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Blake whistled. “Oh boy are you in trouble.”
“Don’t I know it.”
His only hope had been Jillian. And now he didn’t know what to do. He had to do something before Beth heard and came rushing home. He didn’t need to be the cause of his little sister failing out of school.
His thoughts strayed to Jillian. When had she gained a boyfriend? She’d been so caught up in her business and settling into her mother’s garage apartment that he didn’t think she’d take time out for a relationship. Obviously, he’d been wrong.
The memory of her about to kiss another man left a bitter taste in Avery’s mouth. He assured himself that it wasn’t jealousy. He was just going to miss her assistance. That was all.
*
The one good thing about living next door to your parent was being able to borrow things.
Jillian sat at her mother’s kitchen table with a stack of cookbooks in front of her. Suzanna had agreed that they should keep up the coffee and pastries at the shop for a week or two longer. Jillian wanted to switch up what they offered so she was hunting for ideas—and trying not to wonder about Avery’s sudden change of mind about her helping him.
“Oh, hi,” her mother said as she entered through the back door.
Her mother’s arms were full of groceries. Jillian jumped to her feet to help. Once the bags were on the table, Jillian asked if there were more in the car.
“No. This is it, but thank you.” Her mother slipped off her coat and hung it over the back of a chair. “What are you up to?”
“I was just looking through your cookbooks.” She’d found a couple of intriguing recipes, but she couldn’t decide which to bake. “Do you mind if I borrow a few?”
“Not at all. Maybe if you tell me what you’re planning to bake, I could help you find a recipe.”
“See that’s the thing, I have no idea what I want to bake.”
Her mother straightened from switching into her slippers. “Is this for a special occasion? Perhaps for Glenn?”
She wished her mother would stop bringing up his name. Jillian had avoided the details of her breakup with Glenn because, well, they were embarrassing. She didn’t know what bothered her more—the fact she’d fallen for such a superficial person in the first place or that she’d been dumped in public. But she supposed it was best to clear the air.
“Mom, Glenn dumped me. And I’m never taking him back.”
“He did? Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“Because it’s embarrassing and I just didn’t want to talk about it.”
“Oh, sweetie, you should have said something a long time ago. Here I was going on and on. I feel so bad now.”
“It’s okay, Mom. You had no way of knowing.” Jillian hadn’t told her any of that to make her feel bad.
“Just don’t give up.” Her mother placed a jug of milk in the fridge.
“On what?” Surely she didn’t mean Glenn.
“You know, on men in general. Just because you found one bad egg doesn’t mean there isn’t a prince out there waiting for you.” Her mother was nothing if not resilient.
“I don’t need a guy to complete me. I’m happy just the way I am.”
“I know you don’t need a man. Times are so much different these days. But that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be nice to have someone to share your life with. Your father was my best friend. He knew me better than anyone. And I miss him every day.”
Jillian wanted to ask her mother why she didn’t take some of her own advice and get out there and start dating again, but she couldn’t vocalize the words. If it was anyone but her mother, she would serve up some much needed advice. Her father had been gone for more than five years. It was time for her mother to move on.
But selfishly, Jillian found comfort in the fact her parents’ love spanned not just life but death too. It was very special. And she also realized that she was a grown-up now and as hard as it might be, she needed to help her mother move on. Maybe tomorrow.
It was at this point that she noticed her mother walking around the kitchen looking high and low for something. “Did you lose something?”
“Did you see Romeo?”
