Stars Dancing [Dreams-To-Lovers Romance]

"Three, two, one!" Paddy called out from the stall next to me, and I smoothed the knee-length magenta sundress over my hips and stepped out of the dressing room.

"Ooooh, Rhoda, teal is your color," I crooned at the same time she said, "Sam! Pink and your skin are perfection."

We turned together to see Paddy flipping her braid over her shoulder which was barely covered by the thin straps of a gorgeous green paisley dress.

"'Goddess.' That's the only word good enough to describe you, Padma Simdeck," I said in adoration.

"They don't call me 'Lakshmi' for nothing," she replied imperiously.

"Lakshmi?" Rhoda queried.

"The goddess of beauty, of course."

"Of course. Next dress!" I instructed.

It only took seconds to pull the sea foam green baby doll dress over my head, so I called out the countdown and met my friends in the hallway again. Repeat!

The last dress fell to my ankles, was cut low, had spaghetti straps, and hugged my chest. The purple was so dark it was nearly black, and I suddenly wished my hair was washed and gelled.

For the first time in a very, very long time, I wanted to look in the mirror and see beauty looking back. Power, seduction, impact. I wanted them all.

"Three, two, one," Rhoda sang, and I stepped out of the dressing room. She was in a burgundy sheath fit to kill, and Paddy wore a black linen pantsuit made for business.

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"You are buying that and wearing it to Mario's tonight, Sam."

I nodded to Paddy, "Agreed. What's Mario's?"

"A sweet little Italian place where we can eat 'til we drop and have bottomless wine," Paddy informed us. "Perfect place to celebrate your contest-winning poem."

"Wonderful!" Rhoda steered us back into the changing rooms, and we thanked the shop owner on our way out the door. We'd already been to the porter with one load of bags, and in the interest of keeping my luggage not overly burdened, I decided we should call it a day.

"How about showers at the resort, clean up, organize, then we meet back at your place for dinner tonight, Paddy?"

"Sounds like a plan, and Sam? Don't forget to wear the purple dress."

I grinned my ascent.

I clicked off the resort hair dryer and pinned the waves back from my face. A touch of khol and mascara, and a woman I had never seen before looked back at me from the mirror.

The pitch-dark purple dress was dramatic, yeah, but it was more than that. There was something in the my-ness of the face and the way that reflection held her shoulders that I hadn't been expecting to see.

Was that a quality a dress could give a woman? Or was it the damp Miami air?

I sighed at my reflection. Maybe it was simply that I'd won a contest and my friends were taking me out to dinner. A tiny smile ghosted across my lips.

That's right. I'd won a contest. With a poem about dreams. No, I didn't fully understand what the lines meant, but maybe, maybe something in my life was beginning to go right.

The past week'd been a nightmare, but Miami? Paddy? HC? Rhoda? Gifts from beyond the stars. Treasures I didn't ever want to let go of.

I nodded at that woman in the mirror and murmured softly, hand reaching out, "Wherever it is we're going, we're not alone. You've got this. I've got this. I can do this. I made it this far; I can see it through to the end."

"Oh Sam! You look amazing!" Rhoda stuck her head around the corner.

"I feel amazing! Let's see that blue baby-doll dress, Rhoda."

"Ta-da!" she sang out.

"Hot damn! You'll be beating them off tonight."

"I know, isn't it nice to feel pretty for a change? We're going out, Sam. Celebrating! Leaving the past few weeks behind."

I nodded, "Exactly. And Rhoda, I'm so glad it's you I'm here with."

She smiled, "Me too, now let's get going! The wine awaits!"

And we were off for another amazing meal filled with good times and a few surprises. Good ones this time.