What Happiness Looks Like (Promises) by Karen Lenfestey Read Free Book Online Page A

door. The sweet smell of cinnamon greeted her as she stood in front of the counter. No need to look at the menu or at the tempting bakery treats in the glass case below. Neither her wallet nor her waistline could afford the splurge. She ordered her usual.
    “Can I buy you a cup of coffee?” a deep voice asked from behind her.
    She paid the cashier then turned around to see Dalton. “Too late.” She raised her frothy cup of cappuccino in the air. It was one of the few indulgences she allowed herself.
    “Well, may I join you then?” He stepped closer to the counter and placed his order.
    Joely dropped a dollar into the tip jar and waited. A moment later they found a table near the wall that displayed a local artist’s portraits of children playing on the beach. She studied them for a moment. “I love these.”
    “I do, too.” He pulled out the chair for her. “Were they done around here?”
    She nodded and took a seat. “Not too far from here. At Lake Michigan.”
    With his dark hair and eyes, Dalton reminded her of the leading man in a black-and-white movie. He sat across from her at the round table and took a sip of his coffee. No sugar or cream. “I admire anyone who can paint so well it looks like a photograph.”
    She didn’t want to think about painting. She missed it the way an alcoholic misses a drink. “How was Dads’ Night?”
    A smile spread across his face, bringing a sparkle to his eyes. “Great. My son was the lead singer for ‘Hound Dog’.”
    “Did you know that was originally a blues song written for a female to sing about a man?”
    “No, I didn’t.” He cocked his head as if he couldn’t wait to hear more.
    “I read that somewhere. Or saw it on TV maybe.” Come to think of it, Jake was her hound dog. She pushed away the thought. “Anyway, Mitch told me your son did well.”
    He nodded. “Anna had a big role, too. She has a great memory. I don’t know if I could remember that many lines now, let alone when I was five.”
    She swelled with pride, but quickly deflated. She twisted her earring. Anna had so much potential, yet Joely didn’t have the money to pay for Logan Prep. And Jake was currently unemployed. Even if he had enough in savings, she didn’t want to depend on him. It would give him too much power.
    Dalton cleared his throat. “Something wrong?”
    “No.” A woman brushed by her, knocking Joely’s purse on the floor. She reached down and slipped the strap over the back of her chair. “My mind wandered. Sorry.”
    “I’m so glad I ran into you today.” He paused and sipped his coffee, as if he were hesitant to speak. He strummed his fingers against the tabletop. “I was wondering. . . if you would like to have dinner sometime.”
    For a moment, she felt young, giddy. She forgot who she was. Then she remembered. “I’m too old to play the dating game.”
    His fingers stopped tapping. “I don’t want to play games either. I just want to get to know you better.”
    “You don’t want to date me.” She crossed her legs. “I have too much baggage.”
    His warm eyes studied her, daring her to disengage. “Everyone has baggage, Joely. If we didn’t, that would mean we hadn’t lived.”
    She ran her index finger around the rim of her cup. No one had as much baggage as she did.
    He glanced at her moving finger, then again at her face. “It’s just dinner. Come on, it’ll be fun. You look like someone who embraces life.”
    She used to be. She used to get together with friends to play euchre or go dancing every weekend. At one point, she’d even dashed off to Europe solo.
    That free-spirited woman was a distant memory. A sigh escaped her lips. “Remember that guy who showed up at school the other day? Well, that was my ex. He’s Anna’s father and he suddenly wants to be a part of her life. Now, do you still want to go out with me?”
    He scratched his dimpled chin. “It matters. Does he want to be a part of Anna’s life or yours?”
    She realized that