Page 80 of Dandelion Sighs

“Also something I should’ve rectified earlier.”

Air leaked out of me. I woke up in my totally normal disarray, intending to keep on working hard and getting one day closer to stability, but this threw me. “What’s going on?”

He didn’t flash me a charming smile. He didn’t laugh off my question. He stepped farther inside, placing himself dead center in the room, like I’d called him here to give him a talking-to. “I like you, Sheridan. A lot.” He flexed his jaw. “Both of us have been burned, but what’s going on between us? It’s different. And I can see now that I have to show you I’m serious.”

“But we’re just messing around.” We had to be. I couldn’t juggle and fail at one more thing.

“And now I’m asking you out.”

Oh. I blinked and tensed like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. He was serious, and… I wanted him to be. I wanted to be wanted by him. Only by him.

He ran his thumb over the tips of his fingers. Was he nervous?

If he was, that made this real. He was asking me out, and he was anxious about my answer. He’d gotten me flowers, and instead of letting me wonder what those meant, he popped the question.

Not that question, but it had the same sense of significance.

So what did I say? If I said yes, then would he want another one? Would I?

Worse—what if I said no and that was the end of us? If I said no, I’d have a hole in my chest that was the size of Jasper. Did I come this far to write off what could be a really good thing? He was the best man I knew. I did not want to reject him again.

“Yes.” I swallowed. I wasn’t going backward, but moving forward scared me. Yet I’d come this far. I’d won over Maria. Landon wanted to come back and work next summer, and he’d asked about Christmas break. And my mom’s old place was fully booked. Fear didn’t have to stop me. “What time?”

His grin was wide. “Since it’s a proper date, I’ll pick you up at six. We can eat and then the street dance starts at seven.”

I stiffened. Of all the things he had to pick, it was something I truly sucked at. “I don’t dance.”

“I do. I’ll teach you.”

I made a squeaking sound. I trusted him, but I was tired of looking inept around him. “If I try it and I don’t like it, will you let me sit out?”

“Always.”

Gah, this guy. “Would you sit with me?”

He scoffed. “Sheridan, I’m only going to be by your side, fancy feet or not. No matter what, it’ll be fun. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Okay, then. It’s a date.” I couldn’t believe I said that.

“Can’t wait.” He left, and I sat stunned.

I was no longer killing time with a guy who wasn’t going to settle down with me. I was going on a date with a man who had acted pretty damn serious about me. And it was terrifying.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Sheridan

Country music thumped across the whole block that was roped off for the street dance. Food and drink vendors lined one end, and picnic tables were set up between them and the cordoned-off dance area and stage.

Jasper had gotten food from three different food trucks and an ice-cold beer from the Reservoir Barrel stand. We’d shared a fry bread taco, and an empty tray of cheese curds was between us. To make sure we didn’t eat just fried food, we’d also gotten a stuffed baked potato to share.

I put my hand on my stomach. “I’m too full to dance.”

Much of the crowd around me was in jeans and cowboy boots. The women were wearing the same with tight tops, short tops, off-the-shoulder blouses, or just sundresses. A lot of skin was showing. Meanwhile, I looked ready for a grocery run in sandals and jean shorts. The hemline of my shirt went past my waistband. I was sorely underdressed and overdressed at the same time, but I was accepting a lot of things about myself. Dressing how I wanted to dress would now be one of them.

I had my very own cowboy in his jeans and boots. His hat was on the picnic bench next to him.

“You might be full, but you’re not getting out of a dance.” He plopped his cowboy hat on his head. “There’s a slow song playing. We’ll warm up to that.”