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"And are you close with your parents?" Mrs Holland asked
"Oh, sure," she lied
"Do I know therandmother Luanne Macomb, my mother’s mother? She lived on Water Street, where I live now I used to spend summers with her, and then I cah school"
"Why would you leave your parents?" Mrs Johnson asked, a fierce frown on her face
"Moh school so I don’t have to see Ned all the tio there to play sometimes, Faithie?" Jack’s father asked
"Yep Erandmother would have a few of us down in the summer She made the best brownies" Faith srow up?" Mrs Johnson asked
"Southern California," she said
"Oh, how horrible," Mrs Holland uess you can’t help it"
"It’s actually quite beautiful out there, Goggy," Faith said
"Do you see your parents a lot?" Mrs Holland asked
"Leave the girl alone!" old Mr Holland said "She hasn’t taken one bite of food"
True It’d be nice if Jack jus, but he didn’t see
"I visit a few tiy"
Do I have to? E to be fay," Honor said
"Charlie, tell everyone about yourat Emmaline fro quite the boxer"
A THOUSAND OR so hours later, Ee out into the rain, which felt blissfully cold on her hot face Jack followed
The subject of ht Hints about babies, eleven Goggy (that name!) had expressed her hope that Emmaline and Jack wouldn’t "live in sin"; Pops had countered with the opposite opinion Abby unsubtly requested more cousins Pru showed E Abby, Ned and Charlie go into fits of horror and hysterics
It felt like someone had taken sandpaper to her brain
Jack had barely said a word And while she didn’t want to be a weenie, it would’ve been nice if herherher boyfriend, curse the stupid word, had coht She had to wonder why he’d even invited her in the first place
She put Sarge in the car; the dog was lie the second she started the engine The rain was harder now, soaking her hair
"So that was fun," Jack said
She looked at him He was serious "Fun? That was fun? That wasn’t fun, Jack"
He frowned "It wasn’t?"
"Right, right, you weren’t exactly present, were you? Well, I’ood time"
"Didn’t you? Everyone really likes you" His phone buzzed, and he looked at it
"Everyone? Even you? Because you didn’t speak to me the entire ti about "I didn’t?"
"Well, let’s recap," she said "I think you said ‘Hi’ andand that was it Meanwhile, your grand my mother was in labor with ht I’d like to have, then actually wrote down the answer, and your niece wants ht How hteen Possibly twenty"
A faint smile crossed his face "Want to come back to my place?" he asked
She blinked Men "Jack, why are we dating?"
"I have no idea"
Then he kissed her, the two of theentle and soft, his body warht Em was torn between the desire to s hi her head and her ar Yes, indeed, his , lips soft and smooth in contrast to the scrape of his razor stubble "We’re together," he ainst her mouth "Get used to it"
She stepped back and sucked in a breath of damp, cold air "You’re very unpredictable, Jack"
"In all the best ways Corinned, and it was like the sun co a flare of wars hot and wobbly Made her think of blue-eyed babies, eighteen of the that he was Jack Holland, he got into his truck and started it, co that she was rapidly beco one of those swoony, lovesick fe
But you knohat? She had a sister, and while Angela y, she was also the smartest person on the continent She pulled out her cell and hit her sister’s nu
"U dinner I’ve been told I have breeder’s hips We’re going back to his place"
Ange laughed merrily "Time to rock his world?"
"I don’t know"
"Well, if Iyou would be" She started up the long winding lane that led to Jack’s house
"Maybe you need to be a little lesscareful? A little more heartfelt? Because I sense that you have very deep feelings for Jack, and perhaps it’s tiht you hon from you, too"