Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Diana nestled the sweet cherry pie on top of a dish towel before tucking it into half of a garment box that she’d cut down into shape to fit her contribution to that night’s potluck, which was being held in honor of the opening of Eleanor’s store.
Diana had, of course, already been over to the bookstore…
twice. She’d gone in on her lunch break at the boutique.
The shop had been crowded with what seemed like half the town.
It had been so bustling, in fact, that Diana hadn’t had more than a few moments to greet Eleanor.
She hadn’t wanted to distract her friend from her thriving business, so Diana had bought a stack of books and had gone back to work.
Which obviously meant that she’d had to pop in on her way home from the boutique. Just to say hello to Eleanor, of course. And if she happened to buy another stack of books, well… she liked to read! She’d get to them all, eventually.
And, yes, she’d probably buy more books in the meantime, but she was supporting a friend. It was allowed.
She wouldn’t buy any more tonight, though. Probably.
Almost definitely.
Maybe.
She would have dinner before browsing, at least.
Diana left her pie to cool just a little bit more as she hurried back to her bedroom to put the finishing touches on her appearance.
She was wearing a cute, flirty sundress that she had, of course, gotten through the boutique.
It had a ruched bodice and was patterned with blue and white pinstripes.
Wearing it made Diana feel kind of like a fashionable milkmaid.
She’d been tempted to put her hair into a braid crown before deciding that was a bit too on the nose.
Still, the low bun with a few tendrils escaping made her feel pretty and chic.
She added in a chunky gold chain necklace to elevate the look, a few colorful beaded bracelets to keep the fun energy going, and a pair of heels.
The last one she knew would cause her trouble by the end of the night, but they were just so cute that she couldn’t resist.
She pulled back, assessing herself in the mirror. She did look good. Maybe she should put this combination on display at her store.
But that was a work issue, and tonight was for celebrating. And, if she didn’t hop to it, she was going to be late.
Diana hurried back downstairs and gently tucked the boxed-up pie into a reusable tote bag, since it was just a little too hot to carry herself. She grabbed her purse, hurried to the front door, opened it, and…
“Whoa!” Anthony cried, holding up his hands like he was trying to show he was unarmed. A moment later, he looked at his own hands in confusion, like he was surprised to find them where they were. “Sorry,” he said, chuckling. “I… do not know why I had that reflex.”
In fairness, Diana’s hand had flown to her chest at the unexpected sight.
“You’re in good company, I guess,” she said, fluttering the hand in question. “I’m lucky I didn’t drop the pie.”
“Ooh, what kind of pie?” he asked, peering at the bag.
“Cherry.”
“I love cherry pie!”
He grinned at her. He really was very handsome; Diana felt so lucky that she was now allowed to appreciate it properly, instead of before, when she had been trying to pretend that she didn’t notice.
“Anyway,” he went on, “I know you’re scheduled to go to the celebratory potluck over at the bookstore, so I wanted to come by and offer you a ride. Now, I want to be clear,” he added, “that this is not a date.”
“Oh, okay,” Diana said, frowning.
“I have to be clear, because I did promise that our next date would be without a certain tagalong.” He jerked his thumb back at the car.
On cue, Eloise popped her head and one arm out the side window of the car. “Hi Diana! I got books!” she called exuberantly.
“I have tried to be clear that we are not going back tonight in order to purchase more books, but I fear this has landed on deaf ears,” Anthony commented dryly.
“Funny,” Diana said. “I was making the exact same argument to myself like five minutes ago.”
“Anyway,” he said. “This is a ride. Not a date. For the official date, I promise not to be so awkward. And I won’t surprise you.” He rolled his eyes, clearly at himself. “Fourth time is the charm and all that.”
Diana’s smile was so wide, it almost made her face hurt. She found his awkward entrances endearing, but she wouldn’t mind one that she managed to see coming either.
“I’d like that,” she said. “Both, I mean. The ride tonight and the date in the future.”
She grinned at him. He grinned at her.
“Are you guys coming?” Eloise hollered from the car.
Anthony pulled a face. “And that, right there, is why she will not be joining us on our official date. I would like to be able to be goofy at my leisure.”
She laughed at that.
He held out an arm, which made her give him a look.
“Not a date, I thought?”
He shrugged. “I can still be a gentleman. Also, I don’t think I need to be on a date to say that you look really beautiful tonight.”
“I’ll allow it,” she said grandly, taking his arm.
The second that Diana got into the car, Eloise started up a cheerful patten of chatter.
“Hi, Diana!” she said brightly. “Did you go to the bookstore today? Dad already took me, and that’s when Ms. Eleanor invited us to the party.
She said there’s going to be kids, there though, so it won’t be a boring party with only grownups.
Also, I bet the grownups who like bookstores aren’t boring.
I mean, you aren’t boring. You’re cool.”
“Thank you, Eloise,” Diana said, barely stifling her smile as Anthony pulled out of her driveway.
“You’re welcome,” the girl trilled. “Anyway, have you ever read Anne of Green Gables?”
“I have,” Diana said. “I love that book.”
“It’s so good!” Eloise said. “I just got to the part where Anne is floating in the river.”
“Eloise Whitaker, are you reading in the dark back there?” Anthony interjected.
“Um, no?” It was an obvious lie. Diana ducked her head. “It’s not even that dark yet?” Eloise hazarded.
“Not a chance, El,” Anthony said. “You’re going to wreck your eyesight trying to read in the dark.”
“But—”
“Or the half-dark,” he added, clearly predicting where this argument was going to go.
“But Anne is floating in the river!”
“Hey Eloise,” Diana said in a faux-whisper over her shoulder. “There will be light at the bookstore, and we’ll be there in just a few minutes.”
There was a contemplative pause from the back seat.
“Yeah, okay,” Eloise said.
Diana and Anthony shared a look. As they did, Diana felt a rush of warmth. Perhaps she and Anthony hadn’t yet pulled off a successful solo date, but the connection she was building with the man and his daughter felt so much more real than any fancy dinner or romantic night out.
Not that she would say no to those things with Anthony, of course. She hoped they managed their real date soon.
But these moments, as they drove to a party with her friends, chatting about books and arguing about what point in the evening that sundown counted as ‘too dark to read… ’
Well, that was pretty much perfect, as far as Diana was concerned.
Light was spilling merrily out of the windows of the bookstore when they pulled up, and Diana could already see people moving around inside, their silhouettes bustling back and forth past the windows.
“Ready to go in?” she called back to Eloise.
The little girl demanded that Diana be the one who helped her out of the car. She hopped down, her copy of Anne of Green Gables tucked under her arm. With the other hand, she clung to Diana’s arm. She skipped up the path, clearly happy as a clam.
The look Anthony gave them was so fond that it made Diana want to skip too.
“Well, hello, hello, who is this fine young lady?” Miriam asked as soon as they entered the shop. She had a plate of food in one hand, a glass of wine in the other, but she leaned in to kiss the air right next to Diana’s cheek.
“Hello, I am Eloise Whitaker,” Eloise said proudly. “I’m Diana’s friend.”
Miriam looked delighted at this. “Well, don’t you know, I’m Diana’s friend too.
And anyone who is friends with Diana is someone who I can get along with…
especially if that someone also happens to like to read,” she added, nodding to the book that Eloise had in her hand. “That’s one of my favorites.”
“Anne is in the river,” the girl told Miriam solemnly.
Miriam’s eyes widened. “Well, that’s a very important part of the book. If you’d like, you can go curl up in one of the chairs over there. They are perfectly comfy places for reading. I’ve used them plenty, so I can guarantee it.”
Eloise looked over at the chairs, where June’s son Benjamin was sounding out the sounds in an early reader book. She grinned.
“Yeah, that sounds cool. Thanks!”
She skipped off.
“We won’t be seeing her for the rest of the night, I assume,” Diana commented to Anthony.
“Not unless she’s finished the book,” he agreed.
They turned back to Miriam, who was looking at them with a dangerous sort of gleam in her eye.
“Well, well, well, Diana Madsen,” she said, clearly delighted. “Are you going to introduce me to your young man or not?”
Although Diana felt her cheeks warm with a blush, Anthony just grinned, clearly pleased.
“Ma’am, it’s been an age since someone called me a ‘young man,’” he said, waving a hand vaguely at his graying temples. “Thank you very much.”
Miriam gave him a mock frown. “Well, it’s been less than a day since someone called me ‘ma’am,’ and I still don’t like it. Call me Miriam, please, or else I shall start to suspect I am actually growing old.”
“Nobody would ever accuse you of that, Miriam,” Diana said with a laugh.
Now, it was Miriam’s turn to look distinctly pleased.