Page 73 of Crying Shame

I stood, and he held hands with both Clarissa and me. Life had amazing moments, and we were having one of them.

For better or worse, we were a family.

A few minutes later, we were at my brother’s high-rise. Arman and Aurora were out front waiting for us, and I waved at my brother as Sam hugged Clarissa. “Mom, have fun,” he said.

We watched him walk toward them as Clarissa called, “We will. You too.”

I clasped my hands behind my back and asked, “Fun?”

She bumped into my shoulder. “If you want to leave the apartment with me…”

My heart pumped faster. “Wait, you want to go out? With me?”

She bounced on her toes and faced me. “Only if you want.”

I’d wanted nothing more than to let people see she was with me. I offered my hand. “I’d… let’s go home and change out of the shorts.”

The morning was nice, and we had a date. In the daytime, there were lots of things to do in the city. We headed back upstairs as I thought about what we should do. I headed to my room, and she stopped me. “What should I wear?”

She was the prettiest woman I’d ever seen. “A dress.”

I had to make the date fantastic.

She stilled. “I never wear them.”

I cocked my head. “Why?”

“Because I hate putting on makeup and trying to feel good enough to wear something other people look great in naturally.”

I rubbed the back of my head. “You’re beautiful as you are. How do you think you got the job as a princess?”

She snickered and opened the closet. “Because I was persistent.”

“You’re with me now, and I’ve never been attracted to ugly.” It was hard to imagine her as anything but perfect.

She pivoted toward me and pressed her hand over her heart. “Okay, I’ll put on a dress.”

I picked up my phone to make plans for our date. “But no makeup.”

She laughed. “That might be too much.”

“I like looking at you as you are.”

I texted my secretary for restaurant recommendations and got confirmation minutes later that reservations had been made not only at a restaurant but for the other activities I had in mind.

She came out of the bathroom in a knee-length blue dress that showed off her figure. “Is this okay?”

My heart thumped. She was a knockout. “Wow.”

Her cheeks turned pink. “So you like?”

I tucked away my phone, which was beeping with texts from family, and focused on Clarissa. “Absolutely. When was the last time you wore a dress?”

“For other than work?”

“Yes.”

We headed out of the apartment. “Prom.”