Page 53 of Dallas
I can’t look away quickly enough.
“It’s you, isn’t it? Alexandra Whitacker.”
My face heats, and I shake my head. “I don’t know who that is.”
She steps closer, scrutinizing me even though I’m not meeting her gaze. “Oh, it’s definitely you.” She drops her pile of clothes on an empty armchair.
Dallas is at my side in seconds. “Lady, I don’t know who you’re talking about, but you need to leave my fiancée alone.”
The rude woman pulls out her phone and tries to take a picture. Before she can get the shot, Dallas wraps himself around me, blocking her view. He rushes me back into the changing room. “Get dressed, baby.” He shuts the door and leaves me.
I stand there, shaking from head to toe. I’ve been found. It’s the first time in seven years that someone has recognized me. I can’t think. I just freeze in place, trembling, unable to process what just happened.
Five minutes later, the door opens, and I yelp before I realize it’s Dallas. He’s winded. “I tried to catch her and make sure she kept her big mouth shut, but she was gone.”
I nod. Fuck.
Dallas turns me around, unzips the dress, and carefully removes it from my body. He hangs it up while I watch him. And then my perfect man dresses me. He even puts my bra on and fastens it. He adjusts my breasts in the cups the way he’s seen me do. He lowers the dress I was wearing when I came in over my head and zips it up. He bends down to put my sandals on. He checks my hair and straightens a few errant curls. If I hadn’t been in love with him before, I would be helplessly over the moon now.
Dallas picks up the hanger with my wedding dress on it. “You stay here. I’ll pay for this, clear out the store, get the car, and come back for you.”
All I can do is nod and wring my hands together. He’s wonderful. I’m not sure how I would have handled this without him. I’ve pictured a scenario like this a million times over the years. But now that I’m faced with the situation, I find myself frozen and unable to handle it.
Dallas is only gone ten minutes at the most. He quickly tucks me under his arm, guides me out of the dress shop, and hustles me into the running car at the curb. I never have to deal with a single thing. My man takes care of everything.
I hold it together for about five more minutes before I fall apart and start crying.
Dallas grabs my hand and squeezes. “I’m so sorry, baby. I never should have brought you into the city.”
I shake my head. “It’s not your fault. I just really enjoyed living my life without anyone knowing who I was.”
“Maybe she won’t tell anyone.”
“Or maybe she has already posted it all over social media and called the press,” I argue. I close my eyes and try to control my breathing.
Dallas threads his fingers with mine, lifts my hand, and kisses my knuckles. “No matter what happens, we’ll deal with it together.”
He says that now, but he has no idea how insane my life was before I changed my name and went into hiding. I wish I’d had the guts to get plastic surgery, shave my head, and wear wigs. Anything to keep my identity private. But I was eighteen at the time. The only thing I’d managed to muster was to pull my hair back severely in college, hide behind unattractive clothes, and wear ugly glasses. I never even wore makeup so no one would glance at me twice. It worked. So did my librarian getup.
It wasn’t until this week that I started letting my real personality come out in front of Dallas and his family. I never wore pretty things outside of my apartment. I never wore my hair loose, put on makeup, or met people’s gazes.
It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have let my guard down. I became complacent when I realized Dallas didn’t care about my past. Now… I shudder to think what might happen now.
It’s not just me I’m concerned about. It’s his family. They don’t deserve the kind of attention this could bring to Wilde.
I turn toward him. “You should take me to a bus stop and put me on a one-way trip to anywhere else.”
He jerks his gaze to me, taking his eyes off the road for a moment. His brow is furrowed. “What the hell are you talking about?”
I shrug. “Maybe that woman won’t tell a million people, but someone will recognize me eventually. I will cause chaos in the sleepy little town of Wilde.”
“Baby, we’ll cross that bridge if we come to it. If anyone dares try to cause trouble in Wilde, they will answer to me, my family, and the town. Everyone in Wilde loves you, baby. They will stand up for you.”
“They might not love me so much when they discover who I am and that I’ve been lying to them.”
“You have not been lying. You simply omitted your painful past. No one will judge you for that, Arianna.”
I chew on my lip. “You don’t know that. They could.” This is my greatest fear. I’ve developed a reputation in Wilde. I’m the trustworthy librarian. I know everyone’s secrets because I’m the one who helps the townsfolk find the books they need when they have cancer, get pregnant, or have a child with a disability. I help old ladies research dementia and young men figure out how to fix their fuel injectors to impress their girlfriends. I’ve held the hand of many people as they cried over a diagnosis or a tragedy. I’ve been the first to know when someone gets a new pet or loses one.
