Sarah started to protest then recalled how much she disliked fighting the crowds. “I guess that would work, but make sure she knows I...” She what? Wanted something that would blow Jude’s mind, but that still left a lot to the imagination because Sarah wasn’t used to skin showing and didn’t want to feel self-conscious in front of Jude’s c
oworkers? Did such a dress exist?
The dress Jude had given her for the evening before had been beautiful, had covered up her body, yet had gently hinted at what was beneath. She’d felt feminine without feeling like she was hanging everything out. He’d done a great job. Maybe she should have hired him to buy a dress for tonight.
Only she couldn’t afford the name brands he’d sent.
“Something nice, but not too revealing,” she told the clerk, who was patiently waiting for Sarah to finish the comment she’d started making. “It’s for a date at a fire department party. I’ve never met any of them except my date and it’s only our second date.” Or was it third? Did the night she’d set off her smoke detector count? “I don’t want to feel as if I’m pulling up my top and tugging down my skirt all night. I will feel out of place as it is, so anything I can do to raise my comfort level is a plus.”
Cher smiled and waved away Sarah’s concerns. “Like I said, leave this to me. You want sexy without looking as if you’re trying. My friend can do subtly sexy. No problem. You’ll be the belle of the fire ball and make your firefighter want to take you for a spin on his truck.”
Taking out her cellphone and punching in a number, she walked away from a blushing Sarah and began talking. Sarah couldn’t make out her exact words but imagined they consisted of things like plain Jane, boring, out of her league.
Not that the clerk knew Sarah was out of her league.
Not once had Sarah told anyone who she was going out with, or even that she was going out at all. Part of her still couldn’t fathom why Jude had asked her out, much less asked her a second time to attend a party at his fire hall.
Maybe he wanted someone more normal to take to where he worked than someone a Davenport would typically date. Someone who’d fit in with ordinary people who didn’t sing, act, model, or been born into wealth or prestige.
At least that theory made sense, because his wanting to date her for real seemed too far-fetched.
* * *
“Wow!” Jude gushed when Sarah opened her apartment door. “I should have sprung for the limo.”
Lowering her lashes, layered with mascara, Sarah bit the inside of her painted bottom lip. “Is it too much? You didn’t say what I should wear.”
Eyeing her like she was the sweetest piece of candy, he shook his head. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”
“You don’t think I have on too much make-up?” she asked, still not feeling comfortable with the creams and powders Cher had brushed onto her face.
Subtly sexy, that’s what Cher had said, promising she was going for a natural, but gorgeous look. Sarah had stared at the finished product in the mirror for a long time, wavering between surprised pleasure and uncertainty at what stared back.
“You are beautiful without the first speck of make-up,” Jude assured her. “Tonight you are absolutely stunning.”
With the way he was looking at her, she couldn’t doubt him. He looked stunned in the best possible way.
Sarah smiled. “Thank you.”
“Thank you.” He took her hand, spun her around, and whistled. “I’ll be the envy of every man there.”
That he was verbalizing her thoughts from the night before made Sarah smile.
“Doubtful, but thank you.”
They chatted during the short taxi ride over to the fire hall. He paid the driver, and they went into the fire hall. Small groups of friendly people of all sizes and shapes milled around.
“Hey, Davenport!” someone called when they stepped inside the large open area where normally their trucks would be parked, rather than just outside the building.
Jude greeted the man and his wife, then introduced Sarah. “This is my girlfriend, Sarah Grayson.”
Sarah couldn’t hide her surprise. His girlfriend? Was that what she was? Not just a date, but his girlfriend?
She owed Cher big time.
“Nice to meet you.” The man grabbed her hand. “We always suspected this one was holding out on us.”
“Oh?” Sarah asked, smiling at the man as she shook his hand, then his wife’s. “Does Jude not usually bring someone to these things?”