The Sweetgum Ladies Knit for Love - By Beth Pattillo Page 0,22
So he did know after all. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, sometimes it’s a blessing.” A cruel, bitter blessing, but a blessing nonetheless.
“How are you doing?” he asked as they resumed walking. They were on her street now, only a few houses from her front door. If she could just get through the next few minutes, she would be okay. Their first meeting would be over, and she could put him out of her head and go about the rest of her day.
“I’m fine.”
“Hmm.” He didn’t sound convinced.
“Really” The breeze blew a strand of hair in her eyes, and she pushed it back behind her ear. “I don’t know why people look like they don’t believe me when I say that.”
“Maybe people don’t believe you because you don’t look fine. You look terrible.”
Well, he’d definitely turned off the charm. “Thanks for the heads-up.”
His hand caught her arm. They stopped at the walk that led to her front door. “That doesn’t mean I don’t still think you’re the prettiest girl in town.” His smile was softer now, less charming but more sincere.
“Dante—”
“I’m just saying.” He let go of her arm, and she missed the warmth of his hand against her skin. “What are you doing Friday night?” he asked.
“Friday night?”
“The football game. I need all the fans I can get.”
“I haven’t been to a football game in years.” She’d spent Friday nights, like almost every other night, at her mother’s bedside. Except for the one night a month she went to the Knit Lit Society.
“You should come. It’s gonna be a good game. Rivertown’s our second-best rival.”
The first was Chapel Grove from the next county over. Their senior year, Dante had scored five touchdowns against them and cemented his status as a football legend.
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “I’m not sure about my plans yet.”
“Plans? In Sweetgum?” Dante chuckled. “Come to the game, and then I’ll take you out for dinner after. Tallulah’s is staying open late.”
“The café always closes by nine.”
Dante shook his head. “Not anymore. I convinced Tallulah that if she kept the café open later on Friday night, I’d fill it with customers for her.”
“The Dante Brown charm already at work,” Camille said, smiling in spite of herself. “You’ll have this whole town rearranged by the end of the month.”
“Nah. Won’t take me that long.”
The teasing light in his eyes, the ease of his stance, and the gleam of his perfect teeth against his dark skin drew Camille to him. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. Like a sad, pitiful moth to a flame. Only she knew, as everyone did, that the moth always got the worst end of that deal.
“So you’ll come to the game?”
“Maybe.”
Her response wasn’t exactly gracious, but it lit a spark of triumph in Dante’s eyes. “It’ll be like old times. You cheering me on. Maybe you could wear that little cheerleader skirt—”
“Jerk.” But she was laughing. She pushed him in the chest, just below his shoulder, like a high school girl flirting with her boyfriend. And she realized she suddenly felt young again. Not so weighed down. As if the weekend were a time to look forward to, not dread.
“I can’t pick you up because I’ll be with the team. But if you can get a ride, I’ll bring you home after dinner.”
She was making a date with Dante Brown, Camille realized with a start. He hadn’t been back in her life half a day, and already she was doing exactly what she’d sworn not to.
“Maybe it would be better—”
Before she could finish her sentence, he laid a finger against her lips. A minimum of contact with maximum effect on her nervous system.
“I can’t think of anything that would be better than having dinner with you after the game.” He stepped away. “And I’m leaving right now, before you change your mind.” He looked at her for a long moment, and Camille felt the power of his gaze from her head to her toes. She was playing with fire, but oh, how wonderful to feel warm again after all these years.
“See you later, Cammie.”
“Good-bye, Dante.”
He shook his head. “Not good-bye. Good-byes are for endings.” He winked. “We’re just getting started.”
He turned and walked down the street, whistling. Camille stood rooted to the spot. What had she done? She would regret it later. Of course she would. And if she thought the town rumor mill was cranking now, wait until she showed up with him on Friday night at Tallulah’s.