Drape Expectations Read Online Free Page A

stopped and motioned to it. Maybe he had a must-discuss list for this outing. “Vince told me about that. He said Seth gave you a charm bracelet for Valentine’s Day. What does it mean?”
    Her throat felt dry and her tongue seemed pasted to the roof of her mouth. Just why did Grant want to know? He’d left the Valentine’s Day dance so abruptly after Seth had shown up.
    All she could do was be honest.
    â€œSeth gave it to me because he doesn’t want me to forget about him. But I don’t know where our relationship is going, or what will happen when he finishes his fellowship in the fall.”
    Maybe Grant hadn’t expected her to be so honest because he seemed stymied for a response. He started walking again and so did she.
    After a few steps, he said, “I should have asked you to dance at the Valentine’s Day dance.”
    Whoa!
    Maybe they were going to get down to the nitty-gritty. Maybe she’d find out exactly what he felt.
    â€œWhy didn’t you ask me to dance?” She’d been so disappointed that night. She’d been looking forward to spending the evening with Grant, even though they hadn’t gone to the dance together. But they had sat beside each other. They’d eaten dinner together. Everyone had told her she looked like a million bucks. Yet she’d felt like a wallflower teenager. When the music played, couples had begun dancing and he’d remained silent.
    â€œI guess I wasn’t ready to take that step,” he confessed.
    â€œIt was just a dance, Grant,” she said softly.
    Stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets, he faced her. “You know my history, Caprice. I haven’t dated since my divorce. A dance—Well, it just seemed like it would have been a step in a definite direction.”
    Grant had been her brother’s college roommate, and she’d had a crush on him way back then. But he’d gone his way and gotten married, and she’d told herself she’d forgotten about him . . . until he’d returned to Kismet to be her brother’s law partner. Still, when he had, he had tragedy behind him. His daughter had drowned, and he and his wife had divorced. He’d started over in Kismet with Vince because he’d needed a new life.
    Caprice was wary of men who were divorced because she’d been burnt once before. Yet her friendship with Grant had just seemed to take hold as they’d worked on murder investigations. Besides ... when a man saves your life—
    â€œI’ve missed you the past couple of weeks,” he said. “No one else challenges me the way you do.”
    â€œIs that good or bad?”
    He gave her another one of those half smiles. “I’m still trying to figure it out.”
    They both needed to figure this out. There was one way to do that—spend more time in each other’s company in a low-pressure way.
    â€œYou could come with me to the De Luca family dinner on Easter in two weeks.”
    Now and then, he’d joined them when Vince had invited him. But now she was inviting him, and she hoped she’d made that clear.
    His brow quirked up as if he was surprised by her invitation. She thought he might make a joke or refuse, but he didn’t.
    He said, “I’ll check my calendar. If I can bring Patches, I’m pretty sure it’s clear.”
    â€œYou know my family will enjoy Patches’ company, too.”
    The dogs ran over to join them as they walked a little faster, maybe in anticipation of a family dinner that always seemed to hold surprises.
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    The Koffee Klatch, Kismet’s premier and only gourmet coffee shop, was noisy and busy on Monday morning as workers, passersby, and even tourists stored up on their caffeine for the day. Caprice had told Bella she’d meet her here.
    Her sister had started back to work at All About You, a boutique owned by Caprice’s best friend, Roz Winslow. Bella sometimes