shook her head. ‘What about this baby-doll dress with the—?’
‘No,’ Jess interrupted, shaking her head vigorously. ‘No baby anything.’
‘Okay … let’s see.’ Tilly hunted a bit more. ‘What about this one?’
She held up the chocolate-brown short cotton sundress against Jess. It had a funky fringed hem and the colour suited Jess’s blonde hair and emphasised the amazing blue of her eyes. The V-neckline wasn’t too risqué and given that Jess was a couple of inches shorter than Tilly, it would probably fall to mid thigh.
‘It’s an amazing colour on you,’ Tilly said.
Jess inspected herself in the mirror on the inside of the wardrobe door. ‘Is Marcus around?’
Marcus was an obstetrician at Eastern Beaches. He and Tilly had met when Marcus had tried to shut down Tilly’s beloved birth centre.
He’d seen the error of his ways.
Tilly shook her head. ‘He doesn’t finish for another hour.’
‘Good.’
Jess whipped off her T-shirt and threw the dress over her head. It did suit her but the neckline gaped because Jess didn’t have enough cleavage to do it justice. She plucked glumly at the sagging material.
‘Here.’ Tilly reached into a drawer behind them and pulled out a shopping bag. ‘Use this. It’ll work a treat.’
Jess looked at the fancy push-up bra that seemed more padding than anything else. How it would ever fit Tilly she had no idea.
Tilly seemed to read her mind. ‘I bought it in a hurry on sale without trying it on. I never did get round to taking it back. Consider it a birthday gift.’
Jess held the bra against her. ‘Really?’
Tilly nodded. ‘It’s yours.’
Jess gave her friend a quick hug. ‘Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.’
The party had been in full swing for two hours when Adam finally showed. Jess was aware of him the second he entered, even though the lights had been dimmed right down and music blared out from the sound system.
She was determined to stick to her strategy, though. Look damn good and completely ignore him.
Tilly’s bra helped the first part of her plan immensely. It managed what nature and genetics had not—cleavage—and several appreciative looks from men had boosted her self-confidence significantly.
Even Cort, Marcus and James, three of the most seriously in love, monogamous men, she knew, had stared at her like she’d got full body ink done instead of thrown on a dress and a push-up bra.
‘Wow.’ Marcus had whistled. ‘Little Jess is all grown up.’
It had earned him a swift elbow to the ribs from Tilly who, after this afternoon, was particularly aware of Jess’s sensitivity about how old she looked.
Jess had laughed. She really didn’t mind it coming from Marcus. Or anyone else, for that matter.
Just not Adam.
She knew she’d been cursed with youthful looks. She was constantly carded at night clubs and bottle shops and patients sometimes looked at her like she was still a uni student ‘practising’ on them.
It was inconvenient at times, for sure. But she’d never seen it as a real issue until she’d fallen for a man twelve years older than her.
Her confidence in the new improved party-girl Jess lasted until she came back from the downstairs bathroom where she’d snagged her third beer for the night. The bathtub had been filled with ice and was being used as a makeshift esky.
The first person she saw was Adam. He hadn’t bothered to change out of his suit from earlier. Just pulled off his tie and undone the top button. He was smiling down at three women who were all gazing up at him adoringly.
She recognised them from Eastern Beaches and was dismayed to see how confidently they flirted. How they swayed their bodies, laughed, touched his arm, pushed their hair behind their ears, played with their necklaces, tipped their heads to the side as they chatted.
And to add insult to injury not one of them looked like their cleavages needed enhancement.
Suddenly she felt young and gangly again.
‘Hey, Jess.’
Jess smiled at Nicholas, one of the orderlies from Theatre, as he approached. She took a deep swig of her beer. This was her party and she would not feel sorry for herself or mope around over a man who had no idea she existed.
It was her birthday and she planned to have a damn good time. When Nicholas kissed her on the cheek and wished her happy birthday, she plastered a smile on her face and leaned in close to hear what else he had to say.
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