Of Course, It's You

Chapter 31

Hannah

Hannah had never been the overly confident one in any fresh relationship – or whatever this was. But, she had to admit, watching Carmen make her daughter soup, sitting with her under a blanket on the couch and coloring with her, made her heart swell. She had never brought any of her dates around Lyvie, even though she rarely had any of those. Carmen somehow wiggled her way into her daughter's presence.

She figured, if there were any questions from her daughter, any answer she would give her wouldn't be an entire lie. Carmen was her boss, so they worked together, knew one another, and could be left as simple as that for a kid. Carmen seemed to have understood without being told. There wasn't any excessive touching in front of Lyv, and she would keep it that way until she knew, without a doubt, what they were to one another. But, that day hadn't come yet.

What she thought would have been a one-night fling, certainly had turned in a direction she hadn't anticipated. But what she had told Carmen the other night in her kitchen wasn't a lie. She really did want to be able to know Carmen in a more personal and conversational way. As much as she enjoyed the time they were spending with one another, she couldn't let sex in the workplace happen again. She knew she had to set some type of boundaries, as much as it pained her to do so.

So, there she was, standing at the window of a shop that had beautiful dresses on display, thinking about what she would want to wear if she truly went to the gala that weekend. Her and Carmen had texted almost nonstop for the past few days, and the event was tomorrow.

She walked into the shop, and the bell above the door chimed. There was an older lady sewing a garment at a table that greeted her as she entered.

"Hi. I'll be with you in just one moment." The woman told her in a very sweet voice."

I really should have brought Mike or Jules to help me with this, she thought to herself as she stood in front of a rack of beautiful gowns.

She pulled her phone from her back pocket.

Hannah: Hey, you're on standby to give me advice on dress options!

Jules: Oooo I'm excited!

The shop owner came around from her table, the garment and thread abandoned.

"Hi dear, what can I help you with today?" The woman was shorter than Hannah. Her dark hair cut short at her jawline.

"Um, I'm not even sure where to begin honestly."

The woman gave her a sweet smile, "well let's start off with where you are going that you're looking for an outfit for."

After Hannah explained what the event was and what it was for, the woman handed her a few options and walked her to the dressing room area. Each option she tried on, she felt glamorous – too glamorous. Who was she kidding? This wasn't her. It never had been. She was a retired college athlete, a mom, a jeans and sneakers type of woman.

But as she turned in the mirrors in front of her, she couldn't help but feel beautiful. She set up her phone and sent a picture of every dress. Each one getting a similar response. Jules loved them all.

Ugh. This wasn't helping. And the shop owner wasn't helping either. She loved each one on Hannah as well. As she hung up the last dress on the hanger, there was something hanging on its own, on a rack just outside of the dressing room.

"May I... try this one as well?" Hannah asked as she lifted the hanger off the rack.

"Of course! We just started selling those."