Unbreak My Heart (Strawberry Inn Book #4)

Chapter 9

ELIZABETH

I don’t know what I was thinking about agreeing to this party. I don’t know any of the people who will be there except Dalton. I guess I met his friend Cody for just a moment, but the man was still a stranger to me. Although I agreed that we would come, I debated it up until this afternoon. It just felt so strange and a little bit invasive. Part of me was desperate for friends who lived in town though. Shay and I saw each other frequently at work and it wasn’t a big deal for either of us to drive to the other, but it wasn’t the same as having somebody in the same town.

Eva was jumping for joy when I asked her if she wanted to go. I didn’t expect a different reaction since I prefaced it with the fact that Katie and her dad were also going to be there. I was also not a super creative mom and I never would have come up with the idea of a candied apple party. Christmas cookie decorating would consist of the pre-made kits you can buy from the store and I never made homemade Valentine’s cards a day in my life.

Dalton tried to convince me to join the two of them, but I made up a lie about needing to run some errands first so I could take my own car. His offer was sweet, but I needed to have a car of my own in case an escape was needed. There was something about the way Cody was acting when he invited us that gave me pause. Or I’m just projecting because the more time I spend with Dalton, the more my walls are being chipped away at. I was never good at letting people in, but I felt so comfortable with Dalton and that scared me a little bit.

“Mommy, I see Katie!” Eva shouted excitedly from the back seat when we pulled into the arched driveway of Cody and his wife Blair’s house. The home was stunning. Dalton and Katie must have just arrived because they were approaching the door when we pulled in.

Eva ran across the driveway to get to Katie and the two embraced in the cutest hug. They even showed off their matching boots, it was becoming their thing. I grabbed the bottle of wine from my passenger’s seat and met the three of them at the door.

“Hey there,” Dalton greeted me.

“Hi. Fancy seeing you here.” It was a cheesy line, but I didn’t know what else to say.

“You look nice.” Dalton grinned at me and I felt self-conscious for some reason, even though he said I looked nice. I wasn’t wearing anything too nice, just a pair of skinny jeans and a burgundy sweater. It was similar to his outfit in dark denim jeans and a sage green henley that stretched over his body to show off his muscles. Not that I was looking, I certainly was not looking at the muscles of my patient and friend.

“Thanks, I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as dress went. I didn’t want to show up looking like a mess.”

Dalton shakes his head, “I don’t think that would be possible if you tried, Elizabeth.”

I smiled again, but our moment was interrupted by the door opening. I can’t believe we were just standing out there while our girls were chit-chatting. “Hey, Dalton,” the woman who opened the door said. “I’m glad you all could finally make it.”

“Hi Blair,” he gave her a peck on the cheek. “You said everybody would be here around four and it is just before four.”

“I know, but you know how everybody is, early is on time, and on time is late.”

Dalton shook his head, “Harrison is the only one like that. The rest of you are just nosey.”

I wondered what he meant by the statement, but then it hit me like a ton of bricks. The house was full of people who arrived early so they could be here when Eva and I arrived. If I wasn’t standing at the front door right now, I would run in the other direction. It was too late, Blair already had her eyes on me.