“Perfect.” She slipped her phone into her coat pocket. “Thank you for a wonderful evening.”
“No, thank you.” His smile lingered on Kacey’s face a beat longer than necessary. “I’ll be in touch soon.”
She pushed open the passenger side door and climbed out of the car. She closed the door and hurried up the front steps of the house. When she turned and waved, Drew’s horn tooted before he backed his car out of the driveway.
Happiness blossomed in her chest as she unlocked the front door and stepped into the family room, where Mom sat on the sofa watchingLast Christmas.
Mom’s expression lit up, and she pressed Pause on the remote. “How was your date?”
“It wasn’t a real date, Mom.” Kacey flopped down on the sofa across from her mother. “It was fun to get caught up. We reminisced, ate too much, and laughed a lot.”
“That smile on your face makes me think itwasa real date, Kacey.”
She shook her head. “We’re just friends, Mom. Plus, he applied for a job in Newton, and I’m going back to Charlotte eventually.”
“I always thought you two should have dated. You got along so well. And he’s so good-looking.”
Kacey laughed and pointed to the television. “I love this movie. I’ll watch the rest of it with you.”
As the movie came back to life, Kacey pulled off her coat, settled on the sofa, and pondered what it would feel like to have Drew in her life permanently.
“All right, everyone.” Drew addressed the choir the following Thursday afternoon while he sat at the piano at the front of the room. “Let’s take it from the top. Ready?” He began playing the introduction and then held up his hand for the children to start singing. “Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way...”
While they sang, his mind wandered through the past week. Kacey had lingered in his thoughts since their dinner last Saturday night. They’d been texting, but they hadn’t connected in person, since she said she had a big project to finish for one of her clients.
He had hoped to catch her after choir practice on Tuesday, but when the session ended, Riley and Colleen hurried out of the classroom. By the time Drew left, the bakery was dark.
Although he enjoyed their banter over text, he couldn’t help but wonder if she had used her job as a reason to avoid him. Perhaps she wanted to keep her distance, since she planned to go back to Charlotte. Or maybe she had a boyfriend waiting for her there.
Still, he knew she’d had a good time Saturday night, and he longed to see her again. He hoped today she would come to the choir room to fetch the girls instead of them rushing off to the bakery to meet her.
When giggles erupted from the back row, Drew scanned the choir until he found Riley and Colleen with their heads bent. He sighed. It was time to separate those two.
Drew stopped playing and clapped his hands. “All right. Let’s take a break.” He stood and nodded to the back row. “Riley,” he called, and her head popped up, her eyes wide. “I’d like you to come and sit in the front row, please.”
“I-I’m sorry, Mr.Murphy.” She blinked, her cheeks flushing bright pink.
He nodded. “Just come sit up front where you won’t be so disruptive.”
“Okay.” Riley glanced at Colleen, who looked equally embarrassed, and then with her eyes cast down, she shuffled to the front row and sat on a metal folding chair beside a first-grade boy. She looked down, studying her purple jeans.
Drew returned to the piano. “Let’s take it from the top now.”
After a few more run-throughs of the song, he noticed parents had gathered at the back of the room. He spotted Kacey leaning against the wall, grinning and holding a bakery box, and his heart lifted.
When the song ended, the adults clapped.
“Great job today,” Drew called to the kids, who were busy stowing their music and gathering up their coats and backpacks. “See you next Tuesday. Practice the songs at home so you learn the words.”
He closed his music folder and slipped it into his backpack as the mother of one of the fourth graders approached with her redheaded daughter in tow who was fiddling with colorful beaded bracelets on her wrist. “Hi, Mrs.Wagoner.”
“I wanted to let you know that Patti is going to miss practice next Tuesday. She has a consultation with an orthodontist.”
“That’s fine. Thanks for letting me know.” He looked at Patti. “I hope your consultation goes well. You know, I had braces.”
The little girl’s hazel eyes rounded. “You did?” Her face pinched. “Did they hurt?”
“My teeth were a little sore, but the cool part was being able to pick what colors I wanted for my rubber bands when I went for my checkups. The orthodontist has so many colors.”
