"It's actually a date."
"Oh, sure. It's Friday night." Of course she'd have a date. She was an attractive single woman. He shouldn't be surprised.
But surprise wasn't the only emotion he was feeling. It was something else, something he didn't want to define, so he just said, "I hope you have fun." But he didn't mean one word of that statement, and he was not going to define that, either.
Chapter Seven
Emmalyn had been staring at the menu for at least two minutes, not really seeing it, and not all that interested in eating or even being on this date. She didn't know why she couldn't get more excited about it. She'd been looking forward to getting to know Steven. He'd invited her to dinner at a popular restaurant with a great view of the water. He'd been on time and eager to see her, but she felt oddly disconnected.
"What looks good to you?" Steven asked, his voice bringing her gaze to his.
She forced a smile onto her face. Steven Matthews was exactly the kind of guy she should be interested in. Friendly, open, with an easy smile that reached his eyes. A middle school history teacher who also coached baseball, he had sandy blond hair that fell across his forehead in a boyish way, and when he laughed, which was often, it was infectious.
"I'm leaning towards salmon," she said. "How about you?"
"Steak. The pasta looks amazing too." He smiled at her over his menu. "I'm really glad we're doing this. I don't usually like setups, but ever since I heard about you from Erica, I've been excited to meet you."
"I'm happy we're doing this, too." She had agreed to the date because Erica, another teacher at Ravenswood had said Steven was a great guy, and he did seem to be very nice. It certainly wasn't his fault that her mind kept drifting to Hunter's dark eyes, to the way they'd gotten angry when she'd told him about her mother's choices, and the way they'd softened when he'd looked at Olivia eating her ice cream. There had also been an odd note in his voice when he'd asked about her date, as if he didn't really like that she had one. But that was ridiculous.
Hunter didn't care that she had a date, at least not for any personal reason. If he cared at all, it was only because he had to deal with Olivia on his own. That was probably why he'd looked a little disappointed when she'd turned down his invitation for dinner.
Hearing Steven laugh, she realized she needed to pay attention. Steven was sharing a story about his day at school, something about a student's hilarious misinterpretation of the Civil War, and she forced herself to focus.
"So then," Steven said, "this kid asks, in complete seriousness, 'But Mr. Matthews, why didn't they just text each other instead of fighting?'" Steven laughed, shaking his head. "Seventh graders, I swear."
Emmalyn smiled. "One of my students asked me yesterday if the sun turns off at night like a light bulb."
"It's fun to watch their brains develop." Steven reached across the table to touch her hand. "That's what I love about teaching. Every day is unpredictable."
His touch should have sent a little thrill through her, but instead, she found herself comparing his easy gesture to the brief moment when Hunter's fingers had brushed against hers as she'd handed him coffee that morning. Hunter's touch had been accidental, fleeting, and yet, somehow, it had lingered on her skin for hours.
"You seem a little distracted," Steven said gently. "Long week?"
"I'm sorry," she said, genuinely apologetic. "It was a busy first week back."
"No need to apologize. We could have done it another night."
"No, no," she said quickly. "I'm fine. Let's order. I'm starving."
Two hours later, she'd eaten a good meal and enjoyed getting to know Steven, though they'd spent most of the evening exchanging stories about teaching. Still, by all objective standards, it was a good date with a good guy. She just didn't feel anything special. There wasn't any heat. No nervous tingles.
As Steven insisted on paying the check, he said, "Would you be up for doing this again sometime? Maybe next weekend?"
She hesitated. The right thing would be to say no. It wasn't fair to waste his time. But she couldn't let her mixed-up feelings about Hunter send her down the wrong path. "I'd like that," she said finally, deciding to give it another chance.
"Good. I'll text you."
After paying the bill, they walked out to her car. Steven gave her a kiss that was warm and perfectly nice but did absolutely nothing for her.
"Night, Emmalyn," he said with a smile.
"Thanks for dinner." As she got into her car, she wished she hadn't agreed to another date, because there was no way Steven was going to drive Hunter out of her head.
She didn't even know why she was thinking about Hunter. They were barely friends. Although, she had shared her deepest secrets with him for some crazy reason, and she didn't know what to think about that. She could have easily told him nothing or the made-up story she'd spent most of her life sharing.
But instead, she'd gone deep into her past, saying things she hadn't said out loud in years. In some ways, it had felt cathartic to see his reaction to what she had gone through and to hear his compliments about her survival skills. But she also felt vulnerable now. He knew more about her than everyone at Ocean Shores. Not that she thought he was going to shout her story from the rooftops, but she'd put her trust in a person she didn't even know, and she had no good reason for doing it, except that he'd asked, and somehow, she'd wanted to tell him.
It was probably because her mother was on her mind, but that still didn't completely explain her sudden desire to tell all her secrets.