With a sigh of contentment, she lowered herself into the overstuffed chair and kicked off her stilettos.
“Tired?” Ida asked.
“Yes, but in a good way.” Suzanna leaned back, stretched her legs out, and smiled. “Today Colette said I’ve definitely got the job.”
“Wonderful!” Ida grinned. “But I’m not at all surprised.” She gave Annie a pat on the behind and said, “Scoot over there and give your mama a hug.”
Annie ran over and wrapped her arms around Suzanna’s neck. “Was you surprised, Mama?”
“I certainly was,” Suzanna said with a laugh. “This afternoon, Colette told me to help Dr. Bergmann’s wife select a dress for the country club party and said I’m her new fashion coordinator. When that happened, I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.”
Gregg stood and turned to face her. “Fashion coordinator, huh? That sounds like something to celebrate. How about if I take everyone to dinner?”
Ida shook her head. “Count me out. I’ve promised to make three trays of cookies for the ladies’ club.”
“Yes,” Annie echoed. “And I promised to help.”
Gregg eyed Suzanna with a sheepish grin. “Looks like it’s just you and me.”
After a moment of hesitation, she said, “I appreciate the offer, but after working all week I should probably spend some time with Grandma and Annie.”
“Nonsense,” Ida said. “You’ve worked hard. Now you need to get out and have some fun. Go. We’ve got all day tomorrow to catch up.”
Annie hurried back to the sofa and climbed up beside Ida. “Yes, Mama, go. Grandma said you got to go so—”
“Hold on there, missy,” Ida jumped in before she could finish, “don’t start tattling on our private conversations.” She looked down and made a pretense of zipping her mouth closed.
Annie nodded, then hiked her shoulders and giggled as if the two of them had shared some delicious secret.
Gregg eyed the cast-off stilettos and gave Suzanna a playful smile. “You could change into something comfortable, and we’d keep it low key. There’s an Italian place in Barston. They’ve got a jukebox and some really great food…”
He waited for her answer, his head tilted ever so slightly, his expression hopeful. With a cluster of dark curls pushed back from his forehead and a hint of shyness in his smile, he was as different from Bobby as night from day, and yet she was drawn to him. It was his eyes, a blue darker than hers, but the color hardly mattered. What drew her in was the warmth and sincerity that came from them. Had Suzanna tried to refuse him, she would have been unable, because the truth was she wanted to go.
Glancing over at Ida, she asked, “Are you really sure you don’t mind…”
Before she could finish the question, Ida and Annie were both shaking their heads.
The corners of her mouth curved upward as she turned back to Gregg. “Well, then, it’s a date.” The words were barely out of her mouth when a spot of color rose to her cheeks. “I didn’t mean a date date, I just meant it’s okay; I can go.” She paused, knowing that she had once again used the wrong words. “Actually, it’s more than okay,” she finally said. “I’d love to have dinner with you.”
Gregg’s smile broadened. He reached for her hand and tugged her up from the chair. “Go ahead and change. I think we might find a bottle of red wine with your name on it.”
On the drive to Barston, they chatted as they had when she’d driven him to work and home again, but this time it was somehow different. The conversation was just as easy, only now there was a hint of intimacy woven through the words. It was something Suzanna couldn’t quite put a name to—like a shared secret they’d agreed not to mention.
At the restaurant, they slid into a booth and sat across from one another. Gregg ordered a bottle of chianti, and they pushed the menus aside.
“Give us some time,” he told the waitress.
At the end of the table, an oil lamp with a red shade flickered as they chatted about Annie and how just that week she’d learned to roller skate, about the aunts and uncles he’d left behind in Pennsylvania and the new baby that would be there before Christmas. When he asked about her job, she explained how she’d at first felt wobbly on such high heels, then learned to pivot and turn almost as easily as Colette. And how, although frightened to death, she’d helped the mayor’s wife select a dress that minimized her more than ample bosom.
“It’s amazing what you can do when you have to,” she quipped.
With his eyes fixed on her face, he told her that he found everything about her to be amazing.
“You’ve got a glow that shines from within,” he said. “Annie has it also. It’s not something you see every day.” He hesitated a moment then, reaching across the table, took her hand in his. “The first time we met, I sensed you were somebody special, and I wanted to get to know you.”
It had been a long time since anyone said anything that flattering to Suzanna, and she blushed. At a loss for words, she turned it off with a lighthearted comment about how she’d just come in from gardening and was a mess.
“A mess?” He smiled and shook his head. “That’s not the way I remember it. Yes, you had dirt on your face and some leaves caught in your hair, but that made you look even more adorable.” He went on to say how he’d wanted to ask her out that day. “If your grandma hadn’t rented the room to me, I would have found another way to get to know you.”
Suzanna took a sip of wine, and the warmth of it settled in her chest. It was a good feeling, one she wanted to embrace. It would be easy to love Gregg; he was a good man, fun to be with, caring, and sincere in
