Page 69 of Meet Me on Lilac Lane

She sighed. “I guess. Maybe it’s just that when I visit my parents, I feel the weight of Dad’s judgment and project that onto the whole place.”

“Hey, I may be way out of line here, and I shouldn’t tell you what to believe, but I don’t think your parents are judging you. Every time I talk to them, they are super proud of you and how you’ve handled yourself.”

A spark lit her eyes. Anger? No, he didn’t think so. But it wasn’t joy either.

“You’ve been talking to my parents about me?” She raised one eyebrow.

“No. I mean, yes. I mean, when I’m talking to them and the subject of you comes up.” Was she really going to make him flop around like a fish on the end of a line? At least she looked less ashamed.

“Relax, Code. I’m only teasing.” Her face softened. “I guess I still don’t know how to act when it comes to my parents. Especially my dad.” She gave a little shrug. “Problem for another day.”

From the front door, a beam of light crept across the floor. The clouds must have moved on, allowing the sun to shine through the pane of glass.

“You were wrong before,” Mia said.

He put a hand to his chest in mock horror. “Who, me? What could I possibly have been wrong about?”

“I am sure about our friendship…and I don’t want to be friends anymore.”

The stabbing in his heart resumed as though it had never left. He took a step back. “Okay. I understand.”

“No. Wait. You misunderstood me.” Mia closed the gap. “I think I want to try being…more than friends.” She tipped her face up to him. “But I’ll need to take it slow. For myself, and for the kids.”

He couldn’t stop the grin creeping across his face, but he pulled himself back from swooping her into his arms and swinging her around and around.

Slow. He could do slow. He’d show her she could rely on him, even if it took a hundred years. “We can take all the time you want. Will you go out with me tomorrow?”

She laughed. “I don’t know if that is slow, but, yes, Cody. I will go out with you.”

And right then, right there, were the words he’d been waiting his entire life to hear.

Chapter Thirteen

What had she been thinking? Going out with Cody would be a huge mistake. They lived in a small town. People would see them, and they would talk. Mia reached for her cell phone sitting on top of her dresser. She’d just text him that the date was off.

“Knock, knock!” Dani called from the front of the house. When Mia had asked her cousin to babysit, she’d sworn her to secrecy. Dani had promised but couldn’t quite eradicate the twinkle in her eye.

Mia heard Dani greet the kids, who were watching an episode ofSesame Streeton YouTube, before coming down the short hallway. Dani rapped a knuckle on the open doorway. “Can I come in?” Without waiting for an answer, Dani moved into the room. “What are you wearing?”

Mia glanced down at her cutoff shorts and graphic tee. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“Everything.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not going anyway.” She looked down at her phone, trying to summon the right words for her Dear John text message.

Dani put a hand to her hip. “You most certainly are going.” She dropped her hand and strode to Mia’s closet. After riffling through it for a minute, she tugged out a yellow and blue floral sundress and shoved it at Mia. “You can never go wrong with a sundress.”

Mia splayed a hand over her churning stomach. “But what if people talk?”

“Let them!” Dani tossed the dress on the bed then began rummaging through Mia’s shoes. Grabbing a pair of white sandals, she pointed them at Mia. “Look. No one is going to judge you for going out on a date. Your husband has been gone for two years. And, even if they do, let them! You aren’t doing anything wrong or sinful. Just enjoying an evening with a man. You need to let go of what other people think of you and cling to what God says about you.” Dani placed the shoes on the floor next to the bed. “You are forgiven. You are loved.” She speared Mia with a look. “But we both know that’s not the real problem here.”

Maybe Dani knew her a little too well. “Fine. You’re right. I’m also a little scared of falling in love again.” Just the thought made her queasy.

“And I get that. But life without love is no life at all.” Dani gave her a hug. “Now get this dress on and wow the socks off your man.”

“He’s not—” But Dani had already left the room.

Constance, Lily, and now Dani had basically all said the same thing. Love is worth a risk. Mia took a few deep breaths and then slipped into the sundress. She had just finished tying a ribbon around her hair when she heard Cody at the door.

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