“I’ve got just the thing.” She yanks me into the house and tows me down the hall to her room. It’s a mess—clothes everywhere. She pulls a couple dresses out of her closet and holds one up to me. “I like you in black, but not this one.” She tosses it on the bed and holds up another one. “This could work.” She hangs it on the door of the closet. “So tell me about him.” She does some more rifling through the racks.

“His name is Leo.”

Her head pops out. “Leo Nash?”

How did she…? “You know him?”

She snorts. “My brother played baseball with him. Girl, you bagged yourself a big fish if you’re going out with Leo Nash.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean he got drafted by the Pirates right out of high school, but he took the full ride scholarship to UCLA instead. Now I hear he’s in law school, top of his class. He’s already gotten a couple of job offers and he doesn’t graduate for another year. Plus he’s hot. Seriously hot. How did you meet him? Oh, right, his dad’s agency. Wow. Okay. This”—she shoves the dress she set aside back into the closet—“isn’t going to work. We need something special, sexy. Oh! I know just the thing.”

She digs around some more and comes up with a garment bag. “I’ve been saving this for a special occasion, but I think it will be perfect for you. Oh, man, are you going to knock him on his ass when he sees you in this.”

She pulls the garment bag away and I can’t believe how beautiful the dress is. I’ve never worn anything like it. I’ve never seen anything like it. I finger the fabric. The ivory Ultrasuede is buttery soft and surprisingly light.

She shoves it at me. “Try it on.”

I pull my T-shirt off and shuck my jeans. She helps me pull the dress over my head and zips up the back.

“Look at yourself.” She pushes me toward the stand-up mirror in the corner.

I turn from one side to the other, examining my appearance. The way it nips in at the waist makes it look incredibly tiny. There’s just enough cleavage that I’m not going to have to worry about bending over.

“I was going to wear that when I lost ten pounds.” She pinches her waist. “That was five pounds ago. It’s perfect on you.”

“I can’t.” I finger the price tag hanging under my arm. “This is new.”

“Shut up. Yes, you can. Oh! I’ve got the perfect shoes.” She dives into the bottom of her closet. After a few moments she comes up with a shoebox and lifts the lid. “These.”

Cobalt-blue leather slides sit nestled in white tissue paper. “No. I couldn’t.”

“Yes. Yes.” She takes them out of the box and shoves one into each of my hands. “Put them on right now. Do it.”

I slip them on and stare at my reflection. I’ve never worn anything so fancy and nice.

She bundles my hair at the top of my head with her hand. “You have to wear your hair up. Damn. You have no idea how pretty you are, Cora. He’s going to just die when he sees you.”

“It’s the dress. And the shoes. Are you sure, Jamie? What if I spill spaghetti sauce on it or something?”

“Don’t order spaghetti.”

“I can’t.”

“Wear it and the shoes, and we’re even. But you have to tell me everything that happens on your date. Ooooo,” she squeals. “I’m so excited for you.”

She doesn’t say it, but she knows this is my first date. Ever. I wasn’t nervous before she told me all that stuff about Leo. He was just Leo then, but now he’s like this unattainable, way-out-of-my-reach guy. I can’t do this. I’m going to call and cancel. No, I’ll text him, then turn my phone off so I can’t see his response and he can’t talk me into changing my mind.

“Don’t you dare cancel on him, Cora.”

I swear it’s like she can read my mind. “This is such a bad idea.”

“He obviously doesn’t think so, and neither do I. Go. Have fun. And then call me and tell me if he’s a good kisser or not.”

Heat creeps up my neck to my face.

“Oh, my God. You’ve already kissed him. Well?” She nudges my arm with her elbow. “How was it?”

I can’t speak. I don’t have words for how very much it was to kiss Leo Nash.

“That good. Damn. Good for you. It’s about time you got out.”

Jamie and I have been friends since the third grade. She’s the only one I have left from my life before. All of my other friends dropped me one by one until I looked around one day just after Beau’s conviction and realized they were all gone. And the odd thing was I didn’t miss them. I wasn’t the same person they’d befriended. I was someone new and unrecognizable. I didn’t understand the things they talked about. My life had taken a million-mile trip to places they never could’ve imagined.

“I don’t know,” I tell her. Because I don’t. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing dressing up. I don’t know how to act on a date and I don’t know what to do with all of the new information I have on Leo.

“Go. You deserve this. And I want you to know right now that if you don’t go out on this date I will never speak to you again.” She’s not serious.

“Why did you have to tell me all that stuff about him?”

“That’s what’s freaking you out?”

“Kind of.” Yes.

“He asked you out because he likes you. That says more about him than anything I could say.” She takes me by the shoulders and turns me toward her. “Go out. Have a good time. Get your lipstick smudged by a hot guy. You deserve this more than anyone else I know. Beau would be so pissed if he knew that you’ve turned your life into a shrine to him.”

“I have not.”

She glares at me.

“It’s not a shrine,” I insist.

“Go on this date and prove it.”

“I don’t like you.”

“I’ve had a crush on Leo Nash since the eighth grade, so right now I’m not liking you very much either.” She smiles. “Wear this dress and those shoes and knock him on his ass.”

“Fine.”

I take the shoes, the dress, and the earrings she pressed into my hand before sending me home. I spend more time putting my makeup on and doing my hair than I ever have in my life. Normally I’m pretty minimalistic, but tonight I add a smoky eye shadow that makes the blue of my eyes pop and a shimmery lipstick that makes my lips look fuller than they are. Even with the extra time I took, I’m ready fifteen minutes early.

As I stare at my reflection, hardly recognizing myself, I wonder what Leo is going to think. And then I wonder why I care so much. And then I think about Beau and it takes everything in me not to rip everything off, scrub my face, and pretend I’m not home when Leo rings the doorbell. This feels all wrong. I can’t believe I let Leo bulldoze me into agreeing to this date. Twisting my hands, I pace back and forth in my small apartment. Oliver sits a few feet away, his tail curled around his feet, watching me with his accusing green eyes.

I can’t do this. I pull my cellphone out of my purse to text Leo when the doorbell rings. Oliver continues to stare at me. The bell rings again.

I’m sorry, I silently tell Oliver. His gaze bores into me and I’m trapped by the condemnation in his eyes.

Leo knocks and I jump. “Cora?”

“I can’t leave him out there,” I tell the cat.

No response. His glare tracks me as I go to the door and open it.

Leo’s hand is raised as though he was going to knock again. His jaw goes slack and now I have two sets of eyes staring at me from opposite sides. I don’t know what to do. I’m caught between what I should do and what I want to do.

“Wow,” Leo finally says. His gaze is everywhere, taking me in, from my freshly painted toenails to the soft bun at the top of my head. He offers me a small bouquet of white roses. “These are for you.”

“Thank you.” I love the smell of roses. I wonder how he knew that.

He’s the most dressed up I’ve ever seen him, in a button-down shirt and nice slacks. His hair is combed back from his cleanly shaven face and I can’t believe how handsome he is.