“Wear the dress,” he said freeing me.

He opened a cupboard and pulled out a bag of chips.

Absently, I followed him out of the apartment.  The dress?  I panicked, not even remembering what it looked like.  Black.  It’d been black and knee length, maybe, on the hanger.  Why hadn’t I tried it on?  Then I remembered.  Nerves about leaving the boys for so long then the video about Richard.

A few steps behind Emmitt, I heard Nana Wini offer to watch the boys.  Darn her excellent hearing.  The boys turned their puppy eyes toward me, already pleading without words.  My gaze flicked between Nana and Jim.  Was it safe?  I trusted them with the boys, but what about...no.  Nothing had changed.  Emmitt was right.  It had been a month since I left.  If they were going to find us, they would have already.  Again, I nodded.  Trapped.

“Could we leave in an hour?” Emmitt asked me while handing Jim his chips.  Jim grinned at my stunned expression and passed the bag to Aden.  He’d ruin Aden’s dinner.

“Sure,” I mumbled, taking a step back toward the hallway.  An hour to try on the dress and, if it didn’t fit, find something else to wear.  The dress had better fit.

I didn’t waste any time but bolted up the stairs as soon as I cleared the door.

In the apartment, I pulled my hair from its ponytail and ran a brush through it.  It fell straight and smooth after a few minutes of brushing.  I stalked to the bedroom, reached into the closet, and tossed the garment bag on the bed.  Then, I bent to search for the shoes that weren’t there.  I straightened slowly, thinking back.  After shopping, I’d carried them up to my room and put them in the bottom of my closet.  I was sure of it.

I looked under the bed.  Nothing.  Hands on my hips, I stood in my room, scanning and thinking.  They didn’t just walk away on their own.  Tracing my way through the apartment, I looked under everything, behind the doors, and in the broom closet.  I was ready to go ask Nana if she’d seen them but walked to the boys’ room just to double-check.

The shoes lay under the bunk bed while the box stood on its side with the lid propped at an angle to create a temporary shelter for Aden’s army men.

“Seriously?” I mumbled, snagging the shoes and leaving the box.

Dropping the shoes in the hall, I closed myself into my room and unzipped the bag.  The clock on the dresser motivated me.  I’d wasted too much time looking for the shoes and only had thirty minutes left.

The black material slid from the bag.  There appeared to be less of it than I remembered.  Black burnished clasps adorned each shoulder, gathering the material to show more skin.  The silky fabric fell softly to the waist panel where shining, black thread glinted in ornate patterns.  The plain skirt ended abruptly not far below that.

I picked this?  I turned the dress around.  No zipper.  Shaking my head, I stripped from my shorts and tee then stepped into the dress, tugging and twisting it into place.  It felt okay.  Not too tight or loose.

I left my bedroom and closed myself into the bathroom to get a better look.  I couldn’t see all of me at once, but what I did see had my stomach pitching wildly.

The dress was gorgeous but a bit more revealing than a simple date called for.  The material draped loosely from the shoulders and gapped in the middle, showing the center of my bra.  I turned around.  Same with the back.  The skirt ended mid-thigh, much longer than the cutoffs I wore, but short for a dress.  Well, for my dress.  A bit of anxiety crept in.

What else did I have?  T-shirts and sweatshirts hung in the closet.  No other options.  I looked back at the mirror as I unclasped my bra and wiggled out of it.  I tried tugging the material to hide the valley showing.  Nope.  Not going to happen.  I’d just need to change quickly and run across the hall to see if we could go somewhere that wouldn’t require a dress.

I opened the bathroom door and froze.  Emmitt and Jim both stood in the hallway.  Emmitt’s gaze raked me, and Jim gave a wolf whistle.

“What are you doing here?”  My voice sounded too high but I couldn’t help it.  What if I’d stepped out in a towel?  Well, maybe that would have been safer.  The big towels Nana gave us would have covered more.

“You sounded upset,” Emmitt said absently as his eyes continued to travel my length.  On the way back up, he closed his eyes briefly, swallowed hard, then returned to his slow appraisal.  He didn’t bother to look at Jim when he spoke.

“Okay, you saw.  Now go away.”

With a laugh, Jim left.

“Saw what?” I asked, looking Emmitt over as well.  He wore dark grey slacks and a sport coat with a lighter grey V-neck sweater.

“He wanted to see how you looked in the dress.  Nana Wini told him about it,” he said absently, still studying me.

Nana remembered the dress, and I hadn’t?

“Could we maybe go somewhere casual enough for jean shorts?”  I fought the urge to cross my arms, knowing it would just make it worse.  Then, I realized I still had my bra in my hand.  Please don’t let him notice, I thought.

“I can smell your nervousness.  You look lovely.  Please wear it,” he said quietly, meeting my eyes again.  “Do you need a jacket?”

A trench coat would work.  Instead of speaking, I shook my head.

He bent to pick up my shoes, and I quickly tossed my bra behind me and turned off the bathroom lights.  He motioned me to lead the way to the door.  There he bent and helped me with the shoes.

He didn’t say anything as he slipped the black heel onto my foot.  His light touch at my ankle made my legs Jell-O.  Once the shoe was on, his hand lingered on my calf before he moved to the other shoe.  The longer he stayed quiet, the more nervous I became.

When he stood, he smiled slightly and leaned forward.  He carefully swept my hair back over my shoulder, moving it out of the way.  The warmth of his palms heated my upper arms as he held me steady.  His breath tickled the skin at the base of my neck as he breathed a path up to my ear.  I forgot all about the dress.

“Thank you for saying yes,” he said softly then pulled back.

Yes to what?

He clasped my hand in his and led us out into the hallway.  My brain came back online when he closed the door with a soft snick.  He wrapped my hand around his arm as we walked downstairs.  I could feel his eyes returning to me but didn’t look his way.  Navigating stairs with heels required my full attention.

When we reached the bottom, I gave in and met his gaze.  His intense regard sent shivers through me.  He leaned in once again, his breath tickling my neck near my ear. I focused on the sensation of his lips brushing my skin.  Please just kiss me already, I thought.  The anticipation of it was driving me crazy.

“You smell wonderful.”

I turned my head slightly and pressed my cheek against his.  He groaned.

When he finally straightened and motioned me through Nana’s open door, I walked in on autopilot, my neck still tingling from overexposure to Emmitt.

The boys already played a board game at the table with Jim and Nana.  I could see Aden was in hero-worship mode when it came to Jim.  Neither boy seemed to care too much that we were leaving for the night.

As I stood there saying goodbye, my head cleared enough that I started doubting the dress, again.  I tried to think of an excuse to go back upstairs and change, but couldn’t.  At least, not a diplomatic one.  So, I allowed Emmitt to escort me out the door.  The rain had stopped, but the ground still glistened with water.  My heels sank a little when I stepped off the porch.

“Where are we going?” I asked while he held the door open for me.

“A steak and seafood place just outside of town,” he said as I carefully got in.

He hesitated then closed my door and walked around the front of the truck.  The moment reminded me of the day I’d bought the truck, and my heart fluttered as he slid in behind the wheel.  I wouldn’t have guessed then that the attraction I’d felt would have led to the revelation it had.