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“No, you won’t,” Talulah said.
“Why not?”
“You know why not.”
Jane frowned as she plopped into a chair. “Averil’s got to understand that I’m friends with you, too.”
“Except she won’t. If you go, you’ll have to choose between us, and she’ll never forgive you if you choose me. I don’t want to imagine you lonely and miserable after I leave.”
“Well, when you put it that way,” she joked.
“I’m serious. I can get through one afternoon by myself.”
“But Averil will expect me to be there, too.”
“Why? You barely even knew my great aunt.”
“She gave me piano lessons.”
“So? Come up with an excuse. Get sick or have something happen to a family member that takes you out of town for the day.”
“I’ll feel terrible doing that.”
“It’ll pass. Trust me, you need to stay away.”
“Brant won’t be going, will he?”
“No.”
“He didn’t know your aunt, either?”
“Not really. And he’s in the same situation you are. It’ll be best for both of you to skip it.”
“But you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not as if Brant’s off-limits.”
“Apparently to me he is. How protective of her brother can Averil be?”
“I don’t think this is entirely about Charlie,” Jane confided.
“What do you mean?” Talulah asked.
“The way she’s been talking about Brant lately. It’s sort of making me wonder if she’d like to sleep with him herself.”
Talulah felt her eyes widen. “No!”
“Yes! He seems to be coming up in our conversations quite a bit. He’s giving her son horseback riding lessons. He came to rescue her when she got a flat tire on the way to Bozeman and she couldn’t get hold of Charlie. She thanked him by baking a giant chocolate chip cookie and taking it over to him. She talks about seeing him whenever he comes into the bank, and yet I don’t hear about any other patrons. And on and on.”
Talulah sank into the chair beside her. “Have you asked her if she’s interested in him?”
“I have. She denies it. And he’s been a close friend of the family for years, so maybe I’m reading too much into it. But when she called to give me the latest gossip yesterday, I don’t know...it made me wonder all over again.”
“Wow.” Talulah felt a little sick inside, but she couldn’t really explain why. Her whole life was in Seattle with her dessert diner and Paul. Why would she care if Averil had a thing for Brant? For all she knew, they were perfect for each other. And maybe if they got together, he could convince Averil to forgive her for what she did at the wedding.
“Talulah?”
Talulah had been staring off into space. Blinking, she shifted her gaze back to Jane. “What?”
“Let’s order a pizza and open a bottle of wine.”
