Don’t even go there.”
Erin seemed as shocked at his vehemence as he was, but some of her distress cleared.
“Okay. But how can we stop them from demolishing this place? If I can’t come back, I may not ever remember the rest.”
Bo agreed, but he didn’t know if he had enough to reopen the case and stop the demo. A few vague memories wouldn’t be much to argue with.
“C’mon. Let’s go back to the office and see what we can do to make that happen. It might be too late, but we can try. Then you’re going home to relax, dress up in something nice and let me take you out, okay?”
She wiped the tears from her face and frowned. “Okay. Jeez, I hate crying. It makes me feel like such a girl.”
Bo laughed and hugged her one more time.
“Now there’s the Erin I know.”
She smiled slightly and Bo smiled back, but it didn’t reflect how he felt. Not really. It was good that she was remembering—it seemed like more memories surfaced every day. He couldn’t help but wonder how long it would be before she remembered that she hadn’t wanted to be with him. Until that happened, he’d be there for her. He’d do his job, and then he’d leave this all behind, as well.
ERIN GRIMACED AT the pile of clothes on her bed and made a frustrated growl, looking at the clock. She had four hours before Bo came back to take her for a night out. He’d said to wear something “nice.” She wasn’t sure what “nice” meant, but she was fairly sure it wasn’t anything on her bed. Everything she’d gotten before was casual, flirty, but not necessarily what she needed for a fancier excursion.
She needed to get something appropriate, not that she had much of an idea what that was, and she needed it now. She needed some shoes, too.
Grabbing her bag, she headed for the door. There would definitely be something at the mall, and it couldn’t be that hard to find a nice, basic dress and some shoes, right?
Twenty minutes later, she was in one of the larger department stores at the Carousel Center—now also known as Destiny USA. She hoped it was her destiny to find the right dress, and fast.
Spotting the women’s department, she approached a clerk who looked well dressed, and tapped her on the shoulder.
“Yes? May I help you?” The woman was maybe a few years older, but looked like a million bucks.
“Please. I need something nice for a dinner date. A dress, I suppose? Can you find something that would be appropriate?”
The woman stood back and took in Erin from head to toe, making her feel a tad self-conscious, but this was no time to be shy.
“Do you know how nice? Very formal, or less so?”
“I have no idea. He said something nice,” she said, rolling her eyes.
The saleswoman laughed. “I think I have a few ideas. Some new styles we just got in from New York.”
“Sounds good.”
Erin followed the woman, whose name tag said her name was Emily. They arrived at a rack of dresses.
“We’ll find something here. I’m Emily, by the way.”
“I’m Erin.” She stared at the rack, frowning. “They’re all black. Don’t you think something with more color?”
Emily winked at her. “Trust me. If the key word is ‘nice’ you can’t miss with black. It will fit in anywhere. Especially these, with your figure. You don’t need much to be stunning.”
Erin couldn’t be sure, but she thought this could be the first time a woman ever made her blush. Emily chuckled, grabbing a handful of dresses and beckoning Erin to follow.
“Here, try these on. This one first,” she instructed, and Erin realized the woman hadn’t even asked her size, but she probably didn’t need to. The woman seemed to know more about dressing her up than she did, so Erin decided to trust her.
Dutifully shucking her jeans and T-shirt to try on the first dress, her trust was well-placed. The slip of fabric fit like a glove.
“Wow,” Erin breathed, looking at herself in the mirror.
It had appeared innocent enough on the hanger, but on her body, there was nothing “nice” about this dress. The soft fabric skimmed just above her upper thigh, and Erin had to resist the urge to tug it down. She could feel air-conditioning from the vent at the side of the dressing room wafting up and cooling her...no, this was too short.
And when she saw the price tag in the mirror, she decided it was also far too much money for so little fabric.
“Erin, do you need any help?”
“No, thanks. I, um, I think that first one isn’t quite...me.” Or doesn’t cover up enough of me to go out in public, she thought as she flipped through Emily’s other choices.
One designer dress was simpler and offered a bit more coverage, as well as being about a quarter of the price of the other dress.
Erin slipped it on, and she liked how the fabric just fell into place. The V-neck was sexy but tasteful, and the hemline was a more reasonable midthigh. She ran her hands over the folds in the skirt—pleats? They made the plain black fancier.
This one was definitely nice.
Confident, she went out to get a second opinion.
“I like this one?” Erin spoke the statement as more of a question as the clerk eyed her critically.
“Gorgeous! That definitely suits you. The satin crepe really softens and accents your shape. Nice choice.”
“Good. Thank you. If you can suggest a pair of shoes to match, you will officially be my hero.”
Emily laughed. “Oh, shoes, yes. I know just the pair. And you’ll need a bag, and perhaps some stockings? Garters?”
Erin stared. “Do I need all that?”
Emily laughed. “It’s good to have at least one entire ensemble. And men love garters. Trust me.”
“I guess it can’t hurt to try it on.”
“I’ll be right back.”
Erin was sure that the saleswoman was more excited about the shopping than she was, but it was going much more easily than she imagined, so that was a blessing. Sitting down on a bench by the entry to the dressing room, she waited and was glad to find she could sit comfortably—and modestly—in the dress.
“Erin?”
Erin saw Dana standing a few feet away.
“Hey, Dana,” she said with a smile, and then saw her friend’s curious gaze
