmm, I remember. Get something sexy, just in case.”
Uh-oh, Summer had that matchmaker look in her eyes. It didn’t bode well. The last time Summer had that particular look, Tory had ended up on a date with a guy who’d talked stocks all evening. She’d fallen asleep on him on the car ride home. Not pretty. “What part of just friends didn’t you hear? Don’t get any ideas about Devon and me.”
“I heard you just fine, but you’re forgetting something. Christmas is a magical time, Tory. A lot can happen.”
“Not that. Trust me, not that.”
Summer merely grinned, as if she knew some little secret. It tempted Tory to protest further, but she’d only come off as defensive. In the end, she opted to shut the hell up and let Summer have her delusions. Besides, getting new panties wasn’t exactly a hardship. Even if no one ever saw them but her, they’d still make her feel sexy.
And sexy was good.
Chapter Two