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“Hey, bro! I came to pick up a to-go order, and saw you and a pretty girl I do not know. Introduce me, please.”
The minute he called Sean “bro,” Amalie leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “I already know who you are. You’re Wiley. Third brother down, and the one who swallowed a tooth with a spoonful of mashed potatoes in the lunchroom at Ellen Smith Elementary, and then tried to throw it up so you could take it home for the tooth fairy.”
The smile fell off Wiley’s face. He looked at Sean, and then at the girl, and then threw up his hands.
“How can you possibly know that?” he asked.
“Because I witnessed the event. I’m Amalie Lincoln. I was in Sean’s grade.”
Wiley kept staring, and then a light suddenly dawned. “The bullies! The gum in your hair! Wow! Talk about a full-circle moment. He got suspended after that fight. As his brothers, we were so impressed.”
Sean could see where this was going and changed the subject.
“Amalie is the CPA in the new office next door to the bank. I just set up her tech stuff and a security system for her. We sort of recognized that we knew each other, but we couldn’t remember how. It was the name change that threw her,” Sean said.
Wiley blinked. “Right. Anyway, sorry to interrupt your evening, and sorry my big brother saw you first, but it’s really good to see you again.” Then Wiley winked at Sean. “Mom made me a pecan pie. You get the girl.”
“Mom said you have three girls on speed dial,” Sean said.
Wiley blushed, and then grinned at Amalie. “That may or may not be true.”
Amalie’s eyes widened.
Sean grinned. “Go home to your pie, little brother.”
Wiley was still laughing as he walked out the door.
“Oh, my word! He’s still a mess, isn’t he?” Amalie said.
“Yes,” Sean said. He scooped up a bite of dip with a chunk of herbed butter bread and popped it in his mouth.
By the time their entrées arrived, Sean had filled her in on all of the places that catered for parties so she couldget quotes for her open house and clued her in on the florist with the most high-end designs and given her the name of the woman at the newspaper office who was in charge of ads and public notices.
Amalie took a quick taste of her gumbo and then moaned in true ecstasy.
“This hits the spot.”
“Good choices for sure,” Sean said.
“Thank you for all the names and suggestions,” she added.
“You’re very welcome. And you should expect to see me there.”
Amalie beamed. “Of course! You have to! Bring your mom. I’d love to see her again. I remember her from school parties. She always brought the best cookies.”
“It’s a deal,” Sean said.
Nearly two hours and two crème brûlées later, they were on their way back to her house, with the windshield wipers making half-hearted swipes at the random flakes of falling snow.
As they turned down the street to her house, Amalie glanced over at the lights on at the tent around the crashed chopper.
“I hope they haul that thing off soon.”
Sean glanced over and then back at the street. “Ugly reminder, isn’t it?”
Unconsciously, she rubbed the side of her neck, feeling the pucker of scars beneath her fingertips. “Yes, I guess it is.”
Sean pulled up into her drive and killed the engine, then reached for her hand in the dark.
