Free Another Shot: A Modern-Day Ruth and Boaz Story by Brooke St. James Page A

Because there were so few photos comparatively, Dominic had the final ten printed 11x17 instead of the original 8x10.
    They were beautifully framed.
    The presentation was amazing.
    But the whole thing was still overshadowed by my developing feelings for Dominic. I can't explain how it's possible for me to love someone as much as I loved Anthony, and develop feelings for someone else just a few months after he passed away. I struggled with guilt about it, until for some unexplainable reason, it sunk in that Anthony would want me to move on and be happy. It sunk into my soul like an undeniable truth, and it wasn't just because Dominic was so appealing.
    It seemed like once I came to terms with that, I couldn't get Dominic off my mind. I had no idea whether or not I had a chance with him for anything long-term, but I couldn't stop thinking about him. He consumed my thoughts more than making the top ten, and that was a miracle.
    Thanksgiving week went by quickly. Laura stopped by the store twice that week. Once was to buy a pack of mints and vote for my photo (I didn't even see her that time). And the other was to meet me after work so we could go shopping for something for me to wear to Dominic's. Of course, she voted again while she was there.
    It was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and shipping and receiving closed at 2PM. I was off work for the next four days, and felt giddy at the knowledge that within those days, I was going to try to make some sort of impression on Dominic.
    Laura and I went to three different stores before my outfit came together. She also surprised me by making an appointment for me to get my hair done. The stylist cut my hair, put a shine treatment on it, and played up the waves by painstakingly adding polished curls with a curling wand.
    Laura watched the whole process. I could see her reflection in the mirror and knew she was taking notes. One of the girls came over and put some makeup on me when Gwen, the stylist, was working on curling my hair. She stood between me and the mirror so I couldn't see what was going on until they were both finished.
    I stared at myself slack-jawed. I usually just wore my hair pulled back, and seeing it cascading gloriously over my shoulders made me look like a different creature. Laura came over to see me up close when they were finished. She had her hand over her mouth, and was starting to tear up.
    "If Dominic doesn't get on one knee and ask you to marry him, I'll eat my hat."
    I gave her wide eyes for mentioning his name. As far as I knew, everyone knew what Dominic she was talking about.
    "Seriously, I think I'm in love with her myself," the makeup girl said.
    I gave her a big smile.
    "I'm taking a picture of you for my Instagram," Gwen said.
    "Me too," the makeup girl said.
    They put me under a light and both snapped a few pictures. I was still in my work uniform and was relatively sure I looked like a big dork from the neck down, but it was hard not to beam when I loved what they did to me. Laura took a picture too.
    "I'm sending this picture to Maria and telling her get ready for your new daughter-in-law," she said to me from the back of the cab on the way home.
    "You are not!" I said, in a foreboding tone.
    She laughed. "I'm just joking with you, but you look really beautiful, baby. I seriously want to email this picture to everyone I know so they can see you."
    "Thanks for doing that for me. I never dreamed we'd get my hair done while we were out."
    "I'm so glad it worked out," she said. "And I'm almost positive we could get close to reproducing this look tomorrow."
    "I don't think I should go this far, do you?"
    She gave me a confused look. "Why not? You look stunning. In fact, I thought about asking you to sleep like that so we could just keep it the same tomorrow and touch it up."
    I cracked up laughing. "You're hilarious," I said.
    "What? I think you should look just exactly like you look right now when you see him tomorrow night."
    She and I met in the