Date Next Door

She pressed the microphone into his hand and stepped back, making it clear that he was expected to say something. He hoped he would be able to find the words.

“This is incredible,” he began, looking out at the smiling faces surrounding him. “I can’t think of any memorial that would please Heather more than a scholarship in her name. She loved Danston High, and nothing would make her happier than to know that a new generation of students will benefit from her having attended there. Heather loved all of you, too. On her behalf, I would like to thank you for keeping her memory and her spirit alive in our school and in your hearts.”

Oh, man, had that been too sappy? He’d meant every word, but he hoped they hadn’t sounded glib or trite. When his classmates rose to their feet to applaud, he swallowed hard, handed the microphone back to Heidi and hurried back to his table, wondering if anyone would notice if he just kept walking right out the door.

Even as she stood and applauded along wit

h everyone else in the room, Nic felt as though her smile was frozen on her face. She couldn’t have described how she was feeling at that moment. The scholarship was a nice gesture, of course, and she could tell that the announcement had affected Joel. Heck, she would probably donate to it herself before the weekend was over.

Joel’s parents would probably be moved to tears when he told them about it. Ethan wouldn’t show his emotions, but she suspected he would be as deeply affected as the others, especially if what she suspected about his feelings for his late sister-in-law was true.

It took Joel a while to make his way back to the table. People kept stopping him—the men to shake his hand and clap him on the shoulder, the women to hug him, many with tears streaming down their faces. To his credit, Joel kept his composure admirably, though Nic thought she could see the effort it was costing him.

This, she realized, was what he had been dreading all weekend. A tearful and sentimental tribute to his late wife. While he was obviously touched by their affection and their generosity, he was equally overwhelmed by the outpouring of emotions that brought back so many difficult memories for him.

Naomi reached out to hug him when he finally reached their table. His eyes met Nic’s over Naomi’s head, and she could see that he was quickly reaching his breaking point.

Fortunately the DJ had returned to his duties, deliberately brightening the mood of the party with a peppy oldie that drew a few couples irresistibly back onto the dance floor. The moment Naomi released Joel, Nic stepped forward to grab his hand.

“I think we need one more dance before we head back to your parents’ house, don’t you?” she asked brightly.

His fingers closed around hers so tightly that she had to suppress a wince. “Yes, I think we do,” he agreed too heartily and all but towed her onto the dance floor.

It wasn’t a particularly slow number, but he drew her into his arms anyway, matching their steps to the tempo without releasing her. Nic wondered if he just needed to hold on to someone for a few minutes, a form of physical and emotional support.

“Thank you,” he said after a moment. “I needed this.”

“It really was a nice thing for them to have done, Joel.”

“I know. I can’t get over how great it was of them. They managed to take me completely by surprise. I had no idea they were planning anything like this.”

“A scholarship fund is such a perfect tribute. Much better than a memorial plaque or something static like that.”

“Exactly. I hope the kids who benefit from it will really make the school proud. I just wish—”

“You wish they hadn’t sprung it on you in front of everyone so that you had no private time to absorb it and decide what to say in response.”

“That’s exactly what I wish,” he admitted, seemingly grateful that she understood. “I don’t want to sound at all ungrateful, but it would have been nice if they’d told me what they were doing and had given me a chance to prepare a little speech beforehand.”

“I get the impression Heidi loves surprises. I bet she’s inflicted surprise birthday parties on everyone she knows.”

“As a matter of fact, she even got my dad once. And he hates surprise parties.”

She could feel the muscles in his arms and shoulders starting to relax. He’d been so tense when they had started the dance. She was glad her matter-of-fact tone seemed to be setting him more at ease. “I wonder if Heidi told your father about the scholarship.”

“I doubt it. She wouldn’t trust him to keep quiet about it. I’ll tell my family about it.”

“They’ll be pleased.”

His head very close to hers, he nodded. “Yes, they will.”

She was even more aware than before that others were watching them as they danced. She supposed his classmates wondered how she felt about the tribute to her escort’s late wife. As hard as they had tried, she wasn’t sure she and Joel had been entirely successful in convincing everyone that there was nothing but friendship between them. Or maybe they believed Joel thought of it that way but that she was hoping for more.

That made sense, in a way. There were several single women in Joel’s class, and more than one had eyed him in a way that made her suspect they had hoped he would come alone to the reunion. They would probably stand in line to offer him comfort and companionship in the loneliness they projected onto him.

If Heidi were any indication, Joel’s friends couldn’t see her taking Heather’s place in his life. Or in theirs.

As she had so many times during the past couple of days, she wondered if it was something in particular about her that bothered them. Or would they have been as reluctant to see any other woman try to step into Saint Heather’s shoes?