Ginny watched him go. Thank you, Lord God, oh, thank you!

Chapter Twenty-Four

Roxie stared into her closet. The red or the ever-faithful little black dress, of which she had three.

“What’s up?” Loren sat down on her mother’s bed, her lap immediately occupied by Juno, who gave Sir Charles a superior look.

“Rich said to wear something dressier.”

“Where are you going?” She rested her cheek on Juno’s fluffy head.

“I have no idea. Red or black?”

“You already wore one black out with him, right?”

“Yeah, the plainest one.” She pulled out one with a band of black beading around the scooped neck and a short jacket with matching beading down the front. “This one?”

“They all look good on you. I think we need to go shopping.”

Roxie stared at her. “Are you feeling all right?”

“Mommm.” Loren heaved a sigh. “I think I need a little black dress and dress shoes too.”

“Considering you have, what—two skirts, one short, one long?”

“Yes, and the long one is black so perhaps I could just look for a dressier top.”

“Along with a dress, shoes, and perhaps even a bag.”

“I can use one of your bags.”

“True. How about tomorrow? There’s a good sale going on at the mall.”

Loren pouted. “I should have kept my mouth shut.”

“But you want to look extra good for Nate?”

“Well…” Another sigh. “There is that.” She stroked the cat. “I guess my style is casual, huh?”

“Ultra-casual. But you always look nice. Casual is good but even better is a willingness to dress up when you need to.” Roxie laid the chosen outfit on the bed. “Do not let Juno touch that.”

She was dressed and sorting through jewelry when her cell chimed. Rich. “Hi, I’m about ready.”

“Good, but I’m running about fifteen minutes late. So you needn’t rush. See you soon.” He clicked off.

She returned to her jewelry and the decision of what to wear. Rich was so considerate. Amazing how they had become good friends so quickly. As soon as she was ready, she sat in her office chair to return several phone calls, something she had to remind herself to be grateful for. Returning phone calls as soon as possible was part of her reputation as a top Realtor to work with.

One was a possible new listing; she said she’d call on them early tomorrow. She and Loren would go shopping in the afternoon. The other two were asking for more information about certain listings. When she clicked off, she readied a packet to send to an out-of-state address. Someone needing to move here for a job who planned to buy immediately. The other she marked in her calendar for a Monday meeting. Life was far different now that people could go house hunting on the Internet.

She was just on her way down the stairs when she heard Rich in the driveway. “See you later, sweetie. Remember, there are leftovers in the refrigerator.”