Page 65 of I'm Yours

“I kind of feel like we’re inMamma Miaright now.” Joanna’s voice coming from the other side of the door pops me from my scheming thoughts. “You know, the super cool girl groups in two different generations? Except that Alice and I are both married, and Jen doesn’t own a crumbling resort on the coastline in Greece. How’s it going in there, by the way? It’s quarter to six and we’ve still gotta do your hair.”

“Pssht.” That’s Alice now. “If that boy is half the man he ought to be for our Jenna, he’d wait as long as necessary.”

“Yes, but—Actually, yeah, that’s a good point.” Joanna taps lightly on my bathroom door. “Jen? Hello?”

“Just a sec,” I say, planting my palms on the edge of the counter as I stare at myself in the mirror.

My hair is still up in the messy bun I threw it into after my shower a little while ago, and I don’t have any makeup on because I hardly wear it anyway, even on dates. Also resemblant ofMamma Mia, I nicked my leg while shaving so I have a stunning Band-Aid front and center on my left shin. Unfortunately, the dress Joanna insisted on me wearing doesn’t cover it.

When Jo texted while I was on my lunch break—she took the day off to go shopping with her mom in Omaha—that she’d found me the perfect dress for tonight, I told her she didn’t need to buy me anything, especially not a new dress. But as usual she ignored me, then proceeded tonotsend a photo, so I had no idea what to expect when she showed up on my doorstep thirty minutes ago. She had a shopping bag in one hand, a curling iron in the other (even though I do own one), and her husband standing there with her.

She and Ben are going to stay with Ella and Eli tonight, so I did expect them. I just didn’t expect them until quarter to six, nor was I expecting her to have invited Alice over to “get me ready.” I was just planning to wear one of my dresses—maybe that white one with the yellow waist ribbon—and leaving my hair naturally wavy because I didn’t feel like curling it.

Joanna and Alice have other plans.

So, now I’m standing here in a brand-new dress that I’m pretty sure doesn’t look good on me.

“I think my chest is too small for this dress,” I say, trying to avoid having to leave the security of my bathroom. “And there’s probably not time to do my hair, so it’s okay. I’ll jus—What are you doing?!”

Joanna’s now standing next to me, and her green eyes are wide. “Jen, what the heck are you talking about? You look freaking gorgeous.”

“Uh, do you realize that I could’ve been naked in here?”

She snorts, narrowing her eyes as she adjusts the thin straps on my shoulders. “No, because you said you thought your chest was too small for the dress—which is not the case—so you had to have it on. Alice, tell her she looks hot.”

Alice appears in the doorway, the beaded necklaces she’s wearing clinking together. “Jen, my honey darlin’, you look like a model on one of those social medias. What do they call it? Instasnap?”

“Instagram,” Joanna supplies, moving behind me to put her hands on my bare shoulders. “Come on, Mama. Look at yourself in the full-length mirror out here and then I’m going to curl your hair. This is your first date since—Who did you go out with before Pete?”

I cut her an annoyed glance as she steers me into my bedroom.

“Well, in a while,” she says cheerfully. She’s excellent at ignoring my death glares. “And considering it is withSeth Johnson, well, we’re going to make it memorable. Got it?”

I grumble something about all this being unnecessary under my breath as she positions me in front of the full-length mirror hanging on the wall by my door.

“Look at yourself and then tell me with a straight face that you honestly don’t think you look good in this dress, because I very strongly object.”

I sigh dramatically as I make myself do what she asked (read: forced) me to do.

I smooth my hands over the satiny fabric covering my hips, narrowing my eyes. Okay, maybe it’s not so bad. It’s a pale sunflower yellow—I think Jo bought this one because I struggle to say no to yellow—and made of a luxurious feeling satin. The thin spaghetti straps lay gently over my tanned shoulders while the neckline dips into a gentleVand it leaves my upper back exposed. The dress hits mid-calf, and I’m wearing a swimsuit underneath because it feels like the kind of summery dress you do that with. Also because Joanna insisted for me to.

“It’s not terrible,” I say begrudgingly, turning sideways one way, then the other way. “I mean, it’s sort of pretty.”

Joanna’s mouth drops open. “Sort of? Jen, you’re impossible.”

I grin. “Thank you.”

Joanna does not grin.

“Just kidding, Jo. It’s growing on me, but if you want to do my hai—” I don’t even get the chance to finish my sentence before Jo squeals and tugs me over to the chair someone brought up from my kitchen table. Probably Ben. I don’t think Ben could love his wife more than he does or that Jo could love her husband more than she does.

“Alrighty frighty.” Joanna frees my hair from its messy bun and combs her slender fingers through the still-damp locks. “Alice, would you grab her hair dryer? I didn’t bring one. Oh, and a clip and her brush from the middle drawer!”

Against my will, my eyes close because it feels heavenly to have someone massage my scalp. “You do realize that we have, like, two minutes before Seth gets here, right?”

Joanna accepts the requested things from Alice and bends to plug in the hair dryer. “No. It’s still ten till.”

“Yeah, but Seth is always no less than five minutes early.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, Joanna flips the dryer on, effectively preventing me from saying anything further.

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