Back To You - A Second Chance Romance

“Trust me. I know dresses. And I can feel it. That’s your dress, honey.” She put her hands together and smiled. “Now, shoo. Go on and try it. The clock is ticking.”

I didn’t want to waste any more of her time. After all, she was a famous actress who was taking time out of her day and busy schedule to play dress-up with me. It was an honor I’d not likely get on a regular basis.

I took a deep breath and hurried back behind the screen. I had been trying so many that my hair was a mess, and not only that, but I felt like I could break a sweat at any moment. Maybe I was fooling myself. This kind of party wasn’t for me.

I got undressed down to my bra and panties and slipped the red dress off the hanger. I held it in front of me and shook my head. It was kind of short, but then, so were some of the others. I’d hated those too. “I’m not sure about this one.”

“Put it on, Kate. Trust me. I’m a professional.” She laughed at herself and I took a deep breath and looked at the garment.

There had to be an easier, more glamourous way to put the thing on, but I went ahead and chose to put it over my head. My hair was wrecked anyway, and it beat stepping into it. I pulled it down, and once I had it over my breasts, things started looking up.

I tugged it down over my hips and stepped back to look in the mirror. My mouth hung open as I stepped out and looked in the other mirror. “I can’t believe how different this is from the others.”

“That’s because it’s the perfect dress,” Tess said with a shrug. “There’s a perfect dress out there for everyone. And this is yours. You look amazing. Now we have to find the right shoes and a small clutch handbag.”

I took one more look in the mirror. “I feel beautiful in this.” Sexy.

“You’re going to turn heads in that dress.” She looked me up and down and nodded. “I love it.”

“You really think so?” There was only one head I wanted to turn, and that was Jake’s.

After spending the day with Tess, who had not only found me the right shoes but had found jewelry to match as well, I had gone back to the hotel and spent the afternoon getting ready.

Later, Tess called and said she was on the way. I waited in the lobby until she arrived. Walking out after her text, my mouth popped open as I realized her car was a limo.

The driver got out and opened the door for me, and when I ducked inside, I was surprised to see Austin sitting beside Tess and half of the cast along for the ride. There were a few people from the staff, but thankfully, Ben wasn’t there.

Someone cleared his throat from the other side of the limo. I turned to find Jake sitting in the corner. He was dressed in a suit and tie and looked like a million dollars, as he seemed to do quite often.

He didn’t say anything, but I could tell by the way he was staring that he liked what he saw.

Tess slid over, and I sat beside her. The trip over to the party was fun, but the cramped limo got a little rambunctious for my tastes. I mostly looked out the tinted windows and tried not to pay attention to Jake, who was already entertaining the others.

As we finally pulled up to the house in the Hollywood Hills, I nearly lost my breath. The mansion and its grounds were so much more expansive than I had imagined. And once I got inside, I was immediately given a drink. I tried to politely decline, but the drink was pushed into my hand by Tess, who had already tried to offer me one in the limo.

“Lighten up and have a good time, silly. You’ll thank me tomorrow.” She gave me a sly wink as she was pulled away by Austin, who led her to the dance floor.

The music pulsed as the party got wound up, and I couldn’t believe that I recognized more Hollywood faces than I thought I would. Everyone was friendly, but most were talking around me. I tried to mingle a bit, sitting at a table with some of the cast and crew members I knew from the set. A few even mentioned our upcoming trip and told me they were thankful I was helping, but the conversation quickly changed to things I had no knowledge of.

Eventually, I got pulled out on the dance floor with Tess after a bit of coaxing and another drink. But as soon as Austin swept in, I slipped off and found a nice corner on the patio to sit and rest my feet.