He must’ve just entered, because he stood near the entrance. Oblivious to her, he was in conversation with Ben. He’d chosen a beautifully cut dark gray sweater and narrow black suit pants. It looked as if he’d used a wide-toothed comb and a little gel on his hair, which gleamed subtly under the lights. She loved the tousled way his hair usually fell. But this more severe style suited his bone structure. He’d never resembled an Italian prince more strongly than he did tonight.

Excitement tingled from the soles of her feet, up the backs of her knees, to the tip of her scalp. She’d been having a very nice time, but now that Luke had arrived, her enjoyment had quadrupled. She felt the way she had when she was in high school and her long-time crush, Benton Nichols, had appeared unexpectedly at her friend Dorrie’s Fourth of July party.

She adjusted her dress—a cream floral design on a backdrop of red. It had fluttery sleeves and a gathered waist that flowed to a short breezy skirt. Holding her glass in one hand, she threaded her way through people toward Luke. She checked to make sure her three gold necklaces hadn’t tangled. They had a little, so she straightened them.

Since the day she and Luke kissed, she’d done a lot of thinking about whether the time had come to try dating again. She’d prayed. Talked about it more with Meadow and Bridget.

God’s will wasn’t always the easiest thing to discern. In this case, it was subtle—a gentle invitation to lay down her shields and regard relationships with an open mind. She’d been shoving even the thought of romance aside for a long time. She needed to quit doing that out of habit. And cautiously put herself back out there.

That much, she’d deduced.

She couldn’t date Luke, but to her chagrin, her body hadn’t gotten the memo. She was more and more drawn to him every day. Lately, when they made eye contact, her senses jumped with electric awareness.

Luke, of course, had remained very much in control of himself. Reserved. Not cold, just distinctly out of reach.

Yet he’d shown up here. Here! Which proved her five-step plan was working better than she’d thought.

Some of the guests were stealing covert glances at him. In fact, a pulse of interest seemed to be traveling through the room. Is that Luke Dempsey? she imagined one person saying to the next, like a game of telephone.

She greeted several acquaintances as she passed. Running an animal shelter in Misty River ensured that she could attend any type of gathering and find people there she knew.

A redhead came into view, standing beside Luke.

Finley stutter-stepped. Wait. The redhead was Dakota, the beautiful librarian who’d helped them research the Dewey decimal number.