Page 104 of Talk Wicked to Me

“Please. You’re gorgeous every day. Now you’re just extra-special gorgeous,” Madigan said, holding Brennan, who was ready to nurse. “But we’re not done. You need to nurse this little man, and then we have to take off.”

“Let me pay first.” She reached for her purse.

“It’s already paid for, including a very generous tip.”

Thirty minutes later, with Brennan fed and changed, they were on the road again, heading into Provincetown. Madigan carried Brennan, and Emerson followed her to the shop with the green dress in the window. Excitement bubbled up inside her.

“Mads, what is Baz up to?”

“I don’t know why you’re wasting your breath. I can’t tell you anything.” She opened the door to the shop, and in they went.

“Right on time,” a pretty brunette, who looked to be in her late thirties and about six feet tall, said from behind the register. “So this is the lucky lady and her beautiful boy.” She came around the counter, and took Emerson’s hand. “Hi, Emerson, I’m Chandra. Come right this way, and we’ll get you ready for your surprise.”

Emerson and Madigan followed her to a large dressing room, in which there were three of the emerald-green, spaghetti-strap dresses she’d admired in the window. “You have the perfect figure for this dress, but if you’d like a different style, or a different color, you can have your choice of anything in the store.”

Emerson’s heart swelled. “This is the one I want, thank you.”

“Okay. Then let me know if you need another size, but you look like a perfect twelve to me.”

“Thank you.” As Chandra walked out, Emerson turned to Madigan and said, “I feel like I’m in Pretty Woman, but Baz is way hotter than Richard Gere.”

Madigan giggled.

Emerson tried on the dresses, and the material was so soft, it felt luxurious. Chandra was right, she was a perfect size twelve, which thrilled her to no end. She’d been so happy lately, and Baz couldn’t keep his hands off her no matter what size she was, she hadn’t even thought about her body, or realized she’d lost more of her baby weight. She was still thick around the middle, with dimpled thighs, stretch marks, and heavy boobs, but it no longer felt like a mom bod. It was her body, and she was proud of it.

She also looked great in the dress. The fitted bodice and A-line skirt accentuated her waist, the peekaboo A-shaped cutout in the center just above the waist made her feel sexy, and the ruffled hem gave the dress a festive flair. She opened the curtain. “What do you think?”

Madigan’s jaw dropped. “Damn, girl. My cousin is going to go bananas when he sees you.”

“And where exactly will he be seeing me?” she asked coyly.

Madigan smiled down at Brennan and said, “Your mommy thinks she can pull one over on me. Silly girl.” She looked at Emerson. “Nice try. Now take that off and get dressed.”

“Doesn’t the girl code cover this?”

“The cousin code trumps it in this circumstance. Sorry, but a promise is a promise.”

“You Wickeds and your promises.” She changed back into her clothes, and as she hung up the dress, she peeked at the price tag and nearly had a heart attack. $160. She peered out from behind the curtain. Madigan was singing to Brennan.

“Mads,” she whispered. “Can you see if they have a cheaper dress?”

“He didn’t ask her to take the price tag off? I knew he should have let me handle the ordering, but no. He insisted on doing everything himself.”

“He did?” She loved that.

“Yes. He’s going to be so upset with himself. He’s crazy about you, and he wanted everything to be perfect.”

Emerson didn’t want him to feel bad about a single thing when everything he did made her feel incredible. She didn’t want him to spend that much money on her, either, but it was the lesser of the two evils. “Never mind. It’s okay.” She brought the dress to Chandra, who was standing with a thin, sharply dressed man with dark hair.

“All set?” Chandra asked.

“Yes, thank you. You were right about the size, and the dress is beautiful.”

“I’ve been doing this a long time.” Chandra handed the man the dress. “Fifteen minutes?”

“Twelve,” he said, and disappeared through a door behind the counter.

“Where is he going with my dress?”