Samantha
“Oh, good, this one fits much better. What do you think, Sam?”
I looked over my reflection in the large trifold mirror in front of me and nodded to Mary, the owner of the town’s dress shop.
“It’s perfect,” I told her with a relieved smile. “Thank God. I was trying not to panic, but it was cutting it really close.”
Mary patted my shoulder. “I’m still not sure how the mix-up happened with the dress sizes, but I’m going to figure it out, so we make sure it doesn’t happen again. Thankfully, they were able to ship this one right away, and it doesn’t look like it’ll need any tailoring other than a little hemming at the bottom of the skirt. Nothing I can’t finish up before the wedding, though.”
I released a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. “Great. The last thing I wanted to do was tell Mandy that my bridesmaid dress didn’t fit two days before the wedding.”
Mary chuckled, but the sound was strained. I could see her shoulders sag as the stress of the situation drained from her.
“Well, you look lovely,” she said, pushing her spectacles up her nose.
I had to admit, I did look pretty good.
Mandy had done a great job picking out the dresses. It was a floor-length cornflower blue with a flowing skirt, cap sleeves, and a sweetheart neckline. All the bridesmaids were wearing the same color and length, but the cuts were all different to complement our different bodies. My waist looked cinched and my breasts plump. I grinned and put my hands on my hips, striking a little pose and pursing my lips like an over-the-top Insta model.
At that moment, the front door of the shop opened, the ringing of the bell startling me. I froze as Ryan’s reflection appeared in the mirror. Gasping, I spun around and met his surprised gaze.
“Sam?” he murmured, looking me up and down. “Holy shit…”
I felt my cheeks heat as his gaze seemed to devour me. I felt strangely shy as he took me in, and I fingered the skirt of my dress nervously.
“Um, what do you think?” I asked, flinching at how awkward I sounded.
He released a long, stunned breath. “You look beautiful.”
I bit my lip and dropped my head to try and hide my smile from him.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Mr. Carson, your tuxedo is in the second dressing room.” Mary waved him toward the back of the store. “Go put it on, please, and come back out here, so we can see how well it fits.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied, moving to follow her directions, but not before stealing another glance my way. He gave me a small grin before disappearing into the dressing room area.
“That’s a handsome man,” Mary murmured, glancing up at me with a pointed smirk.
I blinked at her, my cheeks burning even hotter.
“Um, yeah, he is,” I muttered. “If you’re, uh, into that kind of guy.”
“The incredibly attractive kind?” Mary snorted. “Please, Sam. That man is everybody’s type.”
“Don’t tell him that.” I said. “He’s got a big enough ego as it is.”
Mary chuckled. “You two used to be close, weren’t you?”
My jaw dropped, and I stuttered, “Uh, no, not really. I mean, he and Jason are best friends, but I was just the annoying little sister.”
“Oh, don’t be modest, Sam,” Ryan suddenly said, reappearing from the dressing room area. “You were always hanging around us. We didn’t have much choice but to get close over the years.”
I froze before slowly turning to face him. My breath left me in a rush when my eyes landed on him.
Damn, that tux was not fair. He looked so freaking good that for a moment, all I could do was stare. He smirked as he moved to stand next to me and looked over his reflection with an assessing gaze.
“Oh, that looks perfect,” Mary declared, looking him over. She tugged on the bottom of his jacket and then brushed at his shoulders before straightening his collar. “Yes, you fill that out nicely, Mr. Carson.”
“I’ve told you, Mary, it’s Ryan.” He gave the dressmaker a cheeky grin that made her blush and giggle.
“You stop that now,” Mary gushed, swatting him lightly on the arm. “I’m too old for you, anyway.”
“That cannot be true,” he teased her.
I watched their exchange in confused amusement. He was being so charming and dashing. I couldn’t fight the pull of his appeal, so I turned my gaze away with a nervous swallow.
The next moment, Mary walked away to collect something from her storage room behind the checkout counter, leaving Ryan and me alone. Silence settled between us as I struggled to come up with something, anything, to say to him. I couldn’t help but think of what his kiss felt like and how good his hands had been running along my skin.
“What do you think?”
I gasped, startled, and looked over at Ryan. He was studying his reflection intently.
“What do I think about what?” I murmured.
He looked at me with an arched brow. “What do you think of the tux?”
“Oh!” I stammered a bit before saying, “It…it looks great.”
He nodded, fidgeting with his bowtie. There was something in his expression that caught me off guard. His jaw was tense, and he looked disgruntled now that Mary wasn’t around.
“Is…is everything okay?” I hesitantly asked.
“What do you mean?” His features instantly shifted, and his little smirk returned. He didn’t fool me, though.
I put my hands on my hips and faced him fully. “Don’t try to hide it. I can tell something’s on your mind. What’s wrong?”
Sighing, he let his mask slip and showed me just how exhausted he really was.
“It’s nothing,” he replied. “Just some issues at the company.”
There was a part of me that wanted to ask him more. To get him to confide in me so I could ease some of the tension weighing him down. I wanted to comfort him, and I couldn’t fully explain why. Or maybe I could, but I was just too scared to explore those feelings.
“Well, I hope whatever it is works out,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant but failing when my voice cracked at the end of my sentence.
He looked at me, the corners of his mouth twitching. “Thanks. It’ll be fine..”
“That’s good,” I murmured, swishing the skirt of my dress awkwardly. What was taking Mary so long?
“Sam,” Ryan said in a hesitant voice.
“Yeah?” I glanced back at him and was surprised to find he looked nervous.
“I was wondering if you…”
“All right, I’ll get you both finished up, and you can change,” Mary declared, suddenly returning.
Ryan pressed his lips together and looked away from me. I was burning with curiosity to know what it was he’d been about to say, but I plastered on a smile and turned to Mary.
“Great! I need to get back to work, so that’s perfect.”
I wanted to get out of the dress and out of the shop before Ryan. I was feeling so incredibly off balance, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what it was he’d been about to say to me. Thoughts of what we’d done on my couch flooded through my head, and my heart raced so fast that I couldn’t catch my breath.
Making my way back to the dressing room, I quickly changed out of the dress and into my own clothes. I left the gown on a hanger and quickly made my way to the front of the store.
“Thanks, Mary!” I called as I headed straight for the door. “I’ll be back tomorrow to pick it up!”
“I’ll be here!” she replied from where she stood behind the checkout counter.
I made it out of the store and onto the sidewalk, and I thought for a moment that I was home free. However, the door didn’t even shut behind me. Ryan caught it and stepped out next to me.
“Hey,” he said. “I wanted to ask if would you go to dinner with me tonight?”
The question stunned me so much, I didn’t think as I said, “Okay.”
He blinked, as if surprised. I couldn’t really blame him, though. I was rather shocked by my answer myself.
“Great,” he managed to stutter at last. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”
I nodded. “Sounds good. See you then.”
Words were just spilling out of my mouth without any apparent control on my part.
I didn’t say another word and just turned to walk away from him, crossing the street back to the bookstore, completely baffled by what I’d just agreed to.