Not Quite Dating (Not Quite #1)(10)
Author: Catherine Bybee

Jack stood and offered his hand to Sam.

Sam shook it. “We’ll be decorating the hotel on Friday. Would you like us to supply a tree for your suite?”

“That would be nice. Nothing too fancy. Traditional red and green would be great.”

“I’ll see to it, sir.”

Jack detoured past the bank of elevators to the women’s boutique. Time to shop for Jessie. Only he wasn’t sure what to pick out.

Behind the counter was an older woman, about sixty, he guessed, with graying hair and glasses perched on her nose. She saw him walking in and offered a kind smile. “Can I help you?”

Jack shrugged out of his suit jacket and laid it over a chair in the middle of the showroom. “I’ll bet you can,” he told her. “I’m looking for an evening gown.”

She lifted the glasses off her nose and placed them behind the counter. “We have plenty of those. Anything in particular?”

“Something classy, nothing too fussy.”

“Will this be to rent, or will you be buying this for your lady friend?”

Jack glanced over to a rack of long dresses. “Buying.”

“OK, then. My name’s Sharon, by the way.”

“Jack,” he told her, leaving his last name out on purpose.

“What size is the woman we are dressing?”

“She’s a size eight. She’s comes up to about yea high.” He lifted his hand to his nose. “Light brown hair and hazel eyes. Shoe size is seven.”

“OK, since she’s not here, might I give a suggestion?”

“Of course, Sharon, that’s why I asked you.”

She smiled. “Floor-length formals really do have to fall all the way to the floor, with the lady’s shoes on. Since she isn’t here for a fitting, I’d suggest something just as elegant, only at a three-quarter length.”

“You mean so the dress will show off her legs?” Jessie had amazing legs—what he could see of them from under the hideous Denny’s uniform.

“Right.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Why don’t you have a seat, Jack, and I’ll pull a few things from the rack. Is there a budget we’re trying to stay within?”

Jack sat in the chair. “You just show me what you have, don’t worry about price.”

Sharon smiled, lifted her eyebrows, and then disappeared behind the drapes separating the store from the small storage room. When she returned, she brought a rolling pole and proceeded to show him half a dozen dresses.

“Hazel eyes spark with a little color,” she told him. She displayed an emerald green off-the-shoulder dress with sequins down the neck.

“Not that one.” It reminded him of a Christmas tree without a star.

The next one had only one shoulder sleeve, leaving the second shoulder bare. He liked the red silk, and the slit up the thigh had him imagining the possibilities. “Maybe,” he said.

Sharon placed it on a separate rack than the green one.

A cream skintight number with an open V at the top would be nice, but he knew from his own experience that most women stayed away from white. A silver sequin would be perfect for a New Year’s Eve party, but not right for Jessie on Saturday.

“What about this?” Sharon saved the best for last. “Women love wearing black and this one has the one-shoulder look you liked in the red. A simple slit up the back will keep the woman wearing it dancing throughout the night. I even have a wrap the lady can wear over her shoulders should she get cold.”

Perfect. Not too daring or suggestive. Elegant and slightly understated, but with Jessie’s figure, it would pop once she stepped in it. “You have shoes to match?”

“Of course. I even have a nice pair of jeweled earrings that will dangle from your lady’s ears. I don’t think a necklace will work with this neckline. If you’re against costume jewelry, Mitch over in fine jewelry has the real thing. He’s just down the hall.”

The image of Jessie walking toward him in the dress danced in his head. He could hardly wait. “I’ll take it.”

“And the earrings?”

“I’ll have to think about that,” he told her. If he were to show up with diamond earrings, Jessie would likely think ill of him. The last thing he needed was for Jessie to think he was a thief. She’d be a lot more comfortable in costume jewelry anyway, he told himself. Still, he didn’t really care for the sound of fake anything associated with Jessie.

Jack stood and reached for his wallet. From the front of the boutique, Sam walked in with a phone in his hand. “There you are, Mr. Morrison. Sorry to interrupt.”

Hearing his name, Sharon’s gaze narrowed before shooting up in surprise.

“No problem, Sam.”

“Mr. Morrison is on the phone, said he needed to talk to you.”

Jack reached for the phone Sam held. “Would you mind putting all this on here?” he asked Sharon, handing her his credit card.

She glanced at the card, then back to him. “Of course.”

“Hello, Dad,” Jack said as he placed the receiver to his ear. He turned away from the clerk and braced himself for his father’s outburst.

“Jack, what’s this I hear about you not coming home for Thanksgiving?” Gaylord’s gruff voice filled the earpiece of the phone, causing Jack to pull it away from his ear.

“I have a lot to do here. Getting away isn’t smart right now.”

“Horseshit, son. No one works on Thanksgiving.”

“Lots of people work over the holiday,” he corrected. “The hotels don’t close.”

“Still doesn’t mean you have to be there. The hotels run themselves.”

“I’ll try and get home for Christmas,” Jack offered.

“Try? Trying isn’t good enough. Aunt Bea won’t know what to do with herself if you aren’t here to cook for.”

Jack smiled, thinking of his aunt’s easy smile and quiet disposition. How she and his father were both children of the same parents and yet turned out so differently had always been a mystery. “Is Katie home?”

“Barely; she’s here but gone most of the time.” Disappointment laced Gaylord Morrison’s words. Neither Katie nor Jack spent as much time at the ranch as their father would have liked.

“I’ll give her a call and see if I can reel her in. I should have a break midmonth. I’ll come home for a few days then. Tell Aunt Bea to save some pie for me.”