Her store was lit up with candlelight.
As the owner of a clothing boutique, fire was one of the very last things that Diana ever wanted to see in her shop. But it tookless than a millisecond for her to realize that these weren’t real candles; they were the tiny, flickering, battery operated kind. The kind that threw a romantic cozy glow around the room without risking sending her entire livelihood up in flames.
And, Diana realized a moment later, when Eloise leapt to her feet and knocked over several of the little bulbs, the kind that were safe from the exuberance of a ten-year-old.
“Oh, yay!” Eloise exclaimed. “You’re finally here!”
“I am,” Diana said as she pushed her hair back behind her shoulders. She could hardly understand was she was seeing, even though it was plain as day right in front of her. “Did you guys… did you guys make me a picnic?”
From his spot on the blanket laid out on the floor, Anthony turned and smiled at her. He looked bashful and pleased with himself, and Diana was reminded of Eleanor teasing her by calling him “the handsome accountant.” Hewashandsome, though. So very, very handsome.
Eloise was the one to answer Diana’s question, even though Diana’s eyes remained locked on the girl’s father.
“Yeah! I wanted to do a picnic how I imagined it at Orchard House inLittle Women,” she said proudly. “We couldn’t get pickled limes, and Dad said he doesn’t even know what they are, so maybe they don’t make them anymore. But that just means we’re like poor Amy. And Jo makes gingerbread, but it’s not Christmas, so we couldn’t find that either. But the bakerydidhave apple cake, so we have that, and there are plums, even though we couldn’t get plum pudding, which Dad also said is old-fashioned. And then he said that we had to get more than just fruits and sweets, even if it wasn’t in the book, because you might be hungry, so we got sandwiches too. And I guess that’s okay, because everyone likes sandwiches, so the March sisters probably did too, even if they don’t say it in the book. What do you think? Do you like it?”
Eloise gave this whole monologue with the kind of breathless excitement that only a child can give. And Diana did listen, her chest growing warm with fondness for the girl with every word.
Her eyes, however, were locked on Anthony’s.
It was only when Eloise fell silent that Diana tore her gaze away. She gave Eloise a beaming smile.
“I love it,” she said.
Eloise clapped her hands together and did an excited little dance, which made Diana laugh.
“You guys really shouldn’t have done all this, though,” she said, making sure her tone conveyed that this was due to her excess of gratitude, not because she wanted to censure them. “After watching the store all afternoon to boot? It’s really too much.”
“It is not,” Anthony said firmly. “I say this with kindness, but you were completely dead to the world. I didn’t have the heart to wake you up. So I had Eloise’s friend’s mother drop her off here after her playdate. And it didn’t totally surprise me to learn that Country Corner Market doesn’t normally deliver, but when I called them up and explained my situation, Kelly, who works over there, sent her son over with bags of stuff that they were able to ring up remotely. The kid tried to refuse any payment for the delivery, but I slipped him a twenty just for being a good sport about it.”
Anthony shrugged, as if to say that all this was really no big deal at all, while Diana gaped at him, completely bowled over by his generosity.
“Don’t give me that look, Diana Madsen,” he said, teasingly scolding. “Do you know how many casseroles I’ve been given by the people of this town? Sit down, eat, and let me pay it forward in peace.”
Well, when he put it like that…
“Very well,” she said primly. “Thank you both, very much.”
Eloise darted forward and wrapped Diana in a swift, tight hug. Diana hugged her back, feeling a pleased smile cross her face as she did so. Then, both of them lowered themselves down to the picnic blanket, Eloise in a quick, fluid drop, Diana a little more gingerly.
And if she sat a teeny, tiny bit close to Anthony, who could blame her, right? Anthony certainly didn’t seem to, based on the way he shot her a shy sort of look.
This is alreadywaybetter than our date, Diana thought, then chided herself for comparing the two. This wasn’t a date, was it? It was just a friendly picnic. The romantic candlelight was probably… to save on her electric bill. That had to be it.
“Dad!” Eloise’s voice cut in, alerting Diana to the fact that she had been staring kind of dopily at Anthony. “Can we eat? Please?”
Anthony cleared his throat rapidly, like he realized he’d been caught doing something. Luckily, Eloise was too busy staring at apple cake as though she hoped to telekinetically get it to transport directly to her mouth to notice anything going on between the two adults in the room.
“Right,” he said gruffly. “So we’ve got some salami and cubed ham, some cheeses. I think it’s gouda and… something. I forget. But it looks good. Fruit, vegetables, are over here. Your standard charcuterie board fare.”
“And spinach dip,” Eloise said conspiratorially. “It’s better than regular spinach, because it tastes like cheese, but you still get your vitamins.”
Diana fought back against the chuckle that threatened to bubble out of her. “That’s very important.”
“It helps you grow,” Eloise said with a shrug that really challenged Diana’s composure.
With this sage advice spurring her on, Diana did accept some spinach dip, as well as an assortment of meats, cheeses,fruits, and vegetables. A little dish of pita chips made perfect accompaniment for the dip, and there was some red pepper hummus, as well. Eloise liberated a toothpick that was holding one of the sandwiches together and made herself little fruit kebabs, spearing a grape, a blueberry, a wedge of plum, and a piece of pineapple together. She explained somberly to the adults that this was the best collection of fruits, for reasons that she implied were both obvious and highly mysterious.
It wasfun. Diana kept trying to convince herself that this wasn’t a date, since most dates didn’t happen with a ten-year-old in tow, but that was what it felt like. A really good date. And it just felt right that Eloise was there with them. They snacked on the myriad of treats that Anthony had gathered, laughing and goofing around. Diana and Eloise talked aboutLittle Womenfor so long that Anthony’s eyes began to glaze over, although he bore it all with good humor. Eloise pointed out her favorite things in the shop, and Diana filed this information away, thinking that there had to be some kind of present-giving situation in the future where she could gift the girl with one of her coveted trinkets.
