Mama was running late, which had Emily feeling just a bit frazzled as she got Sarah ready for bed. It wasn't that she was upset, because she understood that sometimes things got busy at the salon, and that was a good thing. She was just nervous about tonight and had hoped to have more time to mentally prepare herself for it. When was the last time she'd driven somewhere alone with a guy? She couldn't even remember, though she was certain it had been with Shawn, which meant at least two years now.
At least she didn't have to take the time to primp or anything like that, because this wasn't a date. This was just neighbors going together to get coffee and listen to some good live music. Which, God, that made it sound like a date. Emily had dated some starting this summer, but she really still wasn't sure she was ready for dating, so she hoped that Connor wasn't looking at this as some kind of date or even pre-date. Maybe she should make it clear to him tonight that she wasn't interested in dating. Or maybe that would just make things weird because she hadn't even got any flirtatious vibes off of him at all.
In the end, Emily decided to just put it out of her mind and try to enjoy the evening and get to know her new neighbor. She just hoped Connor wouldn't be too upset that she was running just a little bit late. When her mama got home ten past eight, Emily didn't let her stop her to talk or give her the once over to approve her appearance, she just grabbed her purse and headed out the front door, ignoring the, "Don't worry, I won't wait up for you," her mama called teasingly after her.
Emily hurried down the drive, picking up her pace when she spotted Connor sitting on his porch. "I am so sorry I'm running late," she called out to him. "My Mama got held up at work, and I couldn't leave Sarah home all alone, but if you're ready, we can head on out now," she told him, voice carrying across the street as she stopped at the end of the drive.