June tilted her head at him consideringly, a thoughtfulness in her expression.
“Are you trying to ask me for music lessons?” she asked. “Because if you’d like to take a singing lesson or two from me, I think that’s something that we can make happen.”
Levi realized that hereallyshould take this opportunity to tell her who he was. If they spent more time together, she wasvery likely to find out the truth about his career, and he didn’t want her to feel embarrassed or like he had been making fun of her. His admiration was genuine, but he could understand why she might feel bad about being left in the dark about his true identity.
But…
But he found that he couldn’t resist the chance to ensure that he would see her again. He didn’t like the idea of letting June slip away forever without getting to know her a little better. And talking about music kept this safely in the friendly, professional arena. He would make sure that he was honest with her very soon into their lessons. He wouldn’t keep it a secret… he just wasn’t bringing it upquiteyet.
“Yeah,” he said, enjoying the happiness that lit up her eyes when he agreed. “I think that would be really nice.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Diana paused with her hand on the light switch of her clothing shop, Magnolia Boutique, and ran through her mental list of closing tasks before she clicked off the light. Turning off the computer? Check. Preparing the deposit to drop in the bank’s late-night slot on her walk home? Check. Sending in the order that was due to a distributor today? Check and check.
With a satisfied smile, she finally clicked off the light and exited the store, hunching slightly against the winter’s chill. It might only be five in the evening, but in January, that meant that it was all but fully dark outside.
It wasn’tquitethe time of year where she started feverishly counting down the days until spring arrived, but it wasn’t that far from it either.
After checking to make sure the lock mechanism was secure and the shop was closed up tight for the night, Diana tucked her scarf a little more tightly around her and took the short walk over to drop off her envelope of cash at the bank. Once her hands were free, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed her boyfriend, Anthony.
While the phone rang, she reflected on how happy she was to have Anthony and his daughter Eloise in her life.
Diana had spent so many years focusing on her business, and she didn’t regret that time, not when she loved her shop so much. But about a year ago, it had occurred to her that she’d spentsomuch time focusing on her career that she had neglected everything else in her life. She’d started online dating, which had been enlightening but hadn’t given her the kind of relationship she truly desired, the kind that lasted with a man who wanted to build a life together.
Just when she had been worrying that she would never have the fulfilling personal life she so desired, with a husband and children of her own, Anthony and Eloise had come into her life. Anthony had moved to Magnolia Shore seeking a new start several years after the loss of his wife. He had set up a local accounting business, which had led him to connect with Diana professionally. Their connection had soon turned personal, and these past few months together had been among the happiest times that Diana could ever recall.
“Daddy’s phone, this is Eloise!”
Diana’s face broke into a smile at Eloise’s response… something she could only do because Eloise wasn’t there to see it.
“I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to be picking up your dad’s phone,” Diana said gently, even though in reality she was a thousand percent sure that Eloise was not supposed to be doing this. She’d seen Anthony explain to his daughter more than once that it could be a client calling, and that he needed to be professional.
“I saw it was you though,” Eloise protested. “And I wanted to say hi. So, hi!”
“Hi, honey,” Diana said, just barely managing to hide the laughter in her voice. “Can you get your dad for me?”
“Sure, Diana,” Eloise said cheerfully.
Diana had to pull her phone away from her ear as Eloise shouted, apparently directly into the phone, “Daddy! Diana is calling!”
Diana kept walking briskly to keep the cold at bay as she listened to the other line, where Anthony’s voice came into focus from the distance.
“—I’ve told you a thousand times, honey, okay? I get you saw Diana’s name, but you still have to listen to rules. Yes, I—just ask next time, okay?”
Diana was pressing a hand over her mouth to keep her laughter from spilling out by the time Anthony picked up the line. Eloise was a total sweetheart, and she was sharp as a tack, but she also sought loopholes in rules like she was an experienced lawyer.
“Hey, Diana,” Anthony’s voice came more clearly on the line as he evidently lifted the phone to his ear. He sounded slightly weary, but one of Eloise’s debates could do that to a person. “What’s up?”
“Just calling to say hi,” she said, something inside her thrilling that she had a boyfriend whom she could call just because she wanted to. And not just any boyfriend, but Anthony, who was someone so wonderful that she could no longer imagine her life without him. Nor without Eloise, who made Diana laugh every day.
“Hi,” he said, his voice softening fondly. “You headed home from work?”
“Yeah,” she answered. “Just for a few minutes though, and then I’m heading back out to book club. I wanted to let you know that I’ll be free after, if you guys were up for me stopping by before El’s bedtime.”
This was something that she’d done before on book club nights. The club ended too late for the three of them to have dinner together, at least not without interrupting Eloise’sbedtime routine… something that would make Anthony’s evening far, far more hectic.
But a quick stop by was not at all an unusual part of their routine, so Diana was surprised when Anthony hesitated notably.
