When there was enough caffeine running through my system to string words together, I focused on him. “What was so important you had to wake me up at this unholy hour?”

He grinned. The amusement he felt was reflected in his deep blue eyes. I know that look all too well. He was up to something. “No reason. Just thought you might like to know that I scored an invite to Rags & Riches.”

I gulped, sending scalding hot coffee down my throat. Coughing and sputtering, I spilled half my cup all over the sidewalk in front of me. Drew laughed and handed me a napkin from the bag at his feet.

When I finally got a hold of myself, I turned on him. “Are you serious?”

“Yep, but if you don’t want to go, I can find someone else to be my plus one.”

I slapped his arm for even suggesting such a thing, and he rubbed it, pretending to be in pain.

“How did you pull this off?” My voice wavered and my eyes watered with excitement. Well, from excitement and from almost choking on my coffee.

Drew just shrugged. “I’m awesome.” He shot me the cheesiest smile he could come up with.

Rags & Riches was a gala benefit for the arts. It gave upcoming artists a chance to rub elbows with the masters in their field. Musicians, visual artists, writers, playwrights, actors, etc., were all given a chance to mingle with their heroes. As an interior designer, I’d been dying to go for years.

I couldn’t contain my excitement anymore. I launched myself at Drew, wrapping my arms tight around his neck, catching him off guard as he tried to catch his balance.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” I squealed.

Drew chuckled, pulling at my arms to release him. Once he was free, he pulled the invite from his pocket. I snatched it from his hand and scanned over every inch, trying to commit every detail to memory.

“I can’t believe you did this! This is amazing.” I stopped just short of cackling with glee.

“One of the partners in our firm is going out of town, so Gabe had the extra tickets.” He shrugged, like making one of my lifelong dreams come true was no big deal.

“Holy shit,” I gasped. “I need a dress!” I started running through the contents of my closet in my head. I had nothing. The gala was Friday. How was I going to find a dress that quickly? Drew could see the wheels in my head turning. He hopped to his feet, grabbing my hand to pull me along with him.

“Got it covered. Come with me.” He dragged me behind him, toward his car.

“What? You are not buying me a dress!” I said, trying desperately to keep up. The tickets were already too much. No way was he buying me a dress too.

Drew stopped short. “Red, will you relax? Trust me, I got this.” He shot me a wink and pulled me the rest of the way to his car.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“You’ll see.”

“Damn it. Come on, just tell me.”

He chuckled. “Where is the fun in that?”

I sat back in my seat, frustrated, but I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face. Drew just shook his head and chuckled, putting the car in drive.

***

Ten minutes later, we pulled up outside a small boutique store front. My smile widened as I recognized the pink and white awning with the swirling cursive letters spelling out Millie’s.

A little bell announced our entrance as we walked into the small but beautiful space. Every square inch was decorated in muted shades of white and a rosy pink. Vintage-inspired clothes, some real and some reproductions, hung in neat rows separated by style and color. There were modern little touches, like the modular couches and LED lighting. It was such a contradiction in styles, but it felt like home.

I glanced around, slowly making my way into the heart of the store, running my fingers through the fringe of a 1920s flapper dress. Millie’s was a reflection of the woman herself—petite and light with an impeccable sense of style.

From the back corner, I saw her bustling toward us, her arms so full of fabric all you could see was the top of her blonde head. She looked around the stack in her arms, her bright blue eyes widening and a smile spreading across her perfect face.

“Drew!” She set the fabric on the counter, making her way toward us.

“Millie!” Drew wrapped her in a tight hug. He lifted her up, swinging her tiny body in a circle, before setting her back on her feet.

He placed a hand on her very pregnant stomach and smiled. “How’s my nephew?”

“Ornery, as usual. I think he takes after his uncle.”

She giggled, playfully poking him in the ribs.

Millie turned to me, wrapping me in a warm hug. Drew’s sister-in-law is possibly the sweetest person I have ever met. She has such a big heart that it’s virtually impossible not to love her.

“Alex, how are you?” She pulled back to look up at me, taking in my shabby outfit. At about five foot nothing, she was a tiny little thing, even eight months pregnant.

“I’m good, Millie. Look at you.” I took a step back to take all of her in.

“Ugh, I look awful.”

“I wouldn’t say awful. Just circular.” I giggled.

“Ha, ha,” she deadpanned.

She clapped her hands together, getting down to business. “Drew says you need a dress.”

“He did, huh?” I shot a look at Drew as Millie pulled me toward one of the racks.

“What did you have in mind?” she asked, her eyes scanning the choices in front of her before moving on to the next rack of gowns.

“I don’t know.” I hesitated. “Something elegant, sophisticated, classic.”

“It’s a gala, not a costume ball.” Drew snorted. I elbowed him in the ribs.

“Think old Hollywood glamour,” I said without missing a beat.

“Well, let see what I have.” She quickly started sifting through the racks, pulling out several dresses for me to try on.

Drew leaned down and whispered in my ear. “Told you I got you covered.”

I reached up and patted his head. “That’ll do, pig, that’ll do.”

Millie finished pulling dresses and pointed me to a dressing room at the back. Drew settled into the chair outside the dressing room, flipping through a catalog from the table next to him.

I stood in the dressing room and sorted through the gowns. I immediately vetoed anything strapless because no way was I going to run the risk of a nip slip. I sorted through the dresses, setting them aside for different reasons. Too short, too frumpy, too loud, far too many sequins.

Just when I was almost out of options, there it was, the dress of my dreams. I slipped into the beautiful cream-colored silk gown. It was gorgeous. It fit all of my curves perfectly and dipped low in the back for just the right amount of sexy. The subtle color made my green eyes stand out and complemented the rich, red color of my hair.

I turned, admiring the fit and slight twirl of the back, when I heard a sharp intake of breath. I looked into the mirror and caught Millie staring at me with her tiny hands pressed to her lips, tears filling her big blue eyes.

“That good, huh?” I held out my arms, twirling to show the dress off.

“Alex, it’s stunning,” Millie blubbered. I reached out to hug the hormonal preggo, but she took a quick step back. “No, you’ll ruin it.”

I turned back to face the mirror, smoothing down the front of the dress. “I think this is it, Millie.” She nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes.

From beyond the dressing room curtain, we heard Drew start complaining. “Would you come out already? No guy should have to sit and wait this long unless someone is getting naked.” He paused. “Which I am open to.” Millie winked and pulled back the curtain.

Drew started at my feet, taking in the whole picture. His eyes slowly made their way up my body ‘til they locked with mine. We stayed that way, eyes locked for a moment, before he shook his head and cleared his throat.

“Eh, it’s okay.” He shrugged, looking back down at the catalog in his lap, suddenly fascinated with Victorian lampshades. The smile on his face made it pretty clear this one was a winner.