The air outside was cool but not biting, the kind that makes you want to keep walking just to feel it on your face. Julian fell into step beside me, our pace unhurried. The streets were busier now, the rhythm of the city evening taking over. Restaurants were filling, shop windows glowing brighter as the sky deepened.

“You’ve been quiet since that dress showed up,” he said finally.

“I’ve been thinking,” I admitted.

“About?”

“About how much of myself is still in it,” I ...