“Yeah.”
He stood and offered his hand.“Then may I have this dance?”
She let him lead her onto the dance floor, and she walked into his arms and rested her head against his shoulder, swaying with him as the music danced around them.
She lifted her head to whisper in his ear, “For the record, I like you too.I’ve been trying not to, but it hasn’t worked very well.”
He chuckled, his breath warm against her hair.“I noticed.”
“You did?”
“You’re not as subtle as you think.”
She pulled back to look at him, ready to be indignant, but found him grinning at her with such obvious affection that her protest died in her throat.Instead, she stretched up and kissed him—a brief, soft press of lips that warmed her to her core.
When she pulled back, his eyes were wide, surprised, delighted.
“Well,” he said.“That’s one way to settle the question.”
“What question?”
“Whether it was too early to try to kiss you.”
“Mr.Ward?”
Simon stiffened and stepped back, looking over at a woman Sarah recognized: a parent, blinking as if to process what she was seeing.
“Evening,” Simon said, in what she now recognized as his teacher voice.He slid his arm around her shoulder protectively.So this was what he meant.She hadn’t considered how little privacy he might have, being known so well by parents.
“Surprised to see you here,” the parent mumbled.
“It’s a good cause,” said Simon, smiling evenly.
“Yes, it is,” said the parent, looking as though she wished the floor would open and swallow her.“Enjoy your evening.”
“We will,” said Simon, turning back toward Sarah.
She stepped closer.
“Well, looks like we’ve been seen, so…”
“We may as well pick up where we left off,” she said.
“That’s what I was thinking too.”He grinned and bent down to kiss her, much less briefly this time, and the crowd faded into the background as the band played on.
ChapterTwenty-Six
Across the room, near the bar where a local winery was pouring samples, Raven nursed a glass of sparkling water and watched the dancers and table of young women talking animatedly.Wren and her friends.She was glad Wren had agreed to go out tonight.She was beginning to look more like her old self.But as Wren gravitated away from her again, she felt more and more lonely.On the outside looking in.
“So you made it after all,” said a voice near her elbow.
She turned to see Betty in her chair, wearing a long, royal-purple gown, her hair done up in soft curls.
“I didn’t know you were coming,” said Raven.She glanced around the room, wondering if Lance had come too, but she didn’t see him, which left her disappointed.
“I’m on the organizing committee,” said Betty, maneuvering her wheelchair close to the bar.“A glass of white wine, please,” she said to a volunteer pouring drinks.She turned back to Raven.“Are you here alone?”
“Yes and no,” said Raven.“I drove Wren and Daisy down and checked in with Roz about a cat I took to her earlier this week.I thought I would look in here for a bit.You?”
