Page 41 of Finding Jess

“And which of you is trying on the Maid of Honor gowns?” the saleswoman asked, closing the door to Scarlett’s fitting room before turning toward them.

Jess grimaced as she answered, “Me.”

The woman smiled, nodding as she waved her into the fitting room beside Scarlett’s.“Right this way.”

“Have fun,” Sam called out behind her with a teasing grin.

Once Jess was out of sight, she began scrolling through her phone, checking for new emails as they changed. Caleb had sent her a couple of updates from their most recent client. But luckily, nothing seemed urgent enough to require immediate attention.

Scarlett’s door swung open first, and she stepped out, wearing one of the dresses she’d found.

“What do you think?” she asked, turning in front of the mirror.

“It’s nice,” Sam answered, placing her phone in her lap. “Do you like it?”

“Well, I want it to be better thannice,” she muttered, smoothing the fabric down.

She turned to Jess’ dressing room door, knocking hard against it. “Are you dressed?” she called. “Come out. I need you to look at the one I have on.”

Jess stepped out a moment later, one arm twisted awkwardly behind her back as she held a dark green ruffled dress in place.

“What do you think?” Scarlett asked, twirling her dress from side to side. “Sam’s not a fan.”

“Hey, I didn’t say that,” Sam said, leaning back in her chair. “It just doesn’t seem like what you said you wanted.”

Jess hummed as she studied it. “I agree. Doesn’t match your style.”

Scarlett looked at herself in the mirror for a moment before turning back to Jess.

“That looks great on you!” she said, nodding toward her.“Is that the one I picked out?”

Jess frowned, tugging at the ruffles that flared out from her hips. “Yeah. If you like it, I’ll get this one.”

“Well, doyoulike it?”

Sam smirked, letting out a light snort of laughter. “She hates it.”

Jess looked up at her, as if ready to disagree. But then she broke out into laughter, nodding. “I hate it.”

Scarlett rolled her eyes, waving her back into the dressing room. “Okay, try the next one.”

Sam chuckled, looking at her phone as they both disappeared back into the dressing rooms. She continued through the unread email chains, reading through updates from the developers on the most recent changes they’d pushed to the production version of the software.

After another minute, both the dressing room doors opened at the same time. She looked up at Scarlett, seeing a new dress that paired much better with her features.

She smiled up at her. “I love that one.”

“That’s beautiful,” Jess said from beside her, and Sam turned to look at her.

The moment her gaze landed on Jess, she faltered. Jess wore a dark blue satin gown with a low neckline. It trailed to the floor, leaving one open slit running up the length of her thigh.

She swallowed, suddenly feeling as if she should look away.

“I know, right,” Scarlett gushed, posing in front of the mirror. “I love this one.”

Sam nodded slowly, working to keep her gaze pinned on Scarlett.

Scarlett turned once more, then peered at Jess, breaking into a wide smile. “Oh my gosh, I love that one on you!”

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