Free Exposed to You by Beth Kery

hard being away. I miss her like sin. Thank you,” she said, accepting the cup Joy offered her. She took a sip and set it on the counter. “Okay, see if any of these appeal. Candidate number one—a little strapless chiffon number.”
    Joy eyed the gown that featured a ruched sweetheart bodice, a metallic floral print and a pink sash. It was fun, flirtatious and very sexy—gypsy haute couture.
    “It’s darling. It’s also made just for you, Katie,” Joy said honestly.
    Katie peered at the dress as if she were seeing it for the first time. “Do you think so?”
    “You’d look great in it with your hair down and a pair of dangly earrings.”
    “Hmm, maybe you’re right,” Katie said, giving her a bright smile. “Guess I bought it for a reason. Okay, bachelorette number two—she may look simple, but once you get her on, she packs a punch.”
    Joy made a sound of admiration when she saw the elegant, sleeveless white gown with layers of white beads and sequins and a graceful scooped neck. One thing was for certain: Katie’s gowns were far and away beyond what Joy could have afforded. Could she really borrow something so exquisite?
    “It’s stunning,” Joy murmured.
    “It is nice, but I’m leaning toward candidate number three. Perfect for a hot summer evening. With your coloring and figure, it’d be a showstopper,” Katie said, whipping around another gown. Joy gasped.
    “Oh, it’s beautiful,” she said, instinctively reaching across the counter to touch the gown. The delicious fabric descended from a single twisted shoulder strap, falling in lustrous folds of tangerine fluid satin.
    “It’d set off your tan and skin, and here’s the kicker,” Katie said walking around the counter and turning the gown. “It looks sedate, but it has a slit in the back that shows major leg action. I should have known you were a runner when I saw your legs yesterday in the coffee shop. The crowd will be left ogling in your wake.”
    Joy laughed. “I’d rather do without any ogling.”
    Katie waved her free hand. “They’ll be stunned speechless. You’ll never know it happened. What do you think? Everett will love it.”
    “He will?”
    “He loves color on a woman. Hates a washed-out palette.” She nodded toward Joy’s paintings mounted in the dining room. “I’m assuming those are your work?” Joy nodded. “Then I see you agree with Everett about color.”
    “It is incredibly vibrant and rich-looking,” Joy murmured, sliding her hand along the decadently soft folds.
    “Try it on?” Katie asked, twitching the dress temptingly in her hand.
    Joy hesitated. She wasn’t much for glitz and glamour. But something about the dress—something about the idea of Everett seeing her in it—appealed to her. Maybe it was because, like Everett, the dress didn’t speak to her of pageantry and drama, but of vibrancy, sensuality . . . the risks and rewards of living.
    She met Katie’s sparkling eyes.
    “Are you sure, Katie? What if I spill something on it?”
    “I’m not worried. I have a crack dry cleaner. Please say yes. I’m dying to see you in it.”
    Joy bit her lip uncertainly and again touched the fabric, allowing it to seduce her. Katie grinned triumphantly when she took the hanger from her hand.
    *   *   *
    At ten to six that evening, Joy suspected she was on the verge of a panic attack.
    She pushed a button on the remote control and the television in her bedroom switched off. It had been a mistake to turn it on. A local news station was doing red-carpet coverage of the
Maritime
premiere. Hundreds of people were congregated on Illinois Avenue. Guests were already arriving, flashing glittering smiles at the cameras and fans crowding behind waist-high barriers.
    She felt like Cinderella on the night of the ball. A woman used to clipping coupons, doing her own sewing, and scouring her own floors didn’t wander into the world of the golden people without some major anxiety. It would have been bad