Counting the Days (Counting the Billions 1)

“That doesn’t mean anything,” I said, shaking my head. “It just means that he thinks I’m a prude and that I won’t sleep with him unless he buys me dinner first. And he’s probably right.”

“Even if that were the case,” Leanne said, as though we hadn’t already had this conversation a half dozen times, “I think he would still be taking you somewhere nice. Daniel McGregor doesn’t do things halfway. And not only that, but he also likes to show off.”

I shook my head again. “No, he doesn’t,” I said.

Leanne raised an eyebrow at me. “No he doesn’t?”

“He’s not like the guy that you read about in the tabloids,” I told him. “He doesn’t just like to show off. He’s not like that.”

“If you say so,” Leanne said, and I could hear the doubt in her voice. I didn’t regret asking her to help me get ready for this date, because I knew that whatever her personal opinions were on things, she was going to help me look my best for this date. But at the same time, I could tell that she didn’t approve, and that was starting to make me even more nervous than I’d already been.

“This,” Leanne said suddenly, grabbing a green dress from the back of my closet and throwing it toward me.

I caught it automatically but shook my head. “I can’t,” I protested. “This is too nice. I’ve worn this to a couple weddings.”

“It’ll be perfect, I’m telling you,” Leanne said. “Put it on, let me see how it looks.”

I sighed, knowing that there was no way to get out of it. I stripped off the shirt and skirt that I’d been wearing and slid into the silky green dress. It fit just as perfectly as it ever had, but when I looked in the mirror, I grimaced. “I’m telling you, this is too fancy,” I said, plucking at the floor-length material.

“So try this,” Leanne said, coming around behind me and taking my hair out of its bun so that it cascaded in loose waves down my back. Then, she frowned, pursing her lips. “Nope, not that either.”

I sighed. “You’re not giving me a lot of confidence that we’re ever going to find something I want to wear for him,” I said, staring in dismay at the clothing that littered the floor. I didn’t even know what else to try on.

“This,” Leanne said, grabbing a short black dress that was in the very back of my closet.

I pursed my lips and shook my head. “No way,” I said.

Leanne frowned down at the dress. “Why not?” she asked. “I bet this hugs you in all the right places. And I doubt this is something that you’ve worn for a wedding.”

I stared at the dress for a long moment and then took a couple of steps forward. I ran my hands lightly over the material, remembering the last time I had worn it. Then, I shook my head again. “I wore that for...” I trailed off, knowing she would know who I was referencing.

She look surprised and then grimaced. “Oh honey. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make this a thing.” She paused, but then, slowly, she said, “But I do think it would look good on you for this. And it’s such an easy thing to either dress up or dress down.”

“I know,” I said unhappily, taking the dress away from her and looking down at it again, trying to forget the significance of it. I had originally bought it because someone else I knew would have thought I was sexy in it. Now, those memories were all screwed up in my head. But maybe it was time to make new memories in this dress.

After all, Daniel wouldn’t know the history behind the dress. And it would look good on me.

I sighed and slipped out of the green dress, letting it fall to the floor. Then, I slipped into the black dress, slowly zipping it up. It still hugged all my curves the way it should, and my breasts looked even more full against the low-cut sweetheart neckline. I looked at myself in the mirror and smoothed my hands over the fabric.

I looked good; even I had to admit that. Paired with my black heels and Daniel wouldn’t be able to get enough of me. This could be just what I needed, too, to boost my confidence for the evening.

“You look beautiful,” Leanne breathed.

I gave her a wry smile. “Beautiful isn’t exactly what I’m going for,” I told her.

She laughed and shook her head. “Sexy, then,” she said. “You look sexy as anything.” Then, she sighed. “I wish Matt could see me looking that good. But I could never pull off something like that. Especially not now that I’m a mom.”

I laughed. “Bullshit,” I told her. “I bet especially because you’re a mom, if you wore something like this, Matt would eat it up.” It wasn’t as strange as it once had been to talk to my best friend about my brother. She was my best friend, after all, and I knew how to support her. Through anything. “You’ve definitely got the curves,” I added.

“Not like yours, though,” Leanne said. “You have the best hourglass figure. Me? My curves have curves.”

I shook my head, grinning at her even as I continued to stare at myself in the mirror. “You would look great,” I promised her.

“Well, you look great. I know you have some history, so I can’t blame you if you don’t want to wear this. But you do look really good.”

“Thanks,” I told her. I finally sighed and shook my head. “What other options do I have?” I asked. “And anyway, I guess you only live once.” I went back to the closet to find my heels. I nearly fell over putting them on, but Leanne steadied me.

“Just don’t do anything stupid tonight,” Leanne said when I was ready to go. “I’m still worried about you with this guy.”