right. We want you to be happy.” Summer placed a hand on Frannie’s back and gave her a consoling pat. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was just trying to jar a little sense into you, that’s all.”
Frannie sniffed and wiped her eyes, then pulled away. Summer gave her another pat on the back, then pulled herself onto one edge of the computer work station. “I don’t think you realize it, Frannie, but when it comes to men, you’re your own worst enemy. You’ll never meet anyone if you don’t stop hiding.”
“I’m not deliberately hiding. I’m just…I don’t know. Being self-protective, maybe.” Frannie turned away and stared at the large stone fireplace in the living room across the foyer. She took a ragged breath. “If I had one-tenth of the good looks you two have, things would be different. But I don’t. I don’t want to set myself up for rejection again, that’s all.”
“You’ve got everything we’ve got,” Summer said.
“And in some places, more.” Jasmine looked down at her own petite chest in such an amusingly wistful way that Frannie had to smile.
“I’m plain as mud,” Frannie said bluntly.
“You’re not!” Summer said. “You just need a little polishing up.”
“That’s right.” Jasmine nodded. “And attitude.”
Frannie gave a tight smile. “Oh, I’ve got plenty of that.”
“Boy, do you ever!” Jasmine grinned. “But that’s not the kind of attitude I mean. You need to project more self-assurance.”
“Jasmine’s right,” Summer said. “Your outlook and expectations become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you think you’re unattractive and don’t expect anyone to approach you, you’re going to act in ways that will make men keep their distance. But if you act confident and look your best and expect men to be attracted to you, that’s exactly what will happen.”
Frannie wished she could believe them. Some thing about that race car driver had stirred up longings she’d all but forgotten she could feel. She heaved a sigh. “You make it sound so easy. Too bad it isn’t.”
“Well, how about giving us a chance to prove that it is?”
If she had any sense, she’d say no right away. But the memory of Austin’s touch was too fresh on her mind. “What have you got in mind?” Frannie asked.
Summer grinned. “I just thought of the perfect occasion to prove to you that a makeover of your appearance and attitude can make over your love life.”
“And what might that be?” Frannie asked skeptically.
“Yeah, what is it?” Jasmine asked.
Summer paused dramatically. “The Whitehorn Ball. It’s the hospital’s big annual fund-raiser, and all of the staff is expected to be there. There’s this new doctor in radiology. He’s single, he doesn’t know anyone in town and he doesn’t have a date.”
Panic welled up in Frannie’s chest. “Oh, no. Not a blind date.”
Summer raised her hand in a calming gesture. “Just hear me out. The dance is three weeks away. That’s plenty of time for Jasmine and me to make you over and give you some pointers.”
“Oh, Summer, I don’t think this is a good idea….” Frannie began.
“It’s not a good idea. It’s a great one,” Jasmine said excitedly. She clasped her hands together. “We could triple date.”
“But—”
“But what?”
“But it’s a formal dance,” Frannie protested.
“So? That makes it all the more fun. We’ll turn you into Cinderella for the ball.”
“But—” Frannie swallowed around a lump in her throat. “But I was supposed to go to a formal dance with Joe the night after…after…”
“After you found out what a heel he was,” Summer finished for her.
Frannie nodded.
Her gaze was soft and warm. “That was what? Five years ago?”
“Six.”
Summer gently placed her hands on Frannie’s shoulders. “Can you look me straight in the eye and honestly tell me you don’t ever want to go to a formal dance again the rest of your life?”
Did she really want to limit her life in that way? Frannie sighed. “I guess not.”
“Well, then, it’s high time you got back in the saddle.”
“But the idea makes me so—so uncomfortable.”
“Frannie, sometimes we have to move outside our comfort zone in order to move forward. We have to face our fears in order to get over them.” Summer’s tone was calm and authoritative, the tone that Frannie secretly called her doctor’s voice. “This is a great opportunity for you to put the past behind you, once and for all, and start a new chapter in your life.”
Jasmine nodded earnestly.
“Besides,” Summer continued, “what have you got to lose? It’s just one night out of your life. For just one night, try things our way. If you don’t like the results, you can always go back to the way things are now.”
A car pulled up in the drive and killed its engine. The hum of another engine rapidly followed. A wave of relief washed through Frannie. “Sounds like both of your dates are here. Too bad we’ll have to discontinue this fascinating discussion.”
Summer rose and straightened her skirt, her lips curved in a smile. “Don’t worry. We’ll continue it later. In the meantime, will you promise to just think about it?”
It would be a disaster. She was awful at making small talk. She would make a fool of herself. She was nuts to even consider it.
But she was considering it. Heaven help her, she was. Meeting that race car driver had made her realize how much she longed for male companionship. More than anything, she wanted a husband and a family.
Her cousins were right, Frannie thought ruefully. She wasn’t likely to meet any prospective mates sitting at home in front of the computer.
Frannie sighed and reluctantly nodded. “Okay. I’ll think about it.”
Two
Frannie thought of little else for the rest of the evening. She was still thinking about it the next morning when she strode into the large sun-filled kitchen, where Aunt Celeste was fussing over the stove.
Frannie smoothed a wayward strand of hair back into the tight bun she’d coiled at her crown, thinking how different her own drab coloring was from her vivid aunt’s. A natural redhead, Celeste had russet hair that became progressively brighter over the years as she fought off the signs of aging. Her current shade was called Autumn Flame, and she’d
