Free Love Becomes Her by Donna Hill

a chance and herself a chance at happiness again for however long it lasted.
    “Okay,” she said finally. “Let’s try.”
    A smile broke out across his face that lit up the room.
    “And in honor of this momentous occasion,” he said ceremoniously, “I want to ask you out on our first official date, in public, this weekend.”
    “This weekend?” she squeaked.
    He nodded. “You pick the place.”
    She drew in a breath. “Okay. Um, how about dinner at B. Smith’s?”
    “Wherever you want. Not a problem. And to wrap up the night, dancing at the Knitting Factory in the Village.”
    “Dancing? I haven’t—”
    “Danced in ages? Me neither.” He grinned. “It will be an experience for both of us.”
    “It sure will,” she said, and was actually looking forward to it. Wait until she told the girls. Hmm, dinner and dancing. She’d have to do some shopping.

Chapter 15
    E lizabeth sat outside Delectables, the café and local gathering spot that her daughters owned. She was so very proud of them and all that they’d accomplished. She watched them through the plate-glass window as they jointly handled their last customer. If nothing else, those two girls were one thing that she and Matthew did right.
    It was Dawne who came to the door when the customer left, and locked up behind him. Elizabeth hesitated a moment. Maybe now wasn’t the right time. Maybe she should wait, at least until she spoke with her attorney about her options. But she didn’t want to risk Matthew getting to them first and twisting his version of the facts. Although she was really unclear how he could polish up being an adulterer and making it palatable. But with Matthew, his charm could turn coal into diamonds with just his smile. It had been her downfall, and ever since he’d dropped the bomb on her life, she’d begun to wonderhow many others may have succumbed to Matthew’s charm.
    She turned off the ignition and got out, setting the alarm with the remote as she walked to the entrance. She tapped lightly on the door. Her daughters’ faces beamed with delight when they saw her.
    “Mom,” they chorused.
    “What are you doing here?” Dawne asked, putting her arm around her mother’s shoulder and ushering her inside.
    Desiree pushed her twin playfully aside. “What kind of question is that? Mom is always welcome.”
    Dawne stuck her tongue out at her sister. “Hungry, Mom? We can whip you up our specialty, the Delectable veggie burger—on the house, of course.” She giggled.
    “No, sugar. I’m not hungry.” She stopped in the center of the shop and turned to look at her daughters. She took their hands. “I need to talk to you girls.”
    Their identical expressions of alarm set Elizabeth’s pulse flying. She pulled in a breath. “Let’s sit down.”
    “Mom, you’re scaring me,” Dawne said.
    “You’re not sick, are you?” Desiree asked, slow sitting down at the table. Dawne followed suit.
    Elizabeth put her purse down on the wood surface and sat down. “No, I’m not sick. Nothing like that.”
    Dawne exhaled a sigh of relief, then her eyes widened. “Is it Dad?”
    “Yes, but not what you think.” She paused a beat. “Your dad and I are getting divorced.”
    A heavy silence descended on the rectangular room. Each and every sound from the street seemed to be amplified in stereo as the trio sat in utter stillness.
    Desiree’s expression slowly hardened. “Is it because of that woman at his office?” she said, barely moving her lips.
    “Desi!” Dawne admonished.
    Desiree flashed her sister a look. “I knew it!”
    “What did you know?” Elizabeth asked.
    Desiree sighed. “I went to Dad’s office a couple of months ago. I wanted to surprise him with our new recipe—”
    “A vegan carrot cake,” Dawne cut in.
    “Can I tell my story, please? Anyway, I wanted to surprise him, like I was saying, so I went straight to his office. And when I walked in, without knocking, like I always do, Dad and Terri sprung