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Wincing and sending the pair giving her similar accusing scowls a guilty little smile, she shrugged. "Oops."
"Oops?" Camille exploded. "But... but..."
"It's still not serious," Willow hurried to reassure. "I mean, three different encounters hardly means we're going to start picking out china together."
"Three!" Camille sputtered as Willow continued.
"It's nothing at all. It's just... just..."
"Sex?" Dylan finished blandly.
Willow snapped her fingers and pointed at him. "Exactly."
"Oh, Willow," Camille groaned, reaching up to clutch her own face in agony. "How could you? And even after you saw him with another woman at the theatre."
"She was his sister," Willow answered, unconsciously defending Malloy. But then her eyes brightened. "See. The man took his sister to a play for her birthday because she wanted to go. That should tell us he has at least one compassionate bone in his body."
Though Dylan only scowled at Willow's reasoning, his wife looked thoughtful. "Well," she murmured, "that was kind of sweet. He doesn't really seem like the kind of guy who would voluntarily go to a play."
"He's not," Willow said just as Dylan frowned at his wife.
"Camille. Don't you dare be swayed."
Sending her husband an apologetic wince, Camille said, "But Willow seems to like him."
"I don't like him," Willow quickly cut in, denial thick in her voice. "I can't stand the guy."
Both Taggarts looked at her as if she was insane.
"I'm not lying," she exploded. "I swear it's not serious. If I'm still,
uh, associating with him in another month, I'll personally pay for tickets to take both of you to the next theatre performance in town."
When Camille and Dylan merely exchanged a quick look, Willow paused.
"What?" she said, frowning as she wondered what she was missing. The two obviously knew something she didn't.
"Yeah, about next year. We, uh, have something to discuss with you."
Willow straightened, instantly alert. She glanced toward Dylan and grew more alarmed when he shifted uncomfortably and wouldn't meet her gaze. "Oh, God," she whispered. "What? Is it the baby? Is he okay?"
Camille shook her head and smiled in reassurance. "No. Nothing like that." She set a protective hand on her stomach and began to rub. "No. It's... well, Dylan was contacted by a horse breeder in Kentucky. This guy's the top in the nation. He only gets the best for his program and he wants us. He wants Dylan anyway. He's heard about the clinic we started and he... he offered Dylan a job to be his private vet." Wincing in apology, she added. "It'd be the opportunity of a lifetime for him."
Willow glanced toward Camille's husband but he had shoved his hands in his pockets and still wouldn't look her way. She swung her gaze back to her cousin, the best friend she had ever had.
Heart dr
opping into her knees, she whispered, "You're moving."
Camille's chin trembled and she hurried forward, reaching for her childhood companion with both hands. Clenching her fingers around Willow's, she said, "Nothing's been decided yet."
But Willow already knew. It wouldn't be much longer before she lost her best friend. The thought was both sobering and scary as hell. She suddenly wanted to grab both Camille and Dylan into her arms and pull them close for a tight hug. She didn't want them to leave her. She didn't want to be alone. Acting as their third wheel was better than loneliness.
She didn't start bawling as she watched her friends holding their breaths, eyeing her with bated concern. No, she knew she couldn't be selfish and throw a fit, forcing them to stay close to her forever. If this was their chance of a lifetime, then she should be happy for them. She would be happy for them.
Forcing a bright smile, she opened her arms to Dylan and said, "Congratulations, handsome."
As his arms clasped around her, however, she glanced over his shoulder at his wife, who was grinning and rubbing her huge stomach. Immediately, pain ached through Willow again. She wouldn't get to watch their baby grow up. She wouldn't get to be Auntie Willow who came over all the time and spoiled the boy like crazy.
