Chapter 26

Diana still had a couple of minutes before Steve would arrive to pick her up for their first official date. Immediately after their kiss the night before, he had asked her to lunch—and of course, she’d said yes.

Fall had crept into Middletown slowly, leaving the afternoons cooler than they had been the past few weeks. Dark clouds were beginning to roll in over the lake, and a northern breeze whistled through the spindly porch rails. Diana tucked the blanket tighter around her shoulders and took a sip of warm tea from the mug balanced on the edge of the railing.

Steve’s truck bumped up the gravel driveway. Diana pushed out from under the blanket.

“Hey, beautiful,” Steve said, taking the steps two at a time and grinning at her. “Ready to head out?”

During lunch, Steve shared that Principal Livingston had asked him to fill in for the basketball coach for the next few weeks.

“The big game against our rival school is this Thursday,” he said. “I wish I could be in two places at once, Diana. I really do.”

She folded her hands in her lap. “Are you asking me not to go to Equal Opportunity this Thursday?”

He nodded once, slowly.

Diana looked out the window, thoughtful. “I know you’re asking me because you care—not because you want to control me. So, I won’t go. I promise. I’ll ask Nancy to cover for me.”

“Thank you.” The hoarse whisper surprised even him, but it was all he could manage.

After lunch, they decided to drive down to the lake. They walked to the dock, hand in hand. A few residents and students spotted them, offering waves, smiles, and good-natured catcalls.

Steve had wondered how the community would react to him dating again. It turned out they were just as eager to see him find happiness as he was. Maybe happy endings could happen more than once in a lifetime.

The game wouldn’t start for another forty minutes, but Diana wanted to catch Steve beforehand and wish him luck. Arriving early meant she could also snag a prime seat behind the team.

Most of the lights in the school hallways were off— spectators were expected to enter through the main gym doors by the ticket booth. But Diana used her school key to stop by her classroom first. Walking alone through the darkened halls made every scary movie she’d ever seen come rushing back to her.

She quickened her pace. One more turn, and she’d be near the gym’s back entrance by the locker rooms.

Then she stopped dead in her tracks.

In the dim hallway light, she saw Steve and Georgina standing close together near the water fountain. Georgina looked like she belonged on a Hollywood red carpet, not at a small-town basketball game. Her tight red dress was striking—and completely inappropriate for the event. Diana fought the urge to inch forward and listen in. Surely, the conversation would end soon.