Resigned, Rosie made her way down the steps toward their row, waving to a few people she knew. Somehow, she wasn’t sure how, she ended up seated next to him, with her granddaughter beside her and Emma on the other side of Olive.
Great. How was she supposed to remind herself of all the reasons she and Andrew couldn’t be together when all she wanted to do was lean into him and enjoy this?
“Hi there.” He smiled in greeting, and Rosie told her ridiculous heartbeat to settle down.
“Hi.”
“I was wondering if I would see you tonight.”
“How could I miss a play about karateandprincesses? I told the children I would try to come. I didn’t want to disappoint them.”
“If you hadn’t come,Iwould have been disappointed as well.”
His voice, low and intent, left her feeling ridiculously giddy. She had a sudden clear conviction that if she wasn’t careful, she was going to lose her heart to this man—if it wasn’t already too late.
“I’ve been watching for you at the jobsite, but you haven’t come by Stormhaven for a few days.”
“I haven’t had much chance to leave the office since Pam left. I’ve been doing her job and mine. Things are in a bit of a muddle.”
“I’m sorry. That must be stressful for you. How are you coping?”
“I’m figuring things out. I keep telling myself it’s better than the alternative of having her still there. I’ve posted for a replacement on some job-sites and we’ve already had a few decent applications come in.”
“Then you get to go through the fun of trying to hire the right candidate.”
“There’s always that. How’s the book?”
“Coming along. I’m finally making progress.” He gazed at her with a meaningful look. “It helps to have some incentive to stay in the chair.”
Rosie could feel her cheeks heat, remembering his words after he had kissed her the other day.
He couldn’t really mean it, could he?
She thought for sure he would have come to his senses by now.
Before she could answer, the house lights dimmed, music began to play and Jane Baxter, who ran the community theater as well as the children’s drama camp, took the stage to introduce the play.
Rosie settled back into her seat, fiercely aware of Andrew beside her. Each time he smiled at something in the show or looked proudly on at his children’s performance, she lost a little more of her heart to him.
It was an adorable show, she had to admit, filled with staged karate fights, bad guys, fancy costumes, a couple of handsome princes and plenty of singing and dancing.
Olive, beside her, watched the whole thing with wide, bright eyes and an enthralled expression. Rosie suspected Emma might have dozed off. Poor thing. She didn’t think her daughter had been sleeping well, at least judging by the creak of floorboards upstairs above Rosie’s own bedroom at all hours.
The show wasn’t long, perhaps an hour. When the last notes of the final number had been sung, the audience erupted with uproarious applause.
The children in their royal clothing and belted karate uniforms looked delighted at the reaction and took several bows.
When the houselights came up, rather than going backstage, the children came out to look for their respective families.
Zara and Finn both found them quickly and rushed over. They went to their dad first, who hugged them both tightly, exclaiming over their performance. After they received the same treatment from their grandmother, Zara turned to Rosie, Olive and Emma.
“You came!” The girl looked delighted.
“And I’m so glad we did,” Rosie answered. “What a great job you all did. I loved the whole thing. The part where the princesses all had to fight the bad guys in the forest had me on the edge of my seat.”
“That’s my favorite part, too,” Zara confided. She looked bright and animated, obviously riding an adrenaline high from the performance.
“Guess what, Dad?” Finn said. “They have refreshments. Cookies and juice out where you pay for the tickets. Can we go have a cookie? I’m starving!”