He’d said the wrong thing or used the wrong tone, because her body stiffened. No, he didn’t want to bring up their differences now. At the moment, he could hardly recognize them. He lay down beside her and cradled her in his arms. “We could watch the sun come up,” he murmured. “And the stars go out.”

She lay against him, but her mind was clear now. The doubts had returned. “You never mentioned this to me before.”

“I didn’t think you’d be much interested in country dances and potluck suppers. I guess I realized I was wrong.”

It was another kind of apology. Maggie accepted this one as easily as she had the first. Smiling again, she tilted her head back from him. “Are you asking me for a date?”

He liked it when her eyes held that half-teasing, half-challenging light. “Looks like it.”

“I’d love to.”

“Okay.” Her hair fell onto his shoulder. Absently, he twisted the end around his finger. “Now, about breakfast.”

She grinned, lowering her mouth to his. “We’ll have it for lunch.”

She didn’t know what she expected, but Maggie looked forward to an evening out, away from the house, an evening to spend with other people. After her brief stab at being a hermit, she’d discovered that she could indeed take total command of her own needs. Being able to live with herself for long periods of time simply showed her that she didn’t always have to in order to prove her independence. Perhaps she hadn’t been attempting to learn anything with the dramatic change in her lifestyle, but she’d learned something, anyway. She could take charge of the tiny details of day-to-day living that she’d always left to others, but she didn’t have to cut herself off from everyone to do it.

No, she didn’t know what to expect, perhaps a quaint little festival with tinny music and warm lemonade in paper cups. She didn’t expect to be particularly impressed. She certainly didn’t expect to be enchanted.

The line of cars that sloped down the winding drive to the park surprised her. She’d thought most of the people in town would simply walk. When she mentioned it to Cliff, he shrugged and negotiated his pickup into a spot behind a yellow van.

“They come from all over the county, and from as far away as D.C. and Pennsylvania.”

“Really?” Pursing her lips, she climbed out of the truck into the warm, clear night. There’d be a full moon, though the sun was just beginning to set. She wondered if the town had planned it that way or if it had been the luck of the draw. Either way, it was one more thing to be enjoyed. Putting her hand in Cliff’s, she began to walk with him to the crest of the hill.