Page 48 of Claim to Fame

Micah promised to send over the details of her hotel reservation before they hung up. By the time Hannah rejoined the other women at their table by the taco stand, they were deep in a debate about whether the bourbon chicken from the Chinese place in the food court was superior to the fried chicken and waffle bites from the soul food place next to it.

“Hannah! We need your vote,” Sabrina said, pushing a plate covered with miniature samples from every vendor in the food court towards her. “Chicken and waffles or bourbon chicken?”

Hannah eyed the plate, her fork poised and at the ready. Finally she speared a thin, rolled tortilla, bright yellow cheese oozing from the seam, and bit off an end. “Neither. Buffalo chicken taquito.”

“A last-minute entry,” Tessa said, grinning.

“Never count out the buffalo chicken,” Hannah said, finishing off the taquito.

“Everything alright?” Kyla asked, tilting her head towards the little alcove where Hannah had retreated to take Micah’s call.

“Great,” she said, stabbing something that looked like a mini corn dog. “Who’s ready to help me find a dress?”

“Not just any dress,” Sabrina said. “Thedress.”

“The one that will make Jackson Hayes rethink his life choices,” Tessa said.

Hannah laughed. “I’ll settle for one that fits over my hips and doesn’t cost a fortune.”

Kyla hooked her arm through Hannah’s. “I know the perfect place.”

Peach Please was a small shop on the third floor of the mall tucked between a Godiva store and a pet boutique. The mannequins in the window were full-figured and dressed in rhinestone-covered gowns that must have weighed a ton. “Best formalwear place for women with curves like ours without having to go to Boston. This is where I bought most of my dresses forOnce Upon a Town,” Kyla said, referring to the reality TV show where she and her husband had gotten together.

“And those were stunning gowns,” Tessa said.

They were immediately met by a saleswoman who was uncharacteristically disinterested in them. She pointed out the rack of new arrivals before retreating to her magazine behind the sales counter. Within a few minutes, they had more dresses for Hannah to try than she could have dreamed of—strapless gowns with gathered skirts, sweetheart necklines on A-line masterpieces crafted from heavy satin, a short lace number with a one-shoulder asymmetrical top.

She ruled out the short lace dress first, not particularly wanting to worry about making sure her legs had an even application of self-tanner before the premiere. There was a red Grecian-style gown with off-the-shoulder straps that made her waist look super tiny but she worried the red would clash with the carpet. Rhinestones chafed under her arms, and silk showed every lump and bump when she walked.

“I think I found it,” Kyla said, appearing at the dressing room with a royal purple confection of a dress. Hannah eyed the corseted back skeptically. “Just try it. I’ll help you lace it up.”

“Okay, but no laughing if I look ridiculous.”

“You will not look ridiculous,” Sabrina said to the closed door of the dressing room as Hannah put on the gown.

The gown was unlike anything Hannah had seen before. The strapless bodice featured a plunging V at the center of the sweetheart neckline, the dress hugging her curves through her waist. A deep slit ran up the side of the dress from the floor-length hem to her upper thigh, the scandalous cut tempered only by the gauzy panels falling from her hips, adding movement and shimmer when she walked.

When Hannah was ready, Kyla slipped in to pull the laces tight. Before she even touched the first lace, though, Kyla gasped, clapping her hands over her mouth. “You lookamazing!” she squealed.

“It’s not too costume-y?” Hannah asked, tugging on the skirt.

“It’s just costume-y enough. Trust me. This will pop on camera.”

“Hurry up! We want to see!” Tessa called through the door.

A few moments later, Hannah was cinched and laced into the dress. Kyla opened the dressing room door and Hannah stepped into the store to the sound of her new friends’ gasps. “That’s the one,” Sabrina said. “It’s perfect.”

Hannah ran her hands over her hips, twisting to look at herself from every angle. She didn’t love the way the fabric clung to her belly, how wide her hips appeared, the way her arms looked pressed to her side. If she had a cape, something to cover her arms and—

No.Hannah looked away from the mirror. She couldn’t trust her own evaluation of how she looked, but that didn’t change the fact she needed a dress. And Sabrina, Tessa, and Kyla seemed to like it...

Find one thing.That’s what her therapist had said. When it was hard to love every part of herself, she should find one thing she could love, and one thing would be enough.

She made herself look back in the mirror, scanning her reflection. The color looked great with her eyes and skin tone, and the corset was doing amazing things for her breasts.

“Yes?” Hannah asked, turning away from the mirror and back towards her new friends.

“Yes!” they chorused back at her.

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