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“What’s that, Miss Maguire?” He grinned at her. He could tell her anything.
“Why do you call me Princess?”
Okay, well, maybe not that. While she’d rediscovered a sense of humor, he didn’t think she’d be quite up to the aloof ice princess explanation just yet. “Uh, I guess it’s just how I think of you.”
Eyes that had been warmly gazing into his a second ago cooled as she grappled with the weak response. Uh oh. He needed something else. “And isn’t that what Sarah means? God’s princess, or something like that? I’m sure I read that somewhere once.”
Her eyes softened and he wanted to cheer himself. That had been close.
“That’s why Mum and Dad named me Sarah.” She smiled shyly at him, and his heart started doing flip flops again.
The conversation flowed easily, the friendship built over the past few weeks providing lots to talk about. It was the best date he’d ever had. Sarah was enthusiastic, witty, and challenged his ideas about lots of things. She wasn’t like other girls he’d known, who’d always agreed with whatever he said. She definitely had her own opinions. They had to agree to disagree on a few topics, but the rest of the night was filled with banter and laughter until the restaurant had emptied of all other patrons and the wait staff was yawning and it was time to go.
The short drive home held a happy, contented kind of silence. Another sign that their friendship was genuine and didn’t need chatter to fill in the holes. He pulled up outside the cottage and turned to face her. “This has been great. We’ll have to do it again.”
Her smile lit up her face. “I’d love to! I’ve had so much fun.”
“Me too. I’ll remember this date forever.”
“Really?”
That soft, shy expression made him so glad he’d manned up enough to ask her out. He shifted in his seat, searching for a sign that she might be open to a kiss. The green eyes smiled and, heartbeat quickening, he inched forward.
“What’s today’s date? Living out here the days kind of blend together, and I can’t remember what day of the week it is, let alone the date.”
He knew exactly what she meant. “My family comes tomorrow. That’s supposed to be the fourth. That must make today the third of July.”
Sarah’s breath hitched as she stilled, eyes wide. “The third? Really?”
He snuck a peek at the time-date display illuminated on the dashboard. “Yeah.”
“No. Oh no.” She placed a hand on her mouth, then bent, scrabbling for her handbag.
“Sarah, what is it?”
She shook her head, looking like she was going to faint. Or be sick. “I’m so sorry. I have to go.” She stumbled out the door and up the steps and disappeared inside.
“Sar?” He scrambled from the Jeep and neared the house as an inner door slammed. Ange appeared at the front door, lines creasing her forehead.
“She just ran off! We were having a great time together and Sarah just ran away.”
Ange sighed. “Today is Stephen’s birthday. I thought she must have forgotten, because she hadn’t mentioned it. I didn’t want to remind her in case of this reaction.”
“Oh.” No. Stephen. Again. But how could he have known? After a half-hearted goodbye, Dan drove back home and parked out front, slumping over the steering wheel as rejection swirled. He squeezed his eyes shut.Lord, I thought she was over him. Help her. And sorry for taking this so personally, but this kinda sucks.He exhaled, got out, kicking at the gravel on the driveway before entering his big, lonely house.
* * *
The knockon the front door startled her from shallow sleep. Sarah slipped off the bed and carefully moved closer to her bedroom’s front-facing window, where she could vaguely hear John’s and Dan’s voices. She hoped John remembered what she’d said earlier.
“She doesn’t want to see anyone.” John’s deeper voice replied to something Dan said.Thank you, John. No, she sure didn’t.
She bit her lip as Dan murmured something else she couldn’t make out.
John sighed. “I know it wasn’t anything you did. Just bad timing, that’s all.”
Another murmur.
“Okay. Bye, Dan.”
