“I’m a man in your life?” Levi asked with a grin. “I like that.”
“Oh my gosh,” June said, pressing a hand to her cheek. “Can we just forget I said that?”
“No way,” Levi said. “Now, come on. Let the man in your life help you into your coat. It’s cold out there.”
He continued teasing her all the way back to her house, which June found not at all unpleasant. When they got to her house, he walked her to the door, every inch the Southern gentleman.
It might have been freezing now, with the sun gone down and the wind picking up, but both June and Levi hesitated on her stoop.
“I… would really like to see you again, June,” he said after a pause that wasn’t quite awkward, but not quite comfortable either. Anticipatory, June decided was the word.
“I would like that too.” She was amazed by how easily the reply sprung to her lips. But she found that the idea of refusing him was… unthinkable. She was definitely still feeling the nerves of letting someone in, this time in a different way than before they’d gone out tonight. Now, it was more the flickering anticipation that this could really… be something between them.
And with everything in both their lives so uncertain, that was a worrisome idea. But not so worrisome that she evenconsideredturning him down.
“Okay,” he said happily. “Great.”
And then, before June had a chance to fret about it, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek, then practically skipped down the stairs of her porch back to his car.
“I’ll see you soon,” he said, and the words sounded like a promise.
He remained parked in the driveway until she got inside and closed the door. As June leaned against the inside of her front door, her hands clutched to her chest in glee, she heard his car engine start, then disappear as he pulled out of the driveway.
Soon, she thought giddily to herself, couldn’t come soon enough, not when it came to seeing Levi Hawkins again.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Diana picked at her cranberry orange muffin as she waited for June to arrive at Honey Bee Bakery. Normally, the seasonal treat was one of her favorites, and she always got excited when it returned to the bakery for the winter. Now though, she was crumbling her little piece between her fingers more than she was actually eating it.
“Earth to Diana!”
Diana’s head jerked up at the words and she saw her friend standing there, looking teasing and cheerful at Diana’s elbow.
“Hi. Hi!” Diana said, shaking herself out of her funk and standing to embrace her friend. “Sorry. Just lost in thought. How long were you standing there?”
June smiled as she slid into the spot across from Diana with her coffee and pastry bag in hand. She was practically glowing with happiness, her eyes and smile so bright that Diana didn’t think she’d ever seen her friend looking quite so excited. That expression made Diana’s own troubles seem very far away, at least for a little while.
“My, my, my, June,” Diana said, propping her hand on her chin. “Did that date of yours go well, maybe?”
June did an adorable little dance in her chair, then pressed her fingers over her blushing cheeks.
“Okay, okay,” she said when she calmed down. “I’m cool.”
“Oh my gosh,” Diana said. “You’re totally smitten!”
June wobbled her head from side to side, although her smile didn’t fade in the least. “I’m nottotallysmitten… yet,” she added, a touch bashfully. “But it was a really, really nice date. I had a really, really nice time.”
“That’s four ‘really’s,” Diana observed. “That’s a lot for someone who ‘isn’t totally smitten.’”
June sighed, and while it wasn’t a sad sound, it was definitely measured.
“I know,” she said. “I’m trying not to get ahead of myself in all this. I like him a great deal, but he doesn’t know how long he’s going to be staying in town, and my life is already so complicated, and I haven’t dated in forever, and?—”
“And,” Diana interrupted gently, “you can talk yourself out of anything, if you try hard enough. Besides, Juney, nobody is telling you to run off and marry the guy. Take a breath! Enjoy this stage of things.”
June rolled her eyes at herself. “For sure,” she agreed, taking a bite of her pumpkin coffee cake. She chewed and swallowed before speaking again. “By which I mean that I recognize the wisdom of what you’re saying, but I’ve also spent so much time these past few years focusing on the future, because if I let that image slip away, things started to crumble all around me. So, living in the moment?” She grimaced. “Not exactly easy.”
Diana nodded in understanding.
