He followed his dog out into the yard and stared up at the night sky. Thanks to his remote location, he often was able to see more stars than he could count, yet tonight there was nothing but thick grey cloud. It seemed fitting. She was so honest, so open with him, and he was giving her the impression he was being the same with her, but he wasn’t. He really wasn’t.

Chapter Nineteen

GABI AND ANNA arrived at the Civic Centre just as their salsa class started. There were about a hundred people in the hall, most arranged into large circles with women on the outside, men on the inside, and a few stragglers, like the two of them, were shrugging off jackets or changing shoes. Gabi spotted Lee across the room and waved wildly, before blowing him a kiss.

She turned to Anna, who was changing her sneakers for shoes with a low heel. ‘Thank you for doing this – for swapping to the Wednesday night class. With Lee’s new shift change, we lost two more nights when we could see each other.’

Anna looked up at her as she fastened the buckle on one of her shoes. ‘You know I was happy to do it.’ She looked down again and tried to stifle a fluttering in her stomach. She’d told the truth – she was happy to do this for Gabi, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t a little nervous for herself.

Because Wednesday nights didn’t just mean Wednesday nights, did they? They meant Jeremy. A picture of him at the Valentine’s event popped into her head, and even though that had been months ago, her stomach did a little roll. It was most disconcerting.

Anna noticed their teacher scowling in their direction. ‘We’d better get a move on,’ she said and dragged Gabi into the Beginners’ circle alongside her.

To begin with, most of Anna’s attention was taken up with mastering a couple of new steps, but then she caught Jeremy’s eye across the room. He nodded and smiled. Her Not Spencer alarm remained silent, which was reassuring, so Anna nodded and smiled back.

But maybe she shouldn’t be scared if her little internal alarm did trip. Hadn’t she said to Brody that she didn’t want to be alone for the rest of her life? The journey had to start somewhere. There would be no possibility of that if she ran a mile in the other direction every time she clapped eyes on anyone remotely suitable.

She had to give herself permission, she realized, to be open to the possibility of a new relationship – even love – in the future, no matter if it seemed nonsensical in the present. Spencer wouldn’t have wanted her to wither and shrivel without him. Yet, all she’d done since his death was hibernate. Anna let that thought sit in the back of her mind while the class continued.

When nine o’clock rolled around, they thanked their teacher and Anna went to get her coat and shoes.