as berries now. Her eyes were slow to open and the look in them made him want to beat his chest and shout to the world that he’d done that. That his kiss had left that dazed expression on her face.
He set her back on her feet but didn’t let go of her. She left her palms flat against his chest and a subtle blush was stealing across her cheeks. She looked as if she was about to say something but Amanda yelled his name, making them both turn toward the road and the row of houses on the other side of the bridge.
“Are you two coming or not? Grandma is asking all sorts of questions about the party and I don’t know any of the answers.”
He chuckled and took a step back, reluctantly letting go of Diana. “Yes, we were just about to head that way.”
Caleb held out his arm, warmth filling his chest when Diana took his offered hand. He clasped their fingers together and turned toward the house and walked the short distance home with the smallest steps he’d ever taken. He didn’t want the night to end. Didn’t want to break whatever spell they’d been under on that bridge. Would the intimacy they’d shared remain or would she rethink everything and leave the first chance she got?
The thought made something painful in his chest clench tight. Her leaving was the last thing he wanted and he was going to tell her just that but first, he needed a proper wedding proposal. A woman as sweet as her deserved one.
His mother was indeed waiting for them. The impatient look on her face brought a smile to his own. He shut the door behind them and helped Diana out of her cloak, then hung his coat.
Diana headed straight for her room. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed she’d done so. He waited until she’d shut the bedroom door before turning to his mother. “Where’s Amanda?”
“I sent her to go get ready for bed.”
He headed to the fireplace, bending down to add another log to the embers.
“Well don’t keep me in suspense, Caleb. Tell me what happened?”
His mother’s voice was filled with impatience. He grinned and dusted his hands off before sitting in the overstuffed chair by the hearth. As usual she was by the window wrapped in a shawl with an expectant look in her eyes. “We had a pleasant time.” When he said nothing more, she scowled.
“And?”
“And—we danced, drank spiced cider, and talked.”
She leaned back in her chair before glancing down the hall. “Anything else happen?”
“Like?”
Her eyes narrowed as her scowl deepened. “Don’t tease me, young man. Amanda told me she saw you two kissing out on the bridge.”
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been embarrassed but knowing his daughter had seen him and Diana kissing, and that she’d run in and told his mother of all people, made his face burn hot. “She shouldn’t have seen that.”
A smile lit her face. “I take it you like her, then?”
He nodded. No use in denying it. “I do.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “And here you were fretting for weeks on end and regretting even sending away for her. I knew you’d feel differently once she got here.”
“Well, she’s not exactly what I’d been expecting. In many ways.” The inconsistencies of what he saw in the woman living in his home and the one he’d read about in her letter were too stark to ignore. Small things here and there reminded him of those inconsistencies but one look at Diana’s face, at the smile she gave him when he walked in the door every evening, and he forgot in an instant. So she wasn’t the best cook. She was learning. The house was tidy and swept clean and his mother’s daily needs were taken care of. Diana may not resemble the woman in the letter he received, but she wasn’t a disappointment in any way.
The past few weeks with her in their life had made a difference. To all of them. Amanda was happy and smiling again. He no longer had to help his mother with things he’d rather not see and as for him? The loneliness he’d felt since Ruth died no longer kept him awake at night. He looked forward to coming home every evening now, and even if there was nothing more than overcooked scrambled eggs on the table, he’d eat them with a smile on his face and would do