An Engagement in Seattle - Debbie Macomber [112]
“Honey, compared to me, you’re extremely subtle. Just be yourself and you’ll do fine.” She walked around the coffee table and eyed the cheese-and-cracker tray.
“What do you think?”
Daisy shrugged. “It’s a nice touch.”
“I’ve got wine cooling in the kitchen. I don’t look too eager, do I?”
“No.”
“You’re sure?” Lesley had never been less certain of anything. Her nerves were shattered, her composure crumbling and her self-confidence was at its lowest ebb.
“There must be something in the air,” Daisy said, reaching for a cracker. She was about to dip it in the nut-rolled cheddar cheese ball when Lesley slapped her hand.
“That’s for Chase.”
“Okay, okay.” But Daisy ate the cracker anyway. “Didn’t you tell me your friend Lori is getting married?” she asked.
“Yes.”
Daisy relaxed on the sofa and crossed her legs, swinging one foot dangerously close to the cheese. “You’ll never guess who’s been calling.”
“Who?”
“Charlie Glenn. He asked me out on a date. Charlie and me? He shocked me so bad I said yes without even thinking. It’s been so long since someone who wasn’t half bombed asked me out that I didn’t know what to say.”
“I’ve thought for weeks that Charlie’s interested in you.”
Daisy flapped her hand at Lesley. “Get outta here!”
“I’m serious,” Lesley insisted.
“Well, that’s why I think there must be something in the air. First you meet Chase, then Lori and Larry decide to tie the knot and then Charlie asks me out.”
Lesley smiled. Since her divorce, Daisy had sworn off men. To the best of Lesley’s knowledge, her neighbor hadn’t dated since she’d separated from her ex.
“Where’s Charlie taking you?”
“Taking us. He included the boys. We’re going to Wild Waves. Eric and Kevin are ecstatic. Did you know Charlie’s been married before? I didn’t, and it came as a total shock to me. He never mentioned he had a kid, either. His son’s a couple of years older than Eric and he wants the five of us to get together.”
“I think that’s wonderful.”
“Yeah, I guess I do, too, but you know, I’m a little surprised. I’d never thought about Charlie in a romantic way, but I’m beginning to think I might be able to. I’m not rushing into anything, mind you, and neither is he. We’ve both been burned and neither of us is willing to walk through fire a second time.” Daisy grabbed a second cracker. “Here I am jabbering away as though Charlie asked me to marry him or something. It’s just a date. I have to keep telling myself that.”
“I think Charlie’s great.”
“He’s got a soft spot where his heart’s supposed to be.”
Lesley recalled how the bartender had given her a drink on the house the night Tony broke their engagement. She’d walked the streets for hours and finally landed in the cocktail lounge where Daisy worked weekends as a waitress and Charlie tended bar. Because she hadn’t eaten and so rarely drank hard liquor, one stiff whiskey had Lesley feeling more than a little inebriated. Charlie had half carried her to Daisy’s car, she remembered. His touch was gentle and his words soothing, although for the life of her she couldn’t recall a word he’d said.
“Let me know what happens,” Daisy said, uncrossing her legs and bounding off the sofa. She walked to the door and opened it, then turned around. “You’re sure you know what you’re doing?”
“No!” she cried. She wasn’t sure of anything at the moment except the knot in her stomach.
“I’ll do my best to keep the boys out of your hair but they’re anxious to see Chase again. He certainly made an impression on those two,” she said with a smile. She left, closing the door quietly behind her.
Lesley didn’t blame them. Chase had treated them with compassion and kindness; not only that, he knew how to entertain them.
The phone rang then, and Lesley glared at it. She let the answering machine take the calls most of the time now, since there was always a chance the caller could be Tony. She needed to invest in call display, she told herself. It had been pure luck that she’d picked up when Chase phoned. Her reaction had been instinctive, but she was pleased she’d answered because the caller