Chapter 22 #2
“Are you saying I wouldn’t pick a cute house?” Willow jutted out her bottom lip in a playful pout. Then she caught herself. What are you doing? You’re not flirting with her, are you?
“I’m saying you wouldn’t pick a purple house,” Scottie replied.
How confidently she’d said that! As if she knew Willow that well already. And, of course, she was right.
“Plus your sister was wearing purple frames and has purple streaks in her hair. Kind of gave it away.” Scottie grinned. “I’ll walk you to the door. It’s a practice date, after all. Gotta hone my dating skills.”
They got out and walked the few yards to the house together. At the small, recessed entryway built into the front of the house instead of a porch, they paused and turned to face each other.
The sun was setting, giving Scottie’s hair a golden sheen. Willow couldn’t tear her gaze away. She tucked her hands into her jacket pockets so she wouldn’t be tempted to reach out and brush the soft waves back.
“So,” Scottie said, shuffling her feet, “what’s the verdict? If this had been a real date, would you consider a second one?”
Willow froze. The answer should have been an easy one. But was Scottie’s question really entirely hypothetical?
Scottie chuckled as if to fill the silence between them. She lowered her gaze to her feet. “You don’t need to answer. Considering we were stuck in the woods and lost our brunch reservation, I bet that would probably be a big, fat no.”
Willow’s stomach clenched. She realized too late that her hesitation had made Scottie doubt herself.
For Christ’s sake, she was supposed to help her, not undermine her confidence in her dating skills!
Scottie had a hard enough time starting to date again after her ten-year relationship had failed.
She didn’t need Willow to make it harder.
The worst part was that if she had been the dating kind and this had been a real date, she would have wanted to see Scottie again. The thought of never repeating a day like this made her unexpectedly sad.
But it was safer that way.
She cleared her throat. “I had a great time. If it had been a real date, I would have asked you out on a second one.”
Scottie’s head came up. Her eyes gleamed with something warm and hopeful. “Yeah?”
Willow nodded, her throat too tight to speak.
Scottie studied her, gaze soft yet questioning. “You know, if you—”
The door swung open, and Fiona stepped out of the house in a sequined deep-red top, bell-bottom jeans, and platform boots. “Oh, hey. You’re back just in time for karaoke. Want to come?” She looked back and forth between them, making it clear the invitation extended to both of them.
Scottie glanced at Willow, as if taking her cue from her. Whatever she read in Willow’s expression made her shake her head. “No, thanks. I think we had enough of an adventure for a day.”
“Yeah,” Willow said. “I’m going to pass too.”
Fiona gave them a curious look yet didn’t ask.
But Willow knew her restraint would only last until Scottie was gone. Then she would put Willow through her version of the Spanish Inquisition.
Scottie turned back to Willow. “Thank you for today. For helping me knock the rust off. If you ever get tired of spreadsheets and production schedules, there’s a career as a dating adviser waiting for you. I’d write a raving testimonial.”
Laughter bubbled up from deep within Willow’s chest. “Oh God, no. I think I’d better stick to my spreadsheets.”
They smiled at each other.
“Good night, Willow,” Scottie said.
“Good night.” She watched as Scottie walked down the path to her car, climbed in, and slowly drove off, waving until she disappeared down the street.
Fiona leaned against the metal railing. “Practice date, huh? I have to admit the way she looked at you didn’t appear like practice at all. That looked like the real deal.”
“You’re imagining things.” Willow tightened her grip on her keys and considered rushing past her sister, escaping into the house. But Fiona would never let her hear the end of it. “We had a really nice time; that’s all.”
“What did you do?” Fiona asked.
“She took me to see the Troll Bridge—dozens of little toy trolls that people hung on an old train trestle—and she had reserved a table at Screen Door for brunch. But then her car wouldn’t start.
We ended up stranded in the woods for nearly two hours, waiting for AAA, so we lost the brunch reservation. ”
Fiona exhaled heavily. “Oof! What a disaster!”
“You’d think so, right?” Willow said, her thoughts still on the day she’d had. “But somehow it wasn’t. We played UNO and went to a food cart instead, and she introduced me to PBJ fries.”
“Ooh, I’ve had those! They’re amazing. But I didn’t think I’d ever get you to try them, or I would have taken you there myself.”
“Hey, I let you talk me into giving pear-and-blue-cheese ice cream a try.”
“Yeah, that only took me three lifetimes of begging and bribery,” Fiona replied.
Willow shrugged. Her sister was exaggerating, of course, but she might not be totally wrong. Maybe Willow was a little more adventurous when she was around Scottie, but she didn’t want to admit that.
“So, let me get this straight…” Fiona tapped her chin. “You had to deal with car trouble in the woods, lost your brunch spot, and braved PBJ fries…and yet you’re standing here, smiling like you had the time of your life?”
“It was really nice.” Defensiveness crept into Willow’s tone. “But it’s not something I should get used to.”
“Why not?” Fiona asked. “She clearly likes you. And as much as you try to deny it, I think you like her too. So why the hell shouldn’t you go out with her again—on a real date?”
Willow sent her a dark look. “We’ve been over this. You know why.”
“Oh, come on. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“Another dead battery. Scottie becoming suspicious. The date being a complete disaster.” Willow ticked them off on her fingers, then mentally added, The date being wonderful.
She held up her hand before Fiona could cut in.
“You know I’m right. Every time I try to be normal, it ends the same way.
I’m fairly sure it was me who caused her car battery to die.
There won’t be a happy ending for me with this weird tech affliction.
” Scottie had handled one dead battery with good humor, but how long until she either grew suspicious or her patience ran out?
Besides, Scottie had been through a lot lately.
She deserved someone who could help her heal, not someone she had to fix.
“Fine, I’ll let you be. Just don’t be surprised if Scottie refuses to let you hide.”
Before Willow could even open her mouth to protest, Fiona brushed past her and sauntered toward her car.