The Boss's Marriage Plan (Proposals & Promises 2)

Tess had worried that the red wouldn’t go well with her auburn hair, but she should have known to trust Jenny’s eye. “It does look festive without being too Christmassy. Not too splashy for the event?”

“You know what those things are like.” Jenny waved a dismissive hand. “There will be people there in designer silks and others in jeans. If Sandy’s there she’ll have on a few strips of cloth and a boatload of diamonds. Trust me, this dress is exactly right for a charity holiday cocktail party.”

Tess bit her lip against a grin at the description of their mutual acquaintance’s fashion tastes. A notorious man-eater, Sandy had once made a fairly blatant play for Gavin. Not that he’d had eyes for anyone but Jenny.

“I’ll give you the usual bestie discount,” Jenny added persuasively.

“Okay, I’ll take it.”

Jenny smiled. “Great. And since you’re in a buying mood, there’s another dress I want you to try on. I think it’s perfect for you, maybe for your cousin’s party.”

“I’m sure I already have something that will work for that.”

But Jenny was already headed out to the showroom, saying over her shoulder, “Just try it, okay?”

“And that,” Stevie said with a giggle, “is why Jenny now has two successful stores in the state and is considering a third.”

“She is good,” Tess admitted with a shake of her head. Twisting to admire the red dress once more in the mirror—her butt really did look good—she asked absently, “Aren’t you going to try things on?”

“Oh, yeah, sure.” Stevie turned toward one of the stalls. “Jenny hung some things in here that she thought I’d like. I just wanted to see that red dress on you first. I knew it would be amazing.”

“It is pretty, isn’t it?”

“You’ll knock Scott off his feet,” Stevie remarked through the open doorway to the stall, her voice muffled as if she were pulling her shirt over her head.

Tess’s hand froze on the side zipper of the dress. She moistened her lips. Yes, she’d wanted something nice to wear to the event, and she’d been pleased that the dress had suited her so well, but she didn’t want to look as though she was making any special effort to knock Scott off his feet. She turned when Jenny returned with a green garment draped over her arm. “Does this look like I’m trying too hard?”

Jenny sighed gustily. They were close enough friends that she understood the question immediately. “No,” she said firmly. “Looking nice and appropriate for an event—even looking as beautiful as you do in that dress—is not trying too hard. It’s simply putting your best foot forward.”

Stevie stepped out of the stall wearing a filmy black dress shot through with silver threads. The skirt fit snugly at her hips, then flared out around her knees. She did a little spin and the hem swirled around her.

Tess nodded. “Pretty.”

Shorter and curvier than her friends, Stevie’s blond curls and large blue eyes made her look younger than her thirty-one years. She tended to be a more bohemian dresser, so Tess wasn’t particularly surprised when her friend looked in the mirror, then made a little face at the reflection. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“No.” Jenny thrust the green dress at Tess. “Try this on while I help Stevie find something that suits her better.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Stepping into the stall, Tess changed into the dress Jenny had brought her. A rich, dark green, it was another body skimmer, ending well above her knees to make the most of her legs without being too short for comfort. The neckline was a deep scoop outlined with a thin line of gold fish-scale sequins, just enough to add a little holiday sparkle.

It was a wholly impractical purchase, of course. Like the red cocktail dress, it would be something she’d wear only a few times. It was kind of hard to justify buying two party dresses at one time, but she loved them both.

“Gold earrings,” Jenny said appraisingly from the open doorway. “Thin black tights and those high-heeled booties I sold you in the fall.”

“You’re killing me.”

Her friend laughed without compunction. “Every girl needs to splurge occasionally. Especially when she’s seeing a new guy.”

Tess groaned. “Come on, Jen. Scott is hardly a new guy.”

“He is when it comes to your social life.” Jenny winked. “And I’m going to help you make sure he sees you as more than his trusty office sidekick.”

Warmth flooded Tess’s face, but she couldn’t help glancing once again at the mirror. She did look different dressed this way.

&n

bsp; “Okay, I like this one.” Stevie danced into view in a short rose silk dress with a filmy mesh overlay. Gray beads and sequins were worked into an overall art deco–inspired pattern on the mesh, which ended in a beaded, scalloped hem. “I feel like a flapper. Makes me want to do the Charleston.”