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toward her. “Don’t do that. Everyone deals with grief differently. I stopped eating for eight months. Your brother felt the need to fix every broken appliance in a twenty-mile radius. And the town erected a commemorative plaque. So you took some time away from us all, I don’t think anyone holds it against you. I, for one, don’t. There’s no manual for dealing with loss, and we all had to find our own way through it. But you know what? You’re here now and it’s pretty great. Why don’t we leave it at that?”
    The sentiment alone, the fact that Molly understood, infused her with such gratitude, such relief that it was all she could do to nod mutely and fight the damn lump in her throat. They stood in silence for several moments, each lost in thought. Finally, Molly looked at her tentatively as if trying to make a decision. “Can I tell you something?”
    Jordan tilted her head. “You can tell me anything.”
    “I’ve decided to start dating again.” She ran a nervous hand through her hair. “What do you think about that? And you can be totally honest. Even if it’s to tell me I’m insane.”
    Jordan paused with the information before offering Molly her most encouraging smile. “I think that’s great, Mol. Sincerely.”
    “You do? You’re not just trying to make me feel okay about it? Because the prospect of telling your parents is more than I can process at this point, and it was one thing in theory, but now that the day is here, I’m having all kinds of doubts and thinking maybe I should just call her and—”
    “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down, tiger.” Jordan grabbed Molly by the shoulders and steered her back to the steps where she sat them both down. “First of all, breathe. That would be step one.”
    Molly took a deep inhale. Probably more than she actually needed which was endearing.
    “You good?”
    She nodded. “Better.”
    “Then let’s back up a little bit. When is this date you speak of?”
    “Tonight. Eden’s friend set it up. I work with Eden at Flour Child. I don’t think you’ve met her yet. She’s pretty wonderful. And Southern. Totally Southern. I’ll introduce you.”
    “I can’t even wait. Stop stalling.”
    “You’re good.” A pause. “So…I’m supposed to meet this woman .”
    “Your date.”
    “Right, my date, for dinner tonight. She sounds incredibly accomplished, put together, and from what Eden says, attractive, so I’m pretty sure she’s going to hate me.”
    “Because you’re the opposite of all of those things.”
    Molly narrowed her gaze. “I see what you did there. Very slick.”
    Jordan took Molly’s hand. “Just try and have a good time. Keep it simple. You never know.”
    Molly seemed to mull things over. “When did you become the smart one between us?”
    “Can I have that in writing?”
    Molly briefly considered this. “Definitely not.”
    She headed inside and Jordan spent the next hour gathering the supplies she needed from her parents’ garage a few blocks down and set to work power washing, then sanding down the shutters to remove any chipped paint. She was losing light and contemplated calling it a day when Molly emerged from the house once again, and the image sucked all the air from her lungs. Molly stood there in a simple midnight blue cocktail dress, nervously clutching a handbag. Her hair was partially clipped back and the rest shimmered loosely down her back. She wore subtle heels and a small solitaire necklace. She looked, in a word, beautiful. No. More than that. As Jordan stared, time seemed to stand still, which was strange, and at the same time ridiculous, because when did time ever stand still?
     
    *
     
    Jordan was staring at her oddly, which made Molly start to doubt the evening all over again. Clearly, the dress was all wrong, and who was she kidding? She was trying too hard. She wanted to turn back around and call the whole thing off, but that would be rude and she hated to be rude. “Is it too much? You should