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date,” I say. “I guess you’ll have to cancel your
appointment.”
    She frowns. “A date? Who’s the boy?”
    “William Bailey.” I lift my chin. I know
she’ll recognize the name, and I want her to understand that not
everyone who lives in this house has sold out. I want her to know
that nice boys still want to be with me.
    Even if it’s not exactly true.
    “Oh, sweet Cally. What do you think a Bailey
wants with you? Don’t give it up to him. Your dad was so sweet to
me when I was your age and I got pregnant. Look what became of my
life. Don’t let him steal your chances for a good future.”
    I clench my fist because I want to slap her.
The only one who’s stolen my chances is standing right in front of
me.

Chapter Five
    William
     
    “Make sure you save room for dessert,” the
waiter says.
    The little restaurant is in a restored brick
mansion on the New Hope square. Candlelight illuminates our
white-clothed table and reflects in Cally’s deep brown eyes.
    She’s nervous, and it’s the most adorable
thing I’ve ever seen. She pushes her food around on her plate and
studies me through those thick lashes when she thinks I’m not
looking. I noticed her the first day she walked into French class
this semester, all that dark hair hanging past her shoulder blades,
her eyes guarded when someone talked to her.
    Does it make sense to say that I felt
instantly connected to her, long before we ever had a conversation?
She was a girl who understood loneliness the way I did, who didn’t
want anything from me.
    I picked her up at six, just like I
promised, and she was waiting outside for me, no doubt to make sure
I didn’t go into her house.
    I wish she weren’t so self-conscious about
her home and her family. I don’t care that she doesn’t have money.
I have more than I’ll ever need, and I hate it. I’d trade every
penny to have my parents back for a single day.
    “Did you want dessert?” I ask.
    “No thanks.”
    I want to reassure her that I’m paying for
this and she can order whatever she likes, but the words would only
make her more self-conscious. Instead I order the chocolate lava
cake, and when it comes, I pull my chair around the table so it’s
next to hers.
    The dark chocolate cake steams, the ice
cream on top already melting. I cut into the center with my spoon.
Gooey, melted chocolate rushes out.
    Her tongue darts out to wet her lips. “That
looks amazing.”
    I scoop a bite—making sure to get cake,
melted chocolate, and a bit of ice cream all onto the spoon—then I
offer it to her. “Try it.”
    I slide the bite past her parted lips, and
pleasure lights up her face. My breath catches at the sight, and I
immediately prepare another spoonful, then another.
    When I offer the fourth bite, she puts her
hand to her mouth and shakes her head. “It’s your turn,” she
insists.
    “I’m good.”
    She licks her bottom lip but misses the
smudge of chocolate just beneath. “Then why did you order it?”
    Cupping her chin in my hand, I wipe the
chocolate off with my thumb. Her lips part and she’s so close I can
feel her breath as it rushes past her lips. I want to kiss her.
Damn. I can’t believe how badly I want to kiss her. Instead, I say,
“Go for a walk with me?”
    She nods, and after I pay the bill, I lead
her out of the restaurant and toward the path along the river,
linking my fingers through hers as we walk. The night is clear and
the stars shine bright, their pinpoints of light reflecting off the
water. Cally looks up at the stars and her whole body seems to
soften. I feel the tension rush out of her with her sigh.
    “Thank you for tonight,” she says. “Most
guys wouldn’t have gone to such lengths because of a stupid
rumor.”
    “You think I wanted to date you to satisfy
the rumor mill?”
    She focuses on the pavement in front of us,
avoiding my gaze. “Didn’t you?”
    “You’re not that naïve, are you?” That gets
her to look at me. Her eyes are narrow and