Free Once More From the Top (The Women of Willow Bay) by Nan Reinhardt

selfish child this afternoon. I need to present as a mature adult tonight.”
    “You need to present as a sexy mama tonight if you want to convince him to wait ’til Sunday to meet his son.” Julie pulled several dresses from the back of the closet. “Besides, enticing can be very mature. Here, this one.” She held up the black strapless cocktail dress Liam had seen her in at the hotel bar.
    Carrie sat on the edge of the bed and shook her head. “No, he’s already—” She stopped. This was no time to go into the fact that Liam had showed up at her gig a couple of days before or that she’d bolted like a frightened deer. Julie would have a field day with that information. “This is supper on a boat, not dinner and dancing.”
    Using her fingers, she styled her curls as Julie held up and rejected several others outfits. Too long. Too wintery. Too brown. Too frumpy. Then she pulled the dry cleaner’s plastic from a sleeveless red linen scoop-neck sheath that Carrie had worn only once last summer.
    “This is it,” Julie cried triumphantly. “It’s perfect and those red strappy sandals I brought you from New York will make your legs look long and lean.”
    “I can’t walk in those sandals,” Carrie complained, going to her dresser for underwear.
    Julie stopped her. “Tough. You won’t be doing much walking tonight. Put away that slip, the dress is lined. And don’t even think about white cotton undies, you big nerd.”
    “Look, I’m not sleeping with him tonight.” Carrie backed up as her friend shouldered her out of the way. “Even if I wanted to, I have no idea if he’s interested.” Yet all of her womanly instincts told her Liam was more than interested.
    But why? Maybe it was to seduce her into letting him get to Jack, or maybe it was to salve his ego. She was probably the one and only woman ever to break up with him.
    No doubt he thinks he’s got something to prove.
    But her conscience prodded her before that thought was even fully formed. That’s completely unfair. Liam’s not the kind of man who has anything to prove.
    “He has a pulse and a pecker, doesn’t he?” Sorting through Carrie’s lingerie drawer, Julie missed the eye roll. “He’s interested. Besides, the way he was looking at you this afternoon, it won’t take anything more than these—” She held up red satin French-cut panties and a matching push-up bra that she’d brought Carrie from a photo shoot in Chicago. “—to get him all hot and bothered.”
    “I’m not sure I want him hot and bothered.” Carrie stroked on body lotion. “I don’t know if I even remember what to do with a hot-and-bothered man.”
    “Geez, you so need to get laid, and this is the perfect opportunity.” Julie pulled a shoe box from the closet shelf and dangled the red sandals temptingly from one finger. “This guy’s gonna be in your life forever. Why not let it be a good experience? Maybe you can pick up where you left off. You know, like a do-over.”
    “Where we left off was him in Europe with female string players hanging all over him, and me in Louisville, broke and pregnant.” Carrie grabbed the underwear and went into the bathroom. “I sure as hell don’t want to do that over.”
    “That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Julie followed her. “Here, let me do your makeup.”
    “Okay, but nothing extreme.” She sat on the toilet seat and looked up expectantly. “Keep it simple and natural, please.”
    “Hey, that’s actually a great idea—simple and understated.” Julie picked up a foundation brush. “We’ll let the dress do all the work.”
    She started on Carrie’s face, applying a light base of powdered foundation and a stroke of blush to each cheek. Then she highlighted her dark eyes with shimmery taupe shadow and added a touch of lip gloss.
    “There. Perfect. And not a lot of bling either. Just wear your diamond studs. Add the red undies, the sandals, and the dress and— bam . The guy’s a