‘Let’s hope it means one less kid in the system and maybe a life or two saved.’
An insect buzzed around the overhead light, green wings shimmering as it took a kamikaze dive to the timber boards between their feet. Cole reached down and picked it up, cupping it in the hollow of his hands. Ever so slowly, he parted his fingers and the iridescent Christmas beetle flew off into the night. He smiled. ‘I haven’t seen one of those in years.’
‘Me neither.’ Not since she was a kid and squadrons of them would regularly hurl themselves against the wire door of her childhood home. The memory was a good one and she replied with a smile of her own.
She started down the steps, something in her almost reluctant to leave. Overhead, an eternity of silver pin-pricked the sky and right there above her, a single brilliant star. He was here with her, an invisible light guiding her way. Had been there all along, waiting for her to believe. Maybe nothing that had happened with Owen tonight had been an accident. Maybe meeting him and Lenore visiting at Christmas had been destiny. Fate. A perfect storm of circumstances that would leave everything cleansed in its wake.
‘Hannah.’
Something in the gentle way Cole said her name made her throat catch. Almost at the car, she turned to where he still stood on the top step, silhouetted against the yellow light. Maybe Crystal was right and there was a vibration between her and Cole that had brought them together as part of some kind of weird predestined plan.
‘Thank you.’
A soundless lock clicked inside her heart, a door that had been closed for far too long finally falling open. ‘My pleasure.’ It came out in a whisper but in the darkness she was sure she saw him smile.
Chapter 15
Finishing up with her final clients before the holiday break left Hannah no time for rumination. But there was a lightness in her step that hadn’t been there before, which got her through a Crystalless morning and into coffee break. No more work commitments until the new year, unless something had come up on her phone.
One message:I hope you don’t mind me contacting you on your work number but it’s the only one I have. I was wondering, now that you’re not Owen’s psychologist, would you reconsider having dinner with me?
A smile smarted her cheeks. She curled her fingers, resisting the urge to type an immediateyes. Was it too soon? Too near to wrapping up her involvement with Owen? Too close to Christmas?
Lenore’s advice crackled in her ears like a scratchy line in an old Hollywood movie reel: life is short, don’t waste it.
She typed her response.Yes, I would.
His reply was instant, as if he’d been waiting and watching the screen.Are you free tonight?
Tonight was the night before Christmas Eve. Almost a week since she’d seen Cole. And she had another eight days to spend with Lenore and Nancy, who would both be beside themselves when they found out she was going on a—
Stop overthinking and answer the man.Most definitely her dad’s voice this time. What was he doing weighing in?
Sure am. It’s a date, she typed.
As Crystal would say, sometimes you just had to trust the universe and take a leap.
She might have been the one who jumped at the invitation, but Cole had taken date planning to a whole other level. The string of texts she’d received over the course of the day bordered on excessive, possibly stalkerish, at least until the last message landed.
Still okay for tonight?
6pm pick up too early?
I have somewhere in mind—not in town.
Casual dress, nothing fancy.
Jeans and boots if you have them.
Hope that’s okay???
Sorry for all the texts, it’s been a while since I’ve been on a date. Just trying to get it right.
Sweet but strange. According to Crystal, he was one of the most eligible bachelors in town. Why was that? Maybe his personality wasn’t as hot as his looks, or maybe he was all surface and no depth.
Only one way to find out.
For what was probably the tenth time, Hannah stared at her reflection in the mirror, smoothing the creases in her white linen shirt, checking her butt really didn’t look too big in her bootleg jeans. God, what was she, a boy-mad teenager?
