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* * *
Hope flared brieflyin her heart. Dinner over at Dan’s filled her with anticipation. But that wasn’t what was meant. She bit her lip at her stupid misread. Rob meant a date, with him. No one had asked her for a date for so long. After the accident, no one had dared, and she barely knew anyone in Canada. This was a Big Deal.
“I don’t know.” Rob was nice enough, but he wasn’t… She swallowed. Perhaps this was one of those times to live a little, to not feel guilty. And after the ring episode, she was trying to not let the past control her so much.
She studied their faces. Rob’s seemed hopefully expectant, Dan’s face had blanked, and Jason was watching the exchange with a slight smile.
She snuck another look at Dan. If only he’d give some sign as to what she should do.Be brave. She cleared her throat. “What do you think, Dan?”Tell me no, you don’t want me to. Show me that you care.
“Well, uh…” He cut a look at his friends, his gaze returning but not quite touching hers. “Sure. If you want. Why not?”
Why not?Her heart froze, her limbs suddenly heavier than lead. Emotion burned her eyes. She blinked it away. Affixed a stiff smile to her lips.
“She doesn’t seem too keen, bro,” Jason said to Rob.
“Yeah, better give her up as a lost cause.”
Dan’s words cut through her indecision.Whatdid he think she was? A lost cause? She clenched her hands in her lap and turned to Rob. “Sure. What time?” How was that for nonchalant?
“Seven. We’ll find the fanciest place around.”
“Sounds good.” Her gaze flicked from Rob’s satisfied expression to Dan, who sat, shock written all over his face. Good. She smiled tightly and stood. “I’d better go help inside.”
“I’ll give you a hand.” Rob stood and started clearing away the plates as she collected glasses. She kept the smile pasted on, ignoring Dan’s gaze and the tightness in her chest that hinted that the Big Deal could well be a Big Mistake.
* * *
Jason leaned forward as soonas the others had moved inside. “Not what you expected?”
Dan shook his head, chest tight. She liked Rob? Never in a million years would he have picked that. The night continued with coffee and baklava, but his heart wasn’t in it anymore. Who was this woman? Sarah was transforming, emerging from her self-protective cocoon of sadness. He wanted to know her before she spread her wings and flew away.
But what was the point? He took another sip of his coffee and almost choked. Hadn’t she admitted to Boyd that Dan was “only a good friend”? He’d thought maybe Boyd had misconstrued things, but tonight—in fact, everything this past week—had proved otherwise. Sarah had even asked for Dan’s opinion, proving she really wasn’t interested in him. He picked at the fringe of the tablecloth.Lord, this hurts. How dumb was he to have hoped—
“Dan?”
He blinked. “Sorry, what was the question?”
Dan worked to ignore the ache and maintain polite conversation with John and Ange, but pretty soon the pretense started to slip. He couldn’t do this much longer. As soon as he finished his coffee, he scraped back his seat.
“Thanks for a great night.” He gave Ange a quick hug and shook John’s hand. “Nice meal, Sarah.” He couldn’t meet her eyes, just flicked a small smile in her general direction, then walked back through the trees, Jason and Rob trailing in his wake.
“She’s going out with me!” Rob’s gloating felt like fingernails running down the chalkboard of his soul. “Noticed you seemed a little put out there, bud.”
Dan shook his head. “Just don’t hurt her, okay?” It was like a piece of his grandmother’s precious porcelain had just been given to a toddler.
Rob grinned. “Never.”
Chapter 12
Why was it that every time she schemed and scammed, she later wished she hadn’t? Sarah glanced out the Muskoka Shores resort’s restaurant window to see the moon reflected in the lake. It was so beautiful and would be really romantic, if only she were out with the right guy.
She peeked at her dinner companion. She was a horrible person.Horrible. Pretending to be interested when the real reason she was out was piqued pride. Her gaze lowered to her plate. The hurt on being ignored by Dan the other night had quickly escalated into a type of roaring pain that had made her act in a way and say stupid things she didn’t mean. It had been a little bit funny at the time, but now all she could remember was the way he’d left without looking at her. An evening she’d highly anticipated had ended up tasting like ashes.
She swallowed a piece of venison. Dinner out with Rob was nice—well, the food part was, anyway. After eating so much fish lately, it was a treat to finally eat something that hadn’t swum. And Rob had tried hard, thoroughly complimenting everything from her hair to her shoes. But his charm, while flattering, made her uneasy. She got the feeling he’d probably spent lots of time practicing similar lines on many other girls. He was too smooth, too slick, too shallow. If Mr. Right ever did come along, he’d have to be able to plumb the depths of her heart, not just splash around on the surface.
“Dan was telling me how you met.”
Sarah’s head swung back to her date. Uh oh.
