Page 52 of Follow My Heart

“I can imagine.”

I reached over to touch her hand. “Have you had time to think about what we talked about last night on the phone?”

“I have.”

“Have you come to any conclusions?” My heart had picked up speed. What would I do if she said no? I could continue to be friends with her, but it wasn’t the same. What if she eventually dated someone else?

Her tongue darted out to wet her lower lip. “How would it work exactly?”

“So much of my life was planned out before. I’d kind of prefer if we take things day –by day and do whatever we feel comfortable with. There’re no rules, and no one is dictating the pace.”

Violet let out a breath. “That sounds nice.”

I squeezed her hand before letting it go. “I like spending time with you, and Faith does too.”

“Will she be okay if we’re dating though?” Violet’s voice was hesitant.

“She asked about it at breakfast.”

“Oh?”

“She said she likes you, and she’d be okay if we dated. I think she’s had some time to get used to it since her mother has been dating Phil for a while.”

“That makes sense. I’m glad she’s okay with it. If at any time, she changes her mind?—”

“I’ll let you know.”

On the drive home, we saw fireworks. Cars pulled off to the side of the road to watch, but I kept going because Faith was asleep.

“I’d forgotten that you can see fireworks so easily on the drive home from D.C.”

“It’s probably a local carnival or something.”

“Probably.” She inched closer to me so that she could see the fireworks through my window, and something settled deep in my chest. I liked being here with her like this.

We didn’t have to do anything tonight. She could go home to her place, and I’d stay in mine, but my heart kicked up at the thought of taking our relationship to the next level. Was she ready for it?

I knew she’d been hurt in the past and didn’t trust easily.

At some point, Violet’s head fell to my shoulder. She’d fallen asleep. When I parked in my driveway, I shook her lightly awake. “We’re home.”

“Sorry.” It took her a moment to wake up. When she lifted her head, and moved away, I opened the door.

“I’ll get Faith.”

Violet nodded as if she was too tired for conversation. She got out and opened the rear passenger door so that I could untangle Faith from her seatbelt. I handed Violet the house keys, and she unlocked the front door as I carried Faith inside.

I carried Faith up to her room, pulling off her shoes before tucking her in. If she woke in the middle of the night, she could change into pj’s. She was a little too old for me to be doing that for her.

Soon she’d be talking about crushes and dating. I’d enjoy these moments with her when she was still a girl and excited about a day in D.C.

Downstairs, I locked the truck, then the front door.

Violet was seated on the couch in the living room. “I made myself at home. I hope that was okay.”

“Of course.” This was the first time she’d been inside my house, and despite our conversation in the car, things felt stilted now. Where did we go from here?

“You want to watch a movie?” I wasn’t ready for our day to be over.

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