CHAPTER 8

Carmen had scoured her closet and decided she had nothing to wear.

Of course, she hadn’t been on a date in . . . She was pretty sure the last actual date she’d been on had been her first date with her ex-husband. She’d had coffee with a couple of guys that hadn’t amounted to anything, and she couldn’t call those dates.

She grimaced and closed the closet door with a resounding slam.

At least her grandfather wasn’t home tonight. Mario and Javier, a couple of his old friends from his club, had picked him up for a night of cards at Theo’s house. It was good for her grandfather to get out and socialize, and she trusted his close friends to take good care of him, so she wasn’t worried.

Much.

But Grace, Theo’s wife, promised she’d call Carmen if there was any problem.

She trusted Grace even more than Grandpa’s buddies.

Her doorbell rang, so she went to answer it. Tess stood there with several dresses slung over her arm.

“I have nothing to wear,” Carmen said, turning and walking away.

Tess followed. “I knew you’d say that, so I brought a few items.”

“That’s because your amazing husband takes you out all the time.”

“You bet your sweet ass he does.”

She’d known Tess’s husband, George, for as long as Tess had known him. He was kind and sweet and funny and treated Tess like a treasure. Tess was a lucky woman.

Carmen led Tess into her bedroom, where Tess laid four dresses on the bed.

She looked down at the selection Tess had put on display. “You didn’t have to bring me dresses.”

“I know. But I also know you haven’t been on a date in ages and you probably haven’t bought a new dress since you last went out with Tod.”

“This is true.”

“So, you can borrow one of mine until you get your feet wet and decide to go splurge on something new for yourself. Or maybe a few new pretty things.”

She shrugged. “I don’t need a few new pretty things.”

“Actually, you do. Do you know how amazing it is to dress up, to feel good about yourself? No one deserves that more than you. Even if it’s new lingerie.”

Carmen just looked at her, and Tess’s eyes widened.

“You did buy new lingerie, didn’t you?”

“Of course I didn’t. When would I have had time to do that?”

“I don’t know. On your lunch? There’s a mall two miles from the hospital.”

Carmen shrugged. “It never occurred to me. Besides, it’s not like he’s going to see my underwear anyway.”

“You sure about that?” Tess raised a brow. “Do you really want to get yourself all tricked out in some hot dress with your makeup on and your hair looking amazing, and then underneath you’ll have ten-year-old underwear?”

“They’re not that old.” They were seven years old, but she wasn’t going to admit that to Tess. “Besides, it’s too late to do anything about it, anyway. And if by some chance I get undressed in front of Rafe—which isn’t going to happen—he’s just going to have to deal with my raggedy underwear.”

Tess shrugged. “If you say so.”

Carmen didn’t plan to have sex with Rafe tonight. Just dinner.

She tried on the dresses. She and Tess were roughly the same size, though Carmen had bigger breasts, which meant that her cleavage spilled out of all of them.

“You look amazing in that red one,” Tess said.

Carmen stared down at the dress. “It is super cute and fits me well, but I don’t know.” She smoothed her hands over her breasts. “It’s cut a little low.”

“I know,” Tess said, waggling her brows. “It makes you look hot as hell.”

She lifted her gaze to Tess. “I don’t know that I want to look hot as hell.”

“Really. What do you want to look like?”

“I—” She didn’t have an answer off the top of her head. “I don’t know, Tess. Just, normal me, I guess.”

“You are normal you. Just in a dress. What do you want, Carmen? To wear scrubs to dinner?”

“No. Maybe, you know, capris or a sundress or something.”

She pointed. “Then try on the sundress that I brought.”

“Okay.”

She grabbed the brightly colored sundress and slipped that on next. It was just as low-cut but not as fancy as the red dress. She could wear her beige sandals with the turquoise beads and a bracelet and grab a wrap and the look would be more casual. She already felt much more at ease, more herself.

“Dynamite!”

She lifted her gaze to Tess. “It’s so pretty. How come you’ve never worn this?”

Tess shrugged. “It doesn’t look as flattering on me as it does on you. It doesn’t fit me the same. I think it’s your rack. You fill it out better than I do.”

Carmen looked at herself in her closet door mirror. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t quite as low-cut as the red dress. The sundress hit just above her knees, and it had a nice silky flow to it. She could already imagine herself walking, or even dancing in it. Or strolling along the beach. Whatever they did, she’d feel good. Not self-conscious. And that was what was important.

She smiled, then turned to Tess. “Thanks for letting me borrow it.”

“You can have it. I bought it at an end-of-season sale for practically nothing, and I’ll likely never wear it.”

“Then I’ll pay you for it.”

Tess sighed. “It was twelve bucks, Carmen.”

“Then I’ll pay you twelve bucks for it.”

“Fine. As long as you’re happy wearing it.”

“I am happy. Thanks for letting me play dress-up.”

“You’re welcome. Now I need to get back home, because George tossed ribs in the smoker this morning, and they should be falling off the bone by now.”

Talking about the ribs made her stomach grumble. All she’d had for lunch today was a package of cheese and crackers and a chocolate milk. “That sounds delicious.”

“Doesn’t it?” Tess gave her a hug. “I want all the details tomorrow.”

They walked to the front door. “I don’t know if there will be any details other than dinner details, but whatever they are, you’ll get them.”

“My guess is you might be surprised just how much dirt you’ll have to spill to me tomorrow.”

Tess was so off base about her dinner with Rafe.

“We’ll see. Thanks again.”

Tess gave her a quick wave and headed out to her car.

Carmen noticed lightning off in the distance and smelled rain in the air.

Great. She should have just opted for her capris and maybe a baseball cap. But if she did that, Tess would never forgive her. Not that her friend would ever know.

But she was committed to the sundress, so she decided to go for it.

She closed the door, then went back into the bedroom to finish getting ready. She’d already taken a quick shower after work. So after she did her hair and makeup, she got dressed, put on a pair of chandelier earrings, then headed into the kitchen, debating whether she wanted to pour herself a glass of wine to calm her nerves.

Why was she nervous, anyway? It wasn’t like this was a big deal. It was just dinner with her friendly next-door neighbor.

Oh, right, Carmen. Your hot-as-hell, abtastic, sexy next-door neighbor who you’ve fantasized about for years.

Then again, for all she knew, Rafe really was just interested in dinner, and nothing more.

Wouldn’t that be the most ironic thing of all? Here she was, obsessing over tonight, when likely all he wanted to do was thank her with a nice dinner and a handshake by the door at the end?

She laughed and went to the fridge to pour herself a glass of wine.