Page 54 of On the Way to You

The man waved a hand at me, and I caught the name on the tag fastened to the front of his vest.Antonio.

“With your figure? Short is the way to go. Or a tight pair of jeans to show off that tiny frame. Here, why don’t you try this on and I’ll grab you a few other options. Is it to go out, for dinner, casual?”

I shifted, realizing I hadn’t even asked Emery where he was going. “Um… I’m not sure. I’m meeting a friend out tonight, but he didn’t tell me where. I think it’ll probably be a bar of some sort.”

“Oh, honey,” he said on a laugh. “There are very fewbarson the strip. It’s all clubs, and that means we need to get you all glammed up.” He hung my dress on a hook in the back dressing room, holding back the fabric curtain for me to step inside. “I’ll be right back. Trust me, you won’t leave here until you’re looking fabulous, doll.”

He clapped his hands together with an excited giggle before leaving me alone in the room, and I just chuckled, tucking the curtain closed.

It turned out Antonio wasmylucky penny, because the only dress I’d managed to pick out myself swallowed me like a burlap sack. But he had plenty of outfit choices for me to try on, and a few of the other female associates joined in, bringing me shoes and accessories, all of them joining in a mixture ofoooh’sandaaah’severy time I emerged in something new.

Still, nothing seemed to be sticking. Not until I pulled on a short, black dress, one I’d been saving until last. I’d tried on the jeans, and the pant suits, and even the leather leggings — but wearing this meant one thing I wasn’t sure I could handle.

My prosthetic leg would be visible.

The dress was long sleeved, with a draping neckline that accentuated what barely there breasts I had before tapering at my waist. There were swirl-patterned strips of fabric missing on the side and at the bottom, each of them covered in a mesh lace, and the hem cut off halfway down my thighs, leaving me way more exposed than I was used to.

Every part of me that I saw as a flaw was on full display — my nude socket, the silver pylon leg, the foot that matched my skin tone as much as it possibly could. It was all I could see as I pulled back the curtain with a shaky breath, ready for the stares, for the questions, for the looks of pity. But when I stepped in front of Antonio and the two other associates, they stared alright — but not at my leg.

At me.

“Oh. My. God,” Antonio said, punctuating each word as one hand covered his mouth.

“That’s the one,” the girl to his left said, shaking her head like she was in disbelief. “Wow. You lookkiller.” She snapped her fingers together. “I have just the shoes.”

She disappeared before I could tell her I wouldn’t be able to wear heels, but it didn’t matter, because I turned to face the three angled mirrors, and when I stopped looking at my leg, I saw what they saw, too.

It was like the dress was made for me.

“Antonio, I can’t wear this,” I whispered, though my fingers ran over the smooth fabric with longing, brushing the mesh lace along the edges.

“The hell you can’t,” he said, stepping up beside me. He lifted his arms over my head, dropping them down to lay a gold necklace over my collarbone. It was a layered choker, several thin chains making an elaborate design that seemed to accent the dress perfectly.

“But…” I looked down, wiggling my leg.

“But nothing. What, you’re worried aboutthat?” he asked, nodding to my leg in the mirror as his female counterpart handed him a pair of bedazzled ballet flats over his shoulder. “Honey, no one is going to be able to focus on that with your tits pushed up to the heavens and your thighs singing hallelujah like that. Here, just try these.”

I sat on the small cushioned bench and pulled the flats on, cringing a little at the way I had to stretch the delicate fabric over my prosthetic foot. But both shoes fit, and when I stood again, wiggling my toes and admiring the unique way the flats strapped over my arches, they all gasped.

When I turned back to the mirrors, all I could do was shake my head. “This is crazy.”

“It’sperfect,” Antonio corrected. “Do you have contacts?”

I cringed, but nodded. “I do. I packed a pair in my purse just in case. You think I should wear them?”

“Definitely. And, what are you going to do about that hair? There’s a blow-out place a few stores down. You should see if they can get you in. And stop by Mac for makeup.”

I pressed my hands flat to my stomach, feeling a little overwhelmed. “How much is this going to cost me?”

Antonio added up the shoes, necklace, and dress, and when he told me the total, I nearly passed out. It was more than I made in three shifts at the diner. I sighed, bending to remove the flats, Antonio and everyone else protesting the entire time.

“I can’t, guys. It’s too much.” I sighed again. “It’s all too much.” Suddenly, I felt defeated, and I had no idea why. “I don’t even know what I’m doing.”

Maybe it was battling with Emery for three bad days in a row, three days of him not talking to me, not acknowledging what had happened between us. Maybe it was that I was miles away from the place I’d called home my entire life, and I’d lost who I was, yet hadn’t quite found the new person I’d become. I was in a strange purgatory, stuck between the before and after, unsure of every move I made.

Antonio exchanged a look with the two girls beside him, then he smiled down at me. “Oh, mygosh,I can’t believe you work at our sister boutique in LA!”

I cocked a brow, eyeing him as he shared knowing looks with the other two.