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. Hope reached around him, took out avegetable crudités. A trifle of what? Looks pretty big to me. It s a dessert, a double chocolate trifle.Here, you cantake this downstairs. He gave it the same suspicious sneer he d given thetrifle. Kids don t want carrots and celery and crap.Theywant chips and the runt likes salsa.Hotter the better. They re having carrots and celery and crap, Claretold him. And Murphy s not having hot salsa and tacochips before dinner. Neither are you. Justine didn t spare him a glance asshe checked her ham. Owen, grab those pot holdersand take this out for me.It s heavy.Clare, the oven syours. How soon do we eat actual food? Ryder qualified. About an hour and a half. We re men.Boxing, skiing, alien-fighting, football-playing, race car driving men.We need real food now. Appetizers in thirty, Avery called out and snaggedhis attention. You making some of the stuff you make? You making some of the stuff you make? I am. Okay. He took the tray, his beer, started backdownstairs. Why do they call it trifle when it s big? I ll look that up, Hope promised. Do that.Come on, Dumbass.This is all we re goingto get. A little mournfully, the dog followed Ryder downwhere Harry s latest cheer burst out. Still number one! All right, taking five. Avery pulled off her bib apron,tossed it aside. Somebody needs a spanking. Afterrolling her shoulders, she marched downstairs.And marched back up five minutes later with Harry scatcalls ringing behind her. He beat the crap out of me. She paused for a moment, scanned the kitchen, thewomen, the movements, heard her father s big bellylaugh rise up the stairs, and Justine s and Carolee svoices from the dining room.She slipped out to the living room, still disorderedfrom the morning.Open gifts scattered under the treeshining in the window.Justine s dog Cus sprawled onhis back, feet in the air as he caught a nap in front of thesimmering fire.The ruckus from the family room rumbled under herfeet like a minor earthquake. Something wrong? Owen asked her, and she turned.And she smiled as she crossed to him, slid her armsaround him.Laid her head on his chest. No. around him.Laid her head on his chest. No.Everything s right.Everything s exactly right. CHAPTER TENON A SUPPLY RUN the week after Christmas, Avery brokedown and bought her own Wii.She d resisted she wason her feet hours every day already; she didn t havetime to play games.And why would she play by herself anyway?But facing a second defeat in the rematch with Harryafter Christmas dinner, then tanking in bowling sohumiliatingly even Carolee s four-year-oldgranddaughter beat her score changed everything.She d learn.She d practice.She d come back and takethem all.Meanwhile she juggled as fast as she could.Tossingpizzas, making sauces, firing a delivery guy damn itredoing the schedule to compensate until she hired areplacement.When she could, she helped Hope put some finishingtouches on the inn, and big sacrifice stayed a night inWestley and Buttercup for a status report.She shoehorned in time for projections and plans forher new place, walked through it to take her ownmeasurements, sketch out some basic ideas to pass onto Beckett.She barely saw Owen.The brothers focus zeroed She barely saw Owen.The brothers focus zeroedmore truly on the building next door to the inn now, andshe really had no excuse and no time to poke hernose in there.Yet.Every night before bed, she took a last look out thewindow at the building directly across, and imaginedMacT s imagined hers.And she gave a final good nightto the inn.Once or twice she thought she saw a womansilhouetted at the rail.Waiting for Billy.She wondered at the devotion.Most people, to hermind, couldn t hang on to a relationship in the normalcourse of events, yet here was someone who held onbeyond the impossible.Maybe one day she hoped one day that faithfulnesswould be rewarded, at least with answers.And every morning, she gazed out again, at whatwould be hers, and at what could be done.Though she waited, too, she never saw that steadfastfigure in the light of day.Between those two points the last look at night andthe first look in the morning, Christmas week passed ina blur.* * * * * *AT FOUR ON New Year s Eve, she closed the restaurant, ranupstairs, ran back down to her car with the pot ofmeatballs she d made the night before.Raced back upstairs.By five she d showered, fussed with her hair, her face,dressed and packed an overnight bag.A different process than the week before, she mused,seeing as she wore sexy underwear and had packed tinyblack boxers and a skinny black tank to sleep in.What would it be like to sleep with Owen?Okay, she decided as she zipped the bag, she wasn tgoing to think about it, try to imagine it, get boggeddown in speculation.Better to let it evolve, be surprised.She grabbed her bag, texting Hope on her way out.Heading over now for wardrobe check.She piled in her car, shook back hair she d rinsed asmoldering red, blew out a breath.Hope s answer came back before she d turned the keyin the ignition.I m here to serve.Avery drove across The Square to the inn s lot,jumped out as Hope opened the door to Reception. I was just organizing my office. You already organized your office. I wanted to make some changes.And while I was inthere, I checked reservations.Two more in March. Go team.Okay, be honest. Pulling off her coat, shetossed it over the high-backed chair in front of the fire,did a quick spin. Slow it down, Speedy. Right. Avery took another breath. I m a little wired.I had a vicious day, which I ll tell you about later, then Icouldn t decide on the earrings, and I always knowwhich earrings, which made me realize I m a littlenervous.I m going to have sex with Owen next year.Which is tomorrow tonight.After the party. The earrings are great, Hope told her, giving a nodto the thin silver wires holding citrine drops. Great colorfor you, and for the dress.Now, slow turn. Avery complied, showing off the short, snug dress inshimmery copper. Love it, love the shoes, the way theypick up the metallic of the dress, but subtly. You know I ve bought more shoes since you movedhere than I did in the five years prior. See how good I am for you? What s under thedress? The Marguerite and Percy pomegranate body lotion,and the citrony-colored demi-bra and thong you talkedme into. Exceptional choice, all around. Plus. Wiggling her eyebrows, Avery pointed at her Plus. Wiggling her eyebrows, Avery pointed at herchest. The bra hoists and squeezes everything so itlooks like I have more than I do. Which every woman is entitled to, and every manappreciates.But. Considering, Hope walked a circlearound Avery. You need a little something. I do? I ve got just the thing.The bracelet my sister gaveme for Christmas. I can t wear your new gift. Sure you can.My sister likes you.It s fun andcomfortable all these bronze, copper, and dull goldbeads.I ll go up and get it. Why aren t you getting dressed? Clare and Beckett aren t picking me up till abouteight.I ve got plenty of time.Grab a soda if you wantand there are some muffins.I m trying out recipes. Avery decided caffeine wasn t the best idea, and optedfor a ginger ale.She was wired enough.In a good way.She loved a good party, and Owen tended to throwgood ones.She knew the food would pass, as she dmade or would make most of it.And she looked good.Hope would have told her if shehadn t hit the mark.It would be fun.Lots of friends, food, drink, music,gossip.And at the end of it she d open a new door forthe new year with this new
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