Page 65 of Sweet Trouble
“Jillian,” he said softly. “I know you could choose any man you wanted. But if you would allow me to accompany you to the Winter Formal, it would be my honor.”
Her eyes lit up, and dimples appeared on her cheeks, making Tripp feel like he’d won the lottery before she even said anything.
“I would love that,” she replied softly.
In his mind, Tripp jumped in the air, threw his head back, and howled like a wolf while he pumped his fist. But he knew that kind of behavior might scare Jillian off, so he forced himself to remain calm on the outside.
“Thank you,” he told her gently. “I can’t wait to go with you.”
By the way she smiled up at him, he knew she couldn’t either.
I can’t believe this is even possible,he thought to himself.What did I ever do to earn such a beautiful second chance?
17
JILLIAN
Later that week, Jillian went to Burlington to try on dresses. It had been so long since she had gone out without her girls that she hardly knew what to do with herself.
Once she had settled in a little more, she was going to have to start making friends again—real ones, not just work ones. It would have been nice to go into Burlington with a friend today, and grab a coffee together after trying on dresses.
Instead, she took advantage of being in the bigger town by running to the bookstore and browsing casually for a bit before heading to the dress shop.
The bookstore was the only thing she really missed about living in the city. She mostly read ebooks these days, but there was still something so nice about caressing the spines of a beautifully stocked shelf, and taking down a book to inhale that intoxicating paperback scent.
She splurged on two purchases for the girls—aChristmas picture book about bears for Posey, and one of the Noel Streatfeild shoes books for Mari. She chose the one about ice skating, since they didn’t have it yet, and Mari had been talking about skating with Tripp pretty much non-stop all week. The two books would make perfect Christmas Eve presents.
After she checked out, Jillian headed down the cute little street to the dress shop. All of the shops along the way had bright lights and holiday displays. It was nice, but in Jillian’s opinion, all the branded shopping signs paled in comparison to the simple greenery and Christmas cheer on the little storefronts in Sugarville Grove.
When she finally reached the dress shop, the gowns in the window were gorgeous. She felt a little burst of relief that it hadn’t been a waste to come all the way here.
“Hi there,” the saleslady said with a friendly smile as Jillian entered. “How can I help you?”
“I’m looking for a nice dress to wear to chaperone a Winter Formal,” Jillian told her.
“Wonderful,” the lady said. “Are you looking for something glamorous? Something with wow-factor?”
“No, no,” Jillian said, chuckling. “I’d like something pretty but simple. The kids will have all the wow-factor.”
“I see,” the lady said with a smile. “Well, we have lots of options and I’m sure we’ll have something you love. Do you have a preference for color, length, sleeve type?”
They talked for a few minutes, and then the lady pointed Jillian to a nice sofa and a pitcher of lemonade with glasses by it. So she helped herself to some, then decided to send a quick text to Tripp.
She snapped a photo of the lemonade and sent it to him with a little message.
I’m trying on dresses.
She figured he would be busy at work on the farm or her grandparents’ place, so she was surprised to see bubbles pop up almost immediately, and then a reply.
Tripp Lawrence
i want a pic of the winner!
She smiled and slipped her phone back in her bag as the saleslady returned, pushing a wardrobe cart hung with beautiful dresses.
“I hope you’ll like these,” she said. “Go ahead and look through them and try on whatever you want. If you need different sizes or colors, just let me know.”
“Great,” Jillian said, her eyes feasting on the lovely shades and fabrics.
