Page 39 of Pierced Pages
Danielle felt her cheeks flush with heat as she scrambled for a way to answer that. She couldn’t outright lie and say no. Her brain wouldn’t let her do that. But she couldn’t very well tell her daughter how she felt about Morgan.
“I don’t think we should have this discussion right now.”
Lila rolled her eyes and grunted. “Mom, I’m thirteen. I know what a crush looks like, and you’ve got one. So spill it. How’d it go?”
The heat in her cheeks flared as Danielle looked to Kim and Melanie for help. She found none.
She looked sideways at her little girl, who wasn’t so little anymore. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a high ponytail with a few loose strands framing her face. The slight reddening of her cheeks showed she’d spent a lot of this sunny afternoon out in the yard with Prince. She loved that dog so much, and Danielle often wished she could get a dog for her. But she just didn’t have the time or energy for a dog.
Lila still looked exactly like the little girl Danielle had raised and set her eyes upon nearly every day of her life. But it was Lila’s eyes that gave her age away. There was a knowing there. Just enough to hint at the new clarity through which she was seeing the world.
“It went well. On all accounts.”
Danielle decided she could share at least that much with her daughter. The other two in the room would surely have more questions.
“How well?” Melanie asked. “Is there another date on the horizon?”
“This wasn’t a date, and no, there isn’t a date planned.”
“But you want one, right?”
Lila was relentless. That didn’t bode well for the rest of her teenage years.
“What I want is a friend, and I think that’s what I have.”
That much was the truth. Danielle wasn’t lacking in the number of friends she had, but she wanted to bethiswoman’s friend.
The question was whether she wanted something besides friendship from Morgan. And she was afraid she already knewthe answer to that. So the even bigger question was why she’d pulled back from that kiss. Would it have been so bad to let it go on a little longer? Maybe do it again?
That would require a very serious and very honest conversation with Morgan. One she wasn’t sure either of them were ready to have.
Kim narrowed her eyes from across the room. She had always been the more observant of the couple.
Before she could observe more, Danielle stood. She crossed over Lila’s feet and grabbed her dress. “We should get going. Thank you so much for letting Lila hang out here.”
Lila stood, her body conveying her annoyance that the conversation was over.
“Never a problem,” Kim said. “Lila is welcome here anytime. Date or not.”
Danielle opened her mouth to argue the point again but decided against it. That might just pick up the conversation where she’d left it.
“Oh, the book club!” Melanie clapped her hands together.
Danielle paused from herding Lila toward the door. “Do we have more members?”
“No,” Melanie said, then quickly changed to, “Yes! Maybe.”
“The person at my work is interested. We just need to set up some details for her. Date, time, first book to read. That stuff.”
“That sounds exciting.” And it did. It felt like a real thing that was going to happen now. “You know my schedule. Just let me know what you decide, and I’ll check with Rylee’s mom about Lila.”
“Mom, I told you. I can stay by myself.”
Danielle ignored her. “And the book?”
“I can text you the ones we’re looking at,” Melanie said. “You can help us narrow it down.”
“Sounds great,” Danielle said. “I’m really looking forward to this, actually.”
