lipstick on her mouth.
She stared at her reflection. Not fashion-model beautiful, but not a half-bad job, either. She was quite pleased with herself. Next came the stockings. She got the first pair on with no mishaps. The teddy went over the stockings. The dress slipped on easily, although she had to shimmy to reach behind herself to zip it up. She pulled and tugged until it was in place. Last she uncoiled the curlers from her hair.
She’d never done anything but trim it or pull it back in a braid, so she wasn’t sure if it would even curl. Amazingly it did. Monique had told her to bend over at her waist and brush her hair from the underside, making that smooth but leaving the rest of it alone. The advice had sounded stupid, but Jamie did as she was told.
When she tossed her head back, curls tumbled onto her shoulders and down her back. Her eyes widened as she stared at herself. She looked great. She looked better than great. She looked fabulous.
Curls were everywhere. The slight disarray made her look sexy. The tight-fitting dress and abundance of curves added to the image.
Jamie fluffed her bangs, then grabbed the bottle of hair spray. She spritzed her curls in place, then slipped into her shoes. Where an inept thirty-year-old tomboy had been, stood a stunning, elegant woman. If Monique had been there, Jamie would have hugged her close and probably broken down in tears.
“Zach,” she said through the door, then had to clear her throat because her voice had gone all husky. She tried again. “Zach, I’m ready.”
She heard the rustling of plastic.
“Give me a second.”
Nerves fluttered in her stomach. She couldn’t believe what they were doing. When she’d come out of the dressing room prepared to buy the dress, Zach hadn’t been around. He’d shown up a few minutes later with a plastic garment bag over one shoulder. He’d told her if she was willing to get all dressed up for him, he was willing to do the same for her.
“Okay, come on out,” he said.
She put her hand on the doorknob, then paused as she fought a wave of shyness. She’d never gone to all this trouble with her appearance before. What if-?
Forget the “what ifs,” she told herself firmly. Just enjoy the moment. With that, she opened the door and stepped into the bedroom.
The sun had barely set. She could see the faint colors of the sky through the sheers at the window. Zach had already put on the lamps, so the room was flooded with light.
“Jamie, I got you-” he said, and turned toward her. He held a gold box in his hands.
But it wasn’t the present that captured her attention. It was the stunned silence and the look on his face. His eyes widened in shock, and his mouth dropped open, just like in the movies. He stared at her as if he’d never seen her before. As if he really liked what he was seeing this time.
“You’re incredible,” he said as his gaze dropped to her feet, then made a leisurely journey back to her face. “I always knew you were beautiful, but this-” He motioned to her dress, then her legs.
“You like it?”
His eyes got smoky with desire. “I like it a lot.”
She did a little looking of her own. He’d rented a black tux with a plain white shirt. His cummerbund emphasized his trim waist, while the cut of his jacket made him look even broader across the shoulders.
“You look great, too,” she said.
“Yeah?” He grinned. “Here’s the first surprise.”
He opened the top of the gold box and pulled out a delicate corsage. Baby red roses formed an elongated diamond pattern. He slipped the flowers over her hand and settled them on her wrist. Then he leaned forward and kissed her cheek.
“What are these for?” she asked, equally touched and confused by the gift.
“For all those proms and dances you never went to. Tonight is going to make up for them.”
“I don’t understand. I really don’t mind that I missed them.” The lie was automatic. Zach knew her too well to believe it.
“Of course you mind. But you’re about to go to your first dance.”
The tightness in her chest made it hard to breathe. Love filled her, warming her from the inside out. This was the reason she cared for this man. He was so in tune with her-he knew what she was thinking almost before she did. He understood about the hurts of the past and cared enough to do something about them.
A confession of her feelings hovered on the tip of her tongue, but she held it back. She didn’t want to tell him before he was ready. For a long time, she thought he might never want to hear a declaration from her. But after this, she was starting to hope.
“Ready?” he asked, and held out his arm.
She placed her hand in the crook of his elbow and allowed him to lead her to the door.
The restaurant was one of the elegant, old-fashioned places with lots of wood and a small combo group in front of a postage-stamp dance floor.
They were shown to a table by the window. The city glowed beneath them, all bright lights and electric beauty. The night air was crisp, although the restaurant was pleasantly warm.
Jamie ran her fingers across the thick linen tablecloth, then touched the heavy silverware and delicate glasses.
“I adore this place,” she said. “I want to live here.”
“Wait until you try the food. It’s even better than you’d expect.”
A waiter approached and handed them heavy menus. He left with their drink orders.
Zach growled something under his breath.
“What was that?” she asked.
“I want a different waiter.”
She glanced after the departing man. There wasn’t anything extraordinary about him. “What did he do wrong?”
“He tried to look down the front of your dress.”
She looked at the cleavage curving out of the deep neckline and laughed. “You’re the one who wanted me to get all dressed up. So it’s your own fault.”
She didn’t really think the waiter had been inspecting her, but it was nice that Zach thought so. She wanted to be special for him. For the first time in her life, she felt attractive and feminine. Maybe her goal of balance wasn’t going to be as difficult as she’d thought. Maybe there was hope.
When the waiter returned with their drinks, they ordered, then sat back in their chairs and talked about their plans for the rest of their time in Denver.
“I’d like to see the Colorado History Museum,” Zach said. “I’ve always liked the Old West.”
“Me, too.”
“Maybe we could do some more shopping.”
She glanced at him over her wineglass. “Maybe.”
“So it wasn’t horrible?”
She shook her head. “Monique was great. I wouldn’t mind going back to her store again. They had some more- casual stuff. As much as I love this dress, I can’t wear it all the time.”
“Too bad.”
Their salads came and they ate. Later, after they’d finished their main course, Zach pushed back his chair and rose. “Come on,” he said. “You owe me a dance.”
“I couldn’t.” She tucked her hands behind the small of her back. “I’ve already told you I don’t know how.”
“It’s a slow song. All we have to do is sway to the music. I promise I won’t let you mess up.”
She wasn’t sure if she believed him, but he didn’t look as if he was going to give up. A couple of people had turned to stare at them. Sighing, she got to her feet and let him lead her to the tiny dance floor.
Three other couples were already there. As promised, Zach didn’t try anything fancy. He simply pulled her close and started swaying. His hands held her back firmly so she didn’t feel like she was going to do something foolish. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her cheek against his chest.
“This is nice,” she said, absorbing his heat and the hard strength of his body.
“Hmm.”
