So my brother, Quinn, the baseball star, found a date for me, and I went to my prom looking like a million bucks with one of his friends. It made Trey nuts.”

“Did you and Trey get back together after the prom?”

“We did, towards the end of summer. But broke up again by Christmas. Didn’t date again for a year since Trey was competing on the circuit.” McKenna’s smile faded. “We were impossible. Our relationship was impossible. We shouldn’t have ever let it go on as long as we did.”

McKenna turned back to the rack and quickly flipped through more gowns but Taylor had seen the tears in McKenna’s eyes.

“But you’re happy now, right?” Taylor asked, worriedly. “You’re newly engaged and getting married later this year, so it’s okay?”

McKenna held a sleek dark pink gown against her slender frame. The long dress was cut asymmetrical with one shoulder strap and a sequin starburst at the waist. McKenna might not be a dress girl, but she was certainly drawn to gorgeous sexy gowns. “What do you think?”

Taylor noticed McKenna hadn’t answered her question. “Very pretty. And that dark coral pink looks great with your hair.”

“They always say redheads shouldn’t wear pink, but I don’t believe in following rules.”

“I think it’s gorgeous.”

“So explain to me why you’re not going to the ball,” McKenna asked, handing the dresses to the sales clerk who carried them to a dressing room.

“Well, actually…I am going…now.”

“Good! Great. So you’re dress shopping, too. Let’s find some things for you to try on. Have you seen anything you like? What’s your style?”

“Inexpensive?”

McKenna gave Taylor a pointed look. “No woman wants to look cheap.”

“No, I know, but I don’t have a big budget.”

“I’m sure we can find something pretty that won’t break your budget. So what do you like? Long? Short? Fitted? Full? And are you a pink girl, or red, or apricot or purple?”

“I like red better than pink,” Taylor said. “And apricot better than purple. And I don’t know about the rest. Just pretty. I don’t want to look like I’m wearing a sheet from my mother’s bed.”

“Got it.”

For the next half hour they tried on dress after dress, and took turns posing and turning in front of the tall mirror.

In the end McKenna chose the stunning pink asymmetrical gown with the starburst at the waist as it hugged her curves and set off her dark auburn hair, green eyes, and flawless, luminous skin.

“What about you?” McKenna asked. “What are your favorites?”

“I like the red lace cocktail dress,” Taylor said, “and the ivory dress with the bronze sequins at the bodice. That was really pretty, too.”

“The red lace dress is what old ladies wear to hide their jiggly upper arms,” McKenna said, “and the ivory dress is pretty, but it looks like a bargain priced dress. Something for teens to wear to their prom. You’re twenty-six and in June you’ll be Marietta’s new head librarian. You need a dress with wow factor, something that screams stylish, sexy, and sophisticated.”

Taylor shook her head. “Not sexy. Definitely not sexy. Stylish and sophisticated is good enough.”

“Why not sexy?” McKenna demanded, flipping through more hanging gowns, this time on a search for Taylor.

“Um, I’m not… sexy, and even if I was, I couldn’t go to the ball looking too sexy.