Last on the List (Wait With Me #5)(81)

“No problem! Now that I’ve seen her body in person, I have some more things I want her to try,” she exclaims and then turns to tell her two staff members who slip into stride with her as they head toward the back of the shop, out of sight.

Cassandra’s green eyes are saucers as she yanks me to her. “Max, what the hell is going on?”

I rub her arm reassuringly because she looks like she’s going to faint. “I stopped at Dakota’s shop earlier today to ask her for some ideas about a date for you and me.”

“Yeah…”

“And I told her about the charity gala.”

Cassandra’s eyes furrow instantly. We haven’t revisited that awkward topic since it popped up this past weekend and I can tell by the light dimming in Cassandra’s eyes, she’s not enjoying the reminder.

“Listen, I talked to Henley, the woman who was going to accompany me to the event, and I told her that I was seeing someone seriously and I didn’t think it was appropriate for her to go with me anymore.”

“You did?”

“Yes. She completely understood.” I inhale deeply and step forward, ready to bring out the big guns to close this deal.

“Cassandra, I want you to come with me to the charity gala next week. It’s an important event for me. The Rainbow Project is a college scholarship program for LGBTQ+ kids. I’m on the board, not because I have to be, but because I want to be. Everly is the daughter of a lesbian mother and stepdaughter of a pansexual mother. This community will always be a part of her life and, therefore, my life. It’s important to me to use the success and influence I’ve found in business to help kids in that community find their place in this world. I would love to show you that part of my life.”

Cassandra’s chest rises and falls as she stares back at me completely gobsmacked. I knew she wouldn’t say yes to coming next weekend if I didn’t ask her in a big way. She has to understand she’s not second choice. That’s why I stopped at her best friend’s shop downtown for advice. I thought if I took her shopping for a dress, she’d have no reason to say no. When Dakota said Cassandra loved this designer in Aspen, my home away from home, dinner and a movie suddenly got an upgrade.

Hopefully only making it harder for her to say no to me.

“Will you please let me buy you a dress tonight and come with me next Saturday?” I ask, feeling strangely vulnerable for the first time all night.

Suddenly, the private jet and the grand gesture of taking her to a designer for a dress seems like total fucking overkill for a first date. What if she says no, and this was all for nothing? What if we have to ride back on that plane together in awkward silence because Cassandra has made it clear to me in the past that she doesn’t care about material things? Fuck…I might have just blown it.

My mind is thwarted when Cassandra throws herself into my arms and seals her lips over mine. Her hands band tightly around my neck as I hug her to me, and our lips tangle together. The kiss is so feverish, I wonder briefly if the noises I hear are coming from her or from me.

Finally, she pulls back and laughs. “You really are a decent human, aren’t you?”

I laugh and shake my head. “Does that mean you’ll come?”

“God, yes. What do I have to wear?”

I shrug and stare at her lips. “A dress with nothing underneath if it’s up to me.”

She pats her hands on my chest. “Spoken like a man who’s never come across Spanx before.”

“Like spankings? Another kink unlocked, Cozy?” I waggle my eyebrows sexily at her, and she laughs. I don’t get it.





It’s impossible to wipe the smile off my face at the fancy restaurant Max takes me to after we finish shopping. One would think I’d be stressing over the fact that I am completely underdressed for the vibe here, but after the incredible shopping experience I just had, nothing will bring me down.

Dress after dress that Tatianna brought me zipped right up. I was able to walk out and model some of the pieces for Max and had a total Cinderella with her Fairy Godmother moment.

As a bigger girl, that makeover scene you see in the movies is never something I’ve been able to picture for myself. Hollywood has gifted that story arc to the size two girls who can fit into items straight off the rack.

A shopping spree for girls with curves is more like an Olympic sport you have to train for your whole life.

First, you have to find the limited shops that carry your sizes. Then there’s the squeezing, the yanking, and the crushing disappointment that overwhelms you when something you try on doesn’t button up or accentuates all your worst features. Shopping for bigger girls is something you need to be in peak physical and mental condition for. You have to tell yourself that just because this looks bad doesn’t mean you look bad. This just isn’t the style for you. Keep looking. You’ll find something that will make you feel beautiful.

And honestly, shopping for smaller-sized people isn’t easy either. Everyone has flaws they see in themselves, no matter what size they wear. Just because a person’s pant size is in the single digits and mine are in the double doesn’t make her immune to misery in a dressing room. That is a one-size-fits-all sort of pain.

Which is why that makeover scene in a movie makes girls of all sizes swoon hard. We all want to experience that moment when a dress doesn’t just make us feel beautiful but it makes us feel desired.