Andrea cheesed. “You sure know how to boost my confidence when I need it,” she praised.
“I try,” Rory replied with a smug shrug of her shoulders before bursting into laughter, her mother joining in.
She turned to get the brush to smooth out her hair.
“Let me help you,” Rory offered.
“Thanks,” she replied gratefully. She held the brush out to her daughter, who took it. Andrea sat on the ottoman before the vanity, allowing Rory to start brushing and detangling. After applying mousse to her hair, Rory brought it upward before securing it in position with a clip. After snapping it shut, she used the brush to brush the strands as they spilled from the teeth of the clip down her nape to rest just a little way below her shoulders.
“Have you decided on the dress you’re wearing?” Rory asked after she finished fluffing her mother’s hair.
“I did,” Andrea confirmed. “It’s hanging from the closet door.
Rory walked over to it. At her sharp intake of breath, Andrea turned to her.
“This dress is beautiful,” her daughter gushed, looking from the gown to her.
“I’m almost certain Donny will be speechless when he sees you.”
Andrea’s cheeks warmed, and her lips, of their own accord, turned up in a smile.
“Help me put it on?” she requested.
Rory lifted the wine-red, one-shoulder, scuba midi dress with an exaggerated frill in the front. It was truly a remarkable piece.
After Rory brought the side zipper in place, Andrea turned to the mirror to once again stare at her reflection.She was wearing the bare minimum of makeup, just light blush to highlight her cheekbones, burgundy lipstick and some eyeliner to add more detail to her already striking blue eyes. The dress fit her like a glove, accentuating her lithe physique.
“You look stunning,” her daughter complimented.
Andrea wasn’t vain, but she had to admit that she did look really good in the dress, and for that reason, she stared appreciatively at herself a little longer than she normally did. She smiled in anticipation of Donny’s reaction when he finally saw her.
After adding some silver, drop earrings and strappy black stilettos, she was ready.
“Wow, sis, you look really beautiful,” Cora expressed the second she walked into the den, where the rest of the family sat watching TV.
“Donny’s going to short circuit,” Jo smirked.
“I see I have been a bad influence on my poor innocent little sister,” Andrea joked. Her eyes darted over to her mom, who sat with her feet stretched out before her on an ottoman and cushions behind her, propping her up. Becky’s eyes shone with approval. Just then, the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Rory jumped up.
Two minutes later, she entered the room with a clean-shaven Donny, sporting a gray blazer over a navy sweater over a white dress shirt tucked into black slacks and charcoal moccasins. His dirty blond hair was shaved at the sides, and the hair on top swept to the back. He looked like a man who belonged on the cover of a men’s magazine.
Donny’s eyes widened at her before his sharp blue eyes smiled warmly down at her.
“You look…you’re breathtaking,” he managed to say.
Andrea’s cheeks burned as they flashed crimson.
“These are for you,” he said, lifting the bouquet of flowers she hadn’t noticed before.
“Thank you,” she replied demurely, accepting the arrangement of orange and red roses and pink tulips. She brought them up to her nose and inhaled deeply. “They’re lovely,” she replied, smiling at him.
“I’m glad you like them,” he said, his piercing gaze never leaving her.
“All right, guys, save some for the actual date,” Cora called out jokingly.
Andrea stepped back and stared at her family with a sheepish expression. She’d forgotten they were there.
