He sucked in a breath of the charged air between them. “You felt it, too?”
She looked straight into his eyes. “I did.”
All his thoughts mangled together and his heart lurched in his chest. So he kissed her again to make sure that the lightning would strike twice.
It did.
~ * ~
Missy leaned against the front door after she closed it behind her. She ran her fingers over her lips, trying to feel the sensation of Dylan’s kiss. Trying to remember every moment of it. She couldn’t ever remember any kiss electrifying her like that. Charging her emotions with a whirlwind of feelings and thoughts.
Why had she never kissed Dylan before?
Becky Lee walked out of the kitchen holding a dish towel in one hand and an oven mitt in the other. “I thought I heard you come in.” She paused and her brow crinkled. “You okay?”
“I am very okay.” Missy pushed off the door. “I’m just fabulous.”
Becky Lee laughed. “I guess the date went well?”
“We decided it was a non-date date. Best decision ever.”
“You’re not making much sense, Cuz.”
Missy followed Becky Lee back to the kitchen where the smell of apple pie filled the air. “Well, the date started out… awkward. I thought he was having a horrible time. I couldn’t get him to talk. It was… terrible.”
“I thought you said it was fabulous.”
“I’m getting to that.” Missy sat in a kitchen chair and kicked off her shoes. “So I called him out on it. We decided to call the date a non-date, and everything went fine from then on. Better than fine.”
“Fabulous. So you said.” Becky Lee grinned. “So are you going out again?”
Missy sat up in alarm. “I don’t know. He didn’t ask me.”
Just then she heard a knock at the door.
“Can you get that? I’ve got to get this pie out of the oven.” Becky Lee turned away, barely hiding a knowing smile.
Missy went and peeked through the window of the front door. She hesitated, heart pounding, as she nervously reached for the door handle. She opened it to find a sheepish-looking Dylan.
“Dylan?”
“Hey, I forgot to ask. You want to go out again tomorrow night?”
Missy smiled. “I’d like that very much.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Missy sat in her mother’s kitchen, sipping coffee. Her mother had called first thing this morning and asked her to come over and tell her about her date with Dylan. She’d never figured out how news traveled so quickly in Comfort Crossing. Someone must have seen her and Dylan last night, who told someone, who told someone, who told her mother. That’s how it usually went.
“So did you have a good time?” Her mother sat knitting at the kitchen table.
“I did.”
“Well, you have been spending a lot of time with him since you got home. I’m not surprised he asked you out. He had a crush on you in high school, you know.”
Missy set down her coffee cup. “Am I the only one in the whole town who didn’t know that?”
Her mother smiled. “Possibly.”
Missy’s cell phone rang, and she pulled it from her jeans’ pocket. Nashville area code, but she didn’t recognize the number. “Hello?”
“Miss Sherwood? This is Keith Harper’s manager. You auditioned for a backup singer a while back?”
“Yes.”
“We’d like to offer you that job.”
Missy sat in stunned silence. Her mother wrinkled her brow and set down her knitting.
“I. Uh, when would you need me?”
“Right away. We have a big rehearsal of his show tomorrow afternoon. Does that work for you?”
“Can I let you know?”
“I really need an answer now. We’re a bit behind the eight ball now.”
Missy glanced over at her mother. “Okay. I’ll be there tomorrow.”
Missy tapped off the phone. Her mother sat and looked at her. “And?”
“That was Keith Harper’s manager. I got the backup singer job. I finally got a real life honest to goodness singing gig with a country superstar.” Missy set the phone on the table and stared at it.
“Well, that’s wonderful news, dear. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks.” Missy still stared at the phone.
“Did I hear you say you’d be there tomorrow? You’re going to miss Christmas with us after all?”
“I guess so. I’m sorry, Mom. I know you were happy I’d finally be here for the holidays.”
“Well, when opportunity knocks, you’ve got to answer.”
She smiled at her mother. She could always depend on Mom to have a saying for every situation. Then it hit her. The Christmas play. And the nursing home Christmas party. And she’d promised to sing at Frankie’s on New Year’s Eve.