A Daddy for Jacoby(42)

“Oh, I’m not dressed to try on anything formal.”

“It’s more about undressing than dressing, sis,” Giselle called out. “Mom, I need some help in here.”

“The bodice is boned, and the crinoline petticoats are already sewn into the skirt.” Her mother pushed the hanger at Gina. “You don’t need to wear anything special underneath.”

She took the dress, surprised at its substantial weight. “I don’t know…”

“It can’t hurt to try it on.” Her mother turned Gina toward an empty dressing room. “As soon as I saw it, I thought of you.”

Stepping inside the room, Gina hung the dress on the closest hook and stripped down to her panties before she could change her mind. She undid the side zipper, stepped into the dress and slid it into place while keeping her back to the room’s mirror.

It took some work to get the zipper back up, but she did it. Then she noticed her socks. Nope, they had to go, too. She toed them off, noting she needed to get to Ursula’s for another pedicure, and turned to face the mirror.

Her eyes widened.

Wow.

Gina inched toward her image, amazed at how the heart-shaped bodice hugged her breasts and the fitted structure did wonders for her posture. Her tanned skin glowed. Perching on tiptoes told her high heels were a necessity.

So was an updo hairstyle. She pulled a hair clip from her purse and seconds later her riot of curls was off her shoulders. They were still a mess, but it worked for now. She twirled back and forth, loving the swishing noise the tulle made.

Definitely a wow kind of dress.

Could she do this? Chaperone a high school dance?

It would be fun to see her siblings and their friends all dressed up and while a few teachers had been invited, the dance committee, of which Giselle was in charge, needed to secure the rest of the chaperones. Parents had quickly been scratched off the list, for obvious reasons according to Giselle, but older siblings would be perfect. Except if the older sibling was the town sheriff or his wife. That let Gage and Racy off the hook.

Okay, so now they had her thinking about it.

But she couldn’t show up alone. Talk about the heights of geekiness. Who could she ask—

No, no, no.

Gina’s cell phone chimed again and she jumped at the chance to end the ridiculous thought running through her head. She flipped it open and read the text message.

Go to the freaking dance.

Barbie. Geez, her sister was now getting Gina’s friends involved.

Would you like to go to a high school dance? she typed in response.

A minute later came Barbie’s reply. Been there, done that. If you’re looking for a date, try a guy. Then there’s no question about who leads who when dancing.

Gina rolled her eyes. Another message immediately followed.

Ask Ric Murphy. The guy is nuts for you. Unless you want to see if that cutie from Boston College is available.

Gina sighed. Yes, Ric had made it clear since the first night she worked at the bar he was interested in her. And the cutie from Massachusetts was a guy Gina had met on vacation who’d already emailed twice this week.

Both fun guys, both good-looking, both easy to talk to, but neither guy was Justin.

She closed her eyes.

It was time to move on. Pulling up a number before she had time to talk herself out of it, Gina put the phone to her ear. “Hello, Ric? It’s Gina. I was wondering if you had any plans for next Saturday night?”



She’d been stood up.

Ric had called an hour ago to tell her he had the flu and wouldn’t be able to take her to the dance. All dressed up and nowhere to go.

Gina had kept quiet about her change of plans during the excitement of her mother snapping pictures of the twins and their respective dates in front of the fireplace. Giselle looked lovely standing next to her date in her lemon-yellow chiffon gown with its multilayered tiered skirt. Garrett had returned home after picking up Leenie Harden, his steady girlfriend and the daughter of the mayor, to have their pictures taken. Then the four teenagers left to meet friends and head to the dance.

“Shouldn’t your date be here soon?”

Gina looked at her mother. “Ric called a while ago. He’s not coming.”

“What?”

“He’s got the flu. He said it started as a cold and got worse as the day went on. He’d hoped to be able to make it which is why he called so late, but…”

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry. You were so excited about your date.”