Page 62 of The Charmed Friends of Trove Isle
Melody nodded. “Right. Sorry.”
Liz lifted her glass of water, her hand shaking so hard that she had to steady it with her other hand in order to not spill it all over herself. She drained the last drop and handed it back to Melody. “We’ll take the pink dress.”
“Like I said, it’s on the house. Courtesy of Jo.” Melody smiled. “Check out the shoes on the far wall. Maybe you’ll find the perfect pair to go with it,” she told Rose.
Rose stood, leaving the chair empty for Melody to slide in beside Liz.
“You’re sure you’re okay?” Melody asked.
Liz blew out another breath. “Yeah. So you’re going with Christopher, huh? Will it be a date?”
Melody looked toward the store where Christopher was perusing the men’s items. “I’m not exactly sure.”
“But you aren’t opposed?” Liz found that focusing on other people eased her tensions.
“I’m not opposed,” Melody agreed. “He’s cute. And nice.” She returned to looking at Liz. “Is it weird that I want it to be a date? Because he was Alyssa’s guy. She was crazy about him.”
“He never returned the crush though. And that was ages ago,” Liz said. “It’s not weird at all. Christopher is a hot commodity here on the isle, you know? All the single women have tried to catch his eye.”
“Really?” Melody hadn’t known that. “But he’s not a stud or anything.”
“Maybe not, but the pool of single men isn’t that big in Trove. You should know that. And a nice guy like Christopher is hard to find. Maybe he’s not a stud, but he is handsome.”
“You don’t have a thing for him, do you?” Melody asked, suddenly looking worried.
Liz laughed, the tension further dissipating. “He’s more like a brother to me.”
Melody’s gaze stuck on her again. “And you have a thing for Christopher’s friend, Matt?”
Liz wanted to deny that question too. Instead, she looked down at the empty glass in her hand. “I’m not really looking for anything romantic.”
“You may not be looking,” Melody said, “but sometimes romance finds you when you least expect it.”
* * *
Liz was alone in her home. Right after getting home from dress shopping, Rose had gone off with a couple of her friends. That was good because Liz fully expected to have some kind of mini panic attack. She was waiting for it actually. After helping her sister pick out a prom dress, there was no way she wouldn’t be crying, hyperventilating, or pulling out her hair tonight.
Except, she wasn’t. On the contrary, she felt pretty good. Maybe getting started back with Dr. Mayer was helping. Or facing her past and Melody.Somethingwas helping.
Liz stood and walked to the living room window that overlooked her street. It was a nice evening. Darkness hadn’t yet descended. She supposed she could take her bike out if she wanted. Her gaze moved to her parents’ car in the driveway. Rose had gone off with her friends in Devin’s car.
Liz waited for her heart rate to quicken at just the idea that she might get behind that wheel right now, on her own, with no one helping. She waited for the tight chest and sweaty palms. It didn’t happen. In fact, a little zing of excitement zipped through her pulse. Without giving herself time to second guess this impulse, she went into the kitchen where the keys were kept in a small dish on the counter. She picked them up and jingled them for good measure. No fear, just excitement.
Liz walked out of the house toward the car, her breaths coming evenly.I can do this.She could back out to the mailbox and drive up to the house. Then repeat, just like she had with Melody the other day. Not only could she do this, shewantedto.
Liz opened the driver’s side door and dipped inside. When she realized she wasn’t panicking, she closed the door behind her. With a shaky hand, she placed the key in the ignition and twisted. A satisfying rev came from the engine and then a steady purr of the motor.
Liz blew out a breath. Working on autopilot, she pressed the brake and moved the gear into REVERSE. Then she eased up on the brake and felt the car slowly roll backward. Her gaze flicked to the rearview mirror, making sure she didn’t hit anything. She was moving painstakingly slowly, but she was moving and she was doing this all on her own. When she reached the mailbox, she pressed the brakes again and moved the gear into PARK. Then she expelled a heavy breath. “I did it!” she squealed. “I did it!”
Someone knocked on her passenger window and she nearly passed out from the startle. Matt was standing there, peering into the window at her with a perplexed look in his eyes and a smile at the same time. Then he opened the passenger side door and dipped inside.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m driving,” she said, oozing pride from every cell in her body. “I drove. On my own. And I didn’t hit the mailbox.”
Matt chuckled. “Good job.”
“Thanks.” She blew out a breath, feeling so alive in this moment. “What are you doing here?”
