Free Carry Her Heart by Holly Jacobs Page B

said, praying the rest of the evening would be less . . . well, stilted.
    Three hours later, when Anthony brought me home, I knew that my prayers had not been answered.

Chapter Six
. . . that first date with Anthony was an awkward one at best. His idea of reading for fun was picking up some dusty historical tome. I read fiction.
Anthony was from Pittsburgh and found Erie’s very small-townish qualities almost claustrophobic sometimes, he said.
I complained that it was a long drive from my eastside home to the west side of town.
It took twenty minutes on a bad traffic day.
Anthony loved sports.
I loved Broadway.
I came home sure that I’d never hear from him again.
He called the next day while I was working at the pantry with Coop.
I came home and listened to the message.
He wanted to go out again next Friday.
I guess what I’m saying is, sometimes opposites do attract, Amanda. And sometimes, just because something is difficult, it doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying.
Sorry. I didn’t mean to write a lecture.
Love,
Piper

    Two weeks after Thanksgiving, Ned was on my front porch with a Christmas tree in hand.
    “Surprise,” he hollered and leaned it up against the railing.
    We hadn’t seen much of each other since before Thanksgiving. He’d gone to New York with Mela to spend the holiday with her family. I’d gone to my parents and I’d taken Anthony. Not out of some passionate need to share a holiday with him, but because he was alone in a new city and wasn’t going home to Pittsburgh for the holiday.
    No one should spend a holiday alone.
    I made sure that Mom and Dad understood Anthony wasn’t the one . He was a nice guy and we were dating, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t feel I was “the one” either.
    I don’t write romance, but I do believe that there’s someone for everyone, and I was pretty sure that Anthony wasn’t my someone, but he was a nice guy and we’d gone out a few times since that first date.
    “Thanks, Ned,” I said, looking at the tree.
    “I thought I’d help you set it up,” he said. “Mela’s out of town on business.”
    “Sorry,” I told Ned. “You know I’d love to, but Anthony got us tickets to La Bohème up at Mercyhurst. Why don’t you leave it on the porch and we’ll set it up tomorrow?” I motioned him inside. “It’s freezing out there. I think the weather guys got it right and we’re going to have snow tonight.”
    Rather than remark on the weather, Ned said, “You hate opera.”
    “Don’t you dare tell Anthony that. He knows I like Broadway and thought I’d enjoy it. And I might like opera. I try to be open-minded.”
    Anthony had been so pleased that he’d gotten us tickets. I got the impression that he thought if it was on stage and had music, it must be something I’d like. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that there was a big difference between Broadway and opera. And I had only ever seen one opera. Maybe I did like it and just didn’t know it.
    “Oh, come on,” Ned scoffed. “Open-minded you’re not. You’re the one who refuses to try sushi because you’re sure you won’t like it.”
    “There is a difference between raw fish and opera.” I didn’t add that I wasn’t sure there was much of a difference.
    “Yeah, sushi’s good and opera is . . .” Ned paused dramatically, then added, “well, opera is opera.”
    “So says the more close-minded of the two of us.” Just to tease, I added, “I bet Anthony could get two more tickets and you and Mela could join us.”
    Ned scoffed. “She’s out of town, remember? But you and I both know you’re not going to like it.”
    “We’ll see.”

    When Anthony dropped me off, I knew that Ned had been absolutely right—I did not like opera.
    It turned out, neither did Anthony.
    Oh, he tried to make out like he’d enjoyed himself, but we both knew that was a lie . . . one that we could laugh over.
    When he pulled up to my house later, he said, “Maybe I could come in