She wondered if maybe it was all better this way.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

LOUISA KNEW TONIGHT WASN’T ABOUT HER. She knew that, and yet she’d stood in front of the full-length mirror in the room that used to be Cody’s for a solid thirty-five minutes fussing over which dress to wear, then which shoes, then hair up or hair down.

Truthfully the whole scene made her entirely disgusted with herself.

She was not that girl. She was the girl who could pick up and leave at a moment’s notice. Low maintenance. Hair in a ponytail, makeup-free—that was Louisa.

As her heels clicked up the sidewalk toward the restaurant, she caught a glimpse of her long teal gown in the window. This was not Louisa.

She stopped and surveyed herself for a long moment, then heard a whistle behind her. She turned toward the offender, ready with a pointed comment about catcalling, when she saw Alyssa grinning at her from the parking lot.

Louisa laughed. “Don’t draw any more attention to me than necessary. I feel ridiculous.”

“You look amazing.” Ally moved toward her. She was wearing an equally formal gown, though hers was black and a little less flashy. Somehow Ally still looked like an accountant. The glasses maybe? Louisa should’ve gone with black. Would it be easier to blend in if she had?

“You look amazing.” Better to turn the attention back on Alyssa, who was much more classically beautiful and always more put-together than Louisa. Louisa could maybe pull off “girl next-door,” but “beautiful” and “elegant” were out of her reach. She’d accepted this a long time ago, but every once in a while—when McKenzie Palmer was around, for instance—she wished it weren’t the case.

They walked toward the entrance of the restaurant, certain they were the first ones to arrive. Louisa needed to make sure everything was as she left it. Next, she would check in with the chef and the serving staff. She had a whole list in her purse because everything had to be perfect.

As they approached, the door swung open and two men in uniform appeared on the other side.

“Don’t you both look beautiful?” Master Chief Duncan McGreery greeted them warmly, looking perfectly handsome in his uniform. Handsome but not in a spine-tingling, knee-buckling way. Not handsome like Cody Boggs, who stood beside the master chief, back straight as a stick, no expression on his face.

She caught and held Cody’s gaze, unmoving for several long seconds.

“I bet you’re glad you saved her life now,” Ally said. “Otherwise you never would’ve gotten to see her in that dress.”

Louisa elbowed Ally as heat rushed up the back of her neck. How pink were her cheeks? Embarrassment had never looked good on her.

“Everything looks wonderful out back,” Duncan said. “Louisa, you’ve outdone yourself. And I hear the Wirth family came around thanks to you.”