Page 17 of Songs for Libby

“She died when I was eleven.”

His brow creased in earnest. “I’m sorry.”

I shrugged one shoulder. “It was a long time ago.” And I had felt every day of it.

This necklace had been kept in her jewelry box along with all her other things. My dad didn’t touch the box after she died. He just left it sitting there on their dresser. I’d been sneaking into their room and going through that box for months after my mother’s death before my dad caught me. When he did, he’d simply asked me which was my favorite and then handed it over. I wore it every day, usually hidden under my clothes.

“Is there a story behind it?” he asked as he let it drop from his hand.

I immediately tucked it into my neckline. “My dad gave it to her. He said, ‘This is how much I love you’ when he handed her the box.” I loved that story. It always made me smile.

“He sounds like a romantic.”

I chuckled. “I’d never thought of that, but yeah, I guess he is.”

We lapsed into silence as I finished my food.

Jonas only let me sit for ten minutes after I’d cleared my plate. Then he coaxed me back onto the dance floor. Lucky for me it was a slow song, so we were able to sway back and forth as I laid my head on his shoulder. Scenes from old-time, Jane-Austen-inspired movies came to mind. Dancing was such a big part of courtship back in the day. Finally I understood why. This was only our second date, but dancing allowed us to interact in close proximity, to feel each other out and test the chemistry.

There was definitely chemistry.

Several faster songs followed and Jonas did an amazing job leading me around the dance floor, making me feel like I had some sort of skill. He smiled and joked, letting me tease him about his lack of cowboy boots and gently teasing me in return.

When the band wrapped up, we decided it was time to call it a night.

I collapsed into the seat of his car, tired but exhilarated from the dancing and the food and the man.

“So,” he said in that drawn-out way. “What did you think?”

“That was awesome.”

“Shall I call you Sally Jane now?”

I laughed. “You can call me whatever you want, so long as we get to come back here soon.”

He grinned at that. “I think that can be arranged.”

“Should we go buy cowboy hats so that we fit in better next time?”

He lifted an eyebrow in my direction. “You do realize that only a handful of people had on hats in there, right?”

“Sure, but if we’re going to commit to this thing, then we should do it right.”

He just shook his head at me, but his smile didn’t fade as he pulled out of the parking lot. I leaned back into my seat, happy and content. At least, until Jonas decided to bring up a new topic. “You hung out with your friend yesterday, didn’t you?” he asked.

My happy bubble burst and I swallowed a frustrated sigh. “Yes.”

“And how did that go?”

“Awkward.”

He glanced sideways at me. “Was he drunk?”

“No. Lucky for him,” I said darkly.

“What made it awkward then?”

“He tried to kiss me.” Or…did kiss me.