In the last seconds of the first half, Annie converted a corner kick with her left foot. We were all on our feet, cheering when the whistle blew to announce the end of the half.
Annie ran over to us at the break, flushed and bright-eyed. “Dorian, you came.”
He smiled back at her. “I did.”
“I’d hug you, but I’m all sweaty,” Annie said before turning to me, almost as if I were an afterthought. “Mom, I think we should do pizza after the game. I’m craving the barbecue chicken one.”
“I love that one too,” Dorian said.
“Come with us,” Annie said without a second of hesitation.
“Um, if it’s okay with your mom?” Dorian glanced at me.
What could I say that wouldn’t make me sound like a terrible person? Other than, yes. “Sure. I could use a slice.”
“And we’re celebrating,” Dorian said. “You mom sold a few paintings today.”
“No way, Mom. That’s great.”
On the field, the referee blew the whistle calling players back. Annie jogged away, returning to her team.
The second half was tighter, the opposing team leveling it in the fifty-third minute on a set piece that silenced our side of the field. Annie responded by dropping deeper, organizing the defense, directing the other players. A leader, I thought. I was raising a girl boss.
“She’s really stepped up this year,” Gillian said.
“Bella too,” I said.
“I know. I’m so proud of her,” Gillian said. “She’s overcome a lot in her young life. She deserves something that makes her happy.”
Gillian and Alex were a blended family. She had Grace, who was technically her niece, but Gillian raised her after her sister died when Grace was only six months old. Alex had married a woman with two children, who sadly passed away, leaving behind Bella and her brother Peter. Now they had baby Leo to make them a family of six.
Willet Cove won it in the final minutes on a counter attack, Bella sneaking the ball past the keeper while the sidelines erupted.
“That was fun,” Dorian said. “Does it make you nervous when she plays?”
“Yes. I hate it when she feels as if she played poorly.”
“Well, she won’t be feeling that today,” Dorian said, just as Annie ran over to us. She had her bag slung over her shoulder, grinning. “Can we get pizza now? I could eat a large all on my own.”
I nodded. “Let’s do it.” God help me. I was going to pizza with my daughter and the way too handsome bookstore owner. But what could I do, swept away as I was, headed out to sea without a life vest. I tried to caution myself, but decided it was too much work. Instead, I thanked Gillian and Alex for the chair.
I ignored Gillian’s pointed look as Dorian and Annie walked away together, talking about the game.
Gillian stopped me, placing a hand on my arm, tugging me toward her so I had no choice but to look into my friend’s eyes. “It’s okay, you know. To be happy again. To let love into your life.”
“It’s just pizza,” I said.
“A lot of great love stories start with pizza,” Alex said, coming up behind his wife.
“No, they don’t,” I said, rolling my eyes. “But I should go. They’re waiting.”
Gillian and Alex looked smug as I walked away. Why must everyone insist that romance was in the air when it was just the heady smells of early summer, tricking them all into believing a happy ending could come to yours truly?
An image from the dream of Dorian in my garden played before my eyes. It was Dorian’s face in the moonlight I saw, clearly delighted I’d arrived, even as he cut off my peonies and let them fall to the ground in a lovely heap of pink.
11
DORIAN
