Shane gave her a slightly crooked smile and stepped away without touching her. “Good night, Kelly. I hope you ace your test.”
Why hadn’t he kissed her? Had he somehow sensed her mixed emotions about it? He wouldn’t have thought twice about kissing his cousins, or his aunts, or even his friends, Heather or Amber. What made Kelly different, all of a sudden? “Thanks again for the toothpick holder.”
He sketched her a funny little salute in lieu of a reply and stepped outside, closing the door behind him.
Staring at that unrevealing panel of wood, Kelly slowly shook her head. Sometimes it seemed that the more time she spent with Shane Walker, the less she really knew him.
“That dress looks fabulous on you, Kelly. You really should buy it.”
Kelly looked away from the three-way mirror to smile at her longtime best friend, Brynn Larkin D’Alessandro. “You think so?”
“Absolutely.” Brynn walked thoughtfully around her, studying the close-fitting red dress. “It’s perfect for you. And at sixty percent off, it’s a fantastic price. You shouldn’t pass it up.”
Tempted, Kelly
looked into the dressing room mirror again. The dress did fit very well, falling in a graceful line from double spaghetti straps to the floating just-above-the-knee hem. The crimson color looked good with her blond hair, gold-dusted complexion and dark green eyes. She hadn’t come to the mall to buy a dress on this Saturday afternoon, but when she’d seen this one on a clearance rack, she’d been unable to resist trying it on.
She twisted to look at the back of her right arm, which was bared by the sleeveless garment. “What about the scar on this arm? Is it too noticeable? The scars on my legs I can conceal with glittery hose or something, but this one...”
“It’s only a scar,” Brynn said dismissively. “You look so pretty no one will notice that thin white line. I think you should get the dress.”
“It is a bargain,” Kelly admitted, glancing at the price tag again. “But I really don’t know if I need it. Where would I wear it?”
“The holidays are coming up. Surely there will be a party or two you’ll want to attend.”
Kelly turned slowly in front of the mirror again, picturing the dress with the glittering costume jewelry she’d bought last year. It would look good at a holiday party, she thought, weakening further. And at sixty percent off, she could almost justify the expense.
But she really shouldn’t buy it. She was trying to save a little extra money for Christmas gifts.
“Kelly! Hi, what’s up?”
Kelly looked around to see Amber Wallace entering the dressing room area. carrying a sizable stack of clothes to try on. “Hi. Amber. I see you and I both read the same sales ads.”
Amber grinned. “Yeah. I need some new clothes, and I’m short on cash, so I hope there will be something that fits from the clearance rack.”
“You remember my friend Brynn?”
“Of course.” Amber smiled at Brynn. “How are you?”
“Fine, thank you,” Brynn answered with the slightly shy courtesy that was so characteristic of her.
Amber looked back at Kelly, studying the red dress with obvious interest. “That’s a great dress. Are you buying it?”
“I haven’t decided,” Kelly admitted. “I’m not sure I really need it...”
“If you don’t want it, I’d like to try it on. You and I are about the same size. I think that dress would look good on me, don’t you?”
Kelly was sure the red dress would look gorgeous on dark-haired, blue-eyed Amber. Maybe it would even look better on Amber than it did on Kelly herself. It was that somewhat-less-than-noble thought that made her clutch the dress more tightly around her and blurt out, “Sorry, but I think I will buy it. As Brynn just pointed out, I can wear it to holiday parties.”
Amber looked disappointed, but resigned. “It does look good on you. Any particular guy you’re trying to impress?”
“Of course not,” Kelly answered quickly. “I’m buying it for myself.”
“Oh.” Amber cast one more rather wistful glance at the dress, then looked at the garments she held. “I just hope one of these looks as good on me. I am trying to impress someone in particular.”
Kelly didn’t have to ask who. “How is Cameron?”
Amber’s bright smile was dimmed only by the faint shadow in her eyes. “He’s wonderful, of course. I wish I could have spent today with him, but he and Shane had that fishing trip planned. I don’t know why they wouldn’t let me go along. I love to fish. And Cameron didn’t even want to do anything tonight. He said after getting up at dawn to go fishing, he’ll just want to go home alone and crash tonight.”