“Thanks for sitting with him for a while. It made Mom feel better about leaving him knowing you were here with him.”
“You know I like your brother.”
She dimpled. “He’s a great guy. Don’t tell him I said so.”
“Your words are safe with me,” he promised her. Though she was only teasing, he would add the sentiment to the other confidences that had been entrusted to him in the past couple of days. He was beginning to feel the weight of them.
She glanced at her watch. “I’ll pick you up at seven, by the way. Be ready.”
“Uh—”
Her smile was almost blinding. “You haven’t forgotten our date, have you? This gal doesn’t welsh on her bets.”
“I wasn’t sure it was still on—what with everything that’s happened.”
“Steven’s going to be okay, so there’s no reason for us to sit here and stare at him. Don’t worry,” she added with a saucy wink, “I won’t keep you out too late. I know you have to start hammering shingles first thing in the morning.”
He wanted to kiss her so badly he could already taste her on his lips. He settled for tracing her smile with the tip of his finger. “You can keep me out as long as you like.”
Her smile quivered just a little and the faintest hint of pink swept upward from her throat to her cheeks. He wasn’t the only one feeling the heat that had little to do with the summer temperature, he thought in satisfaction before dropping his hand and stepping back. “I’ll see you at seven. By the way, what should I wear? Black tie, scuba gear, hazmat suit? It would help to have a clue—though I warn you, I didn’t even pack a jacket or tie. I did throw in a nice shirt and pair of slacks.”
Her momentary self-consciousness dissolved into a giggle at his whimsical suggestions. “Your shirt and slacks will be fine.”
He made a show of wiping his brow in relief. “Nice to know I won’t have to scramble to find a tux to rent.”
Still smiling, she glanced at the golf cart. “Want a ride back to your cabin?”
“No, thanks. I’ll walk.”
Nodding, she hopped back into the driver’s seat. “See you in a few hours, Aaron.”
He watched her buzz away. He couldn’t wait to see what she had planned for him that evening.
* * *
Shelby was leaving her parents’ house at just before seven that evening when she almost bumped into her youn
ger sister, who was on her way in. They paused on the front porch to speak.
“You look nice,” Lori said, giving her a once-over.
Shelby lifted an eyebrow humorously. “You don’t have to sound so surprised.”
“I’m just not used to seeing you in a dress.”
A little self-consciously, Shelby smoothed a hand down the front of her sundress, a crisp white cotton printed with colorful, cheery summer flowers. Scooped at the neckline and fitted at the waist, the dress flared out to swish against the tops of her knees when she walked. She wore small gold hoop earrings, a little gold sand-dollar charm on a thin chain around her neck and a slim gold bangle on her right wrist. She’d left her hair loose and curling around her bare shoulders. The outfit was actually casual, but because she spent so much of her life in tees and shorts, she felt dressed up. All of her family had remarked on her appearance when she’d stopped in to see Steven before leaving for her date, and now Lori had followed suit.
“You wear dresses all the time,” Shelby grumbled. “How come no one ever makes a big deal out of that?”
Twitching the skirt of her gauzy midcalf dress that faded from a deep graphite at the top to a silvery pearl at the hem, Lori smiled faintly, but didn’t answer. Instead, she asked, “Do you have a date this evening?”
“Yes. Aaron and I are going out.”
Something flickered in Lori’s expression, too fleetingly for Shelby to pin it down. “You have a thing going with Aaron?”
Shelby rolled her eyes. “We’re going out to dinner.”
“Has he, uh, said anything about—?”