18

ELLA THOROUGHLY ENJOYED spending Saturday with Kristen. Keith made the required introductions and then left them to their own devices. It turned out Kristen was a Texas girl with a personality as big as her home state. At first, Ella felt intimidated by her willowy grace, perfect hair, and the fact that she was a good fifteen years older, but she soon found herself very much at ease.

At the end of the afternoon, Kristen wrapped Ella in a hug that seemed to exceed her reach. “You sure you don’t want to borrow my earrings?”

Ella had admired the dangly opal earrings soon after they met, and Kristen had immediately offered to lend them. Midafternoon, when Ella confessed she had a date that evening, Kristen removed the earrings and tried to hand them over.

“Seriously, wear these tonight. They’ve always brought me luck.”

Ella laughed the offer away but had been touched by her new friend’s impulsiveness. Not to mention the way she gushed over the quilt pieces Ella brought. Ella suspected she had a new friend for life.

After mapping the space, they agreed to meet the following Tuesday to get a start on their shopping before everyone got distracted by Christmas. Ella drove home to her parents’ house, her mind jumping back and forth between decorating ideas and her impending evening out. Seth was turning out to be more distracting than she anticipated. Goodness knows she hadn’t felt this level of anxiety before lunch with Richard. Of course, feeling half sick and distracted wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

After standing in front of her closet frozen for five minutes, Ella grabbed a pair of soft, brown corduroy trousers and pulled them on before she could change her mind. She donned a cream-colored sweater and added her favorite sterling silver chain with a tiny teacup suspended from it—a gift from her mother. Ella dabbed on a little eye makeup and some lip gloss, even though she knew she’d probably eat it off before they got to the restaurant. She gave her hair one last vigorous brushing and considered herself ready.

Unfortunately it was still ten minutes until she expected Seth, which was more than enough time to rethink her whole ensemble and put her hair into a ponytail. But no, Ella decided, she wasn’t going to second-guess herself. She took her hair back down, and after making certain she was alone, flipped her head upside down and fluffed like crazy. She righted herself and was thinking the effect wasn’t half bad when she heard voices.

She had planned to be waiting at the door when Seth arrived in order to avoid any small talk with her parents, but obviously he’d arrived early. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer. Straightening her shoulders and tucking her hair behind one ear, she headed down the stairs where she found Seth sitting on the sofa, having a relaxed conversation with her parents.

And why shouldn’t it be relaxed? Her parents were nice, easy to talk to, and they’d known Seth longer than she had. Apparently Will had brought him home several times, and Mom pretty much adopted everyone she fed more than once. The thought that he was familiar to her family was both comforting and unsettling at the same time. He looked up and smiled, his eyes crinkling in a way that made it impossible not to smile back.

“Hey,” he said, “ready for a night out on the town?”

“Sure, looking forward to it.” That wasn’t exactly scintillating, but it got him up off the couch and helping her on with her coat.

“Good seeing you, Mr. and Mrs. Phillips,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’ll have Ella home at a reasonable hour.”

Ella could swear he winked, but she was too busy heading for the door and his truck to dwell on it. Seth hurried to catch up and then stepped around to the passenger side to open the door for Ella. Nice touch, she thought, sliding in. The truck was extra clean and even smelled good. Ella wondered if Banjo usually sat in her spot. If he did, Seth had managed to eradicate all traces of dog hair.

Seth drove to the local pizza parlor and asked Ella to wait so he could open her door. Once he’d taken her hand to help her out, he reached into the bed and pulled out what looked like a wicker picnic hamper. He ushered Ella inside and headed for a table in the farthest corner of the restaurant. Once there, he set the basket down and pulled a burgundy tablecloth off the top. He gave it a shake and draped it over the chipped faux wood tabletop. Then he pulled out a pair of candlesticks, napkins, china plates, goblets, silverware, and a bud vase with a red rose. Seth set the table while Joey, the owner, shook his head and smiled behind the counter. Table arranged, Seth held Ella’s chair and seated her with a flourish. He sat opposite with a smug look on his face.

Ella couldn’t hold it in any longer. She laughed, and soon Seth and Joey joined in. Another couple came in and looked confused. Joey bustled out from behind the counter and seated them as far from Seth and Ella as possible. Then he came to their table.

He lowered his voice. “You want I should close the place? Saturdays are good for business, but this looks like a good show.”

“No, but thanks for offering,” Seth said. “What point is there in doing something that’ll make everyone talk if no one sees?” This time he definitely winked at Ella. “Now, how do you like your pizza?”

They started with salads and agreed on toppings for their pizza, each sipping a glass of the house Chianti. Ella was beginning to think this was quite possibly the best date she’d ever been on.

There were only a few other customers as the evening wore on and only one knew Seth well enough to speak. She was a mother of teenagers rushing in to pick up a pizza after soccer practice, and she did a double take when she saw the couple with their fancy table setting. She waved like she wasn’t quite sure she should, and Seth stood to say hello and ask how her mother was doing after her recent gallbladder surgery.

“Fine,” the woman said. “Thanks for asking.” She peered around Seth to see the table and Ella. “Is that Ella Phillips over there?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m taking her out for a night on the town, and we opted to dress Joey’s up a bit.” Seth gave her a winning smile.

“Oh, well, you have a nice evening,” she said, backing out the door with her pizza box balanced on one hand.

As the door closed behind her, Joey came around the corner. “Enough,” he said. “I ain’t got no more pickups and it’s almost nine o’clock. We’re closed.” He flipped the dead bolt and turned the Open sign around. “Now, I got some cannoli in the back with your name on it. You sit tight and I’ll bring ’em out. On the house.” He nodded as if this was an important and final decision.

He appeared a moment later with two crockery plates, each with a perfect cannoli in the center dusted with plenty of powdered sugar. “Now, just for you,” he said, waving a woman out from the kitchen. She carried a little tray with four glasses containing a deep red liquid. “Vin Santo,” Joey proclaimed, lifting a glass while the woman passed the tray around. “For the lovers. Salut.” He drained his glass as the woman beside him sipped from hers and smiled. Ella felt her cheeks flame. “Now we leave you. Take your time.” Joey shooed the woman—probably his mother—back into the kitchen.

“I guess I picked the right place after all,” Seth said, looking amused. “Who knew Joey was such a romantic?”

Ella still couldn’t get over the fact Joey used the term lovers to describe them. Is that what they were? She hardly thought so, but then again the idea sent a thrill through her that was not altogether unpleasant. She looked at Seth and tried to think of something to say, feeling a flutter of panic in her belly.

“I guess we should pack all of this stuff up,” she said. Was that surprise in Seth’s eyes?

“Yeah, I guess so. Joey’s been a good sport, but we don’t want to take advantage of him. Although . . . I do want to polish off this cannoli before we go.”

He grinned, and Ella felt the pressure building behind her breastbone release. She laughed. “We mustn’t disappoint Joey the Romantic.”

They ate and then packed up everything. As Seth drove back to her parents’ house, Ella glanced at the dashboard clock and was astonished to find it was almost ten already. She found she didn’t want the evening to end, but couldn’t think of a way to stretch it out. She couldn’t invite him in to watch the ten o’clock news with her dad, and a moonlit walk might be too much, too soon. Ella guessed she would have to let this one go. As the headlights bounced across the front of the farmhouse, Ella blurted, “I had a great time, I wish . . .” And then she ran out of steam.

Seth stopped the car on the dirt drive and switched off the headlights so that moonlight filled the interior. “What do you wish?” he asked.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Ella said. “I really like talking with you and spending time with you, but I’ve messed up relationships before and I’m not sure I know how to do them right.”

“Maybe the thing is not to look too far ahead,” Seth said, turning to face her more fully. He looked thoughtful. “When I can’t get a handle on the big picture, I just try to do the next thing in front of me. And then the next.” Seth smiled and there was that warmth in his eyes. Ella could see it even in the dim moonlight. “I tend to think the Spirit will lead us if we let Him.”

Ella was a little overwhelmed by the depth of what she was feeling, but what Seth said made sense. She’d come home, at least in part, to get away from a life that hadn’t turned out the way she’d hoped. But maybe it wasn’t about trying to fix anything. Maybe what she needed to do was start from right here, right now. Maybe she needed to learn to take life as it came instead of trying to plan it out so that everyone would be happy.

Ella leaned across the gulf between them that couldn’t have been more than a foot and kissed Seth ever so softly on the mouth. Seth seemed to gather his wits and leaned into the kiss even as she was pulling away. She smiled, ducking her chin. “I had a wonderful evening. Thank you.”

Seth cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “So did I. Do you think—would you want to do it again sometime? Not the pizza part necessarily, but . . .” He laughed and raked a hand through his hair. “What I mean to say is, would you like to see me again? Soon?”

Ella laughed, feeling like champagne was bubbling through her veins. “Yes. Soon sounds good.”

He jumped out to come around and open her door. Then he escorted her onto the porch and reached around her to grasp the doorknob. Ella stood, almost encircled by his body and arm. She felt him lean in—this time he’d kiss her—when there was a rattling sound as Dad tugged the door open. Seth jerked back and gave her what almost amounted to a bow. Dad stood in the open door, grinning.

“Thanks for getting her back at a decent hour, Seth.”

Seth nodded. “Don’t want to jeopardize any future dates, sir.”

Dad laughed. “Call me Henry. Come on in, Daughter. It’s cold out here on the porch.”

Ella smiled and gave Seth a little shrug before ducking inside the warm house. She listened intently for the sound of his truck door slamming and then the rumble of the motor as he drove away. She sighed and flopped down on the sofa, where Dad had clearly been settled in for the nightly news. The Christmas tree twinkled in the corner, and she thought she saw a couple of new packages stacked there.

“Have a good time?” Dad asked.

“Yeah,” Ella said, “it was . . . special.”

“Oh-ho, that sounds promising.” Dad muted the TV.

“Promising.” Ella tilted her head. “Maybe. I don’t know. I thought Mark was ‘promising’ and I got that wrong.”

“Ah, doubt and uncertainty, the hallmarks of any worthwhile romance.” He sat next to Ella and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “When I met your mother, I wasn’t fit for any woman. I was so angry over your grandpa dying, and poor Margaret got to see me at my worst. And yet there was a spark. I guess for both of us. She was just what I needed to set my heart to rights, and I think maybe I was just what she needed to see how priceless she is.

“Once upon a time I thought I’d be a great musician and your mother would follow me from town to town while I played my fiddle. But her heart was always here, on this farm. I think she needed a family, a foundation that her own family never offered her, and it turns out that’s what I needed, too. I see some of that in Seth, I think. He likes you, but he also likes what you represent.” He snugged Ella against his side.

“I happen to think any man would be an idiot not to fall head over heels for you, but then again, being a man, I know quite a few of us are idiots.”

Ella giggled and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, favorite daughter. When you find the right one, your heart will let you know. And if it doesn’t, ask me.”

Ella smiled and found that she didn’t wish it could be like old times with her dad. She wanted this time to be exactly like it was. New and shiny and perfect.