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The point being that Rachel was too distanced froh for her mother’s l

iking “If she doesn’t calm down, I won’t visit for a year after this is over”

Her father clutched his chest as though in pain “Don’t even joke about it The woman would hunt you to the ends of the earth if you did that, and she’d dragwith her And then we’d all suffer Isn’t one heart attack enough for ive me another?”

“Whatever,” Rachel gru Harvard pay”

“That I can live with,” he said

The interior of the house wasn’t what Harvard had expected He’d obviously seen one too ht the place would be wall-to-wall burgundy flocked paper and ornate enerations and antique furniture with the kind of spindly legs that a

Instead, the walls were cream and the floors a polished wood, streith tasteful throw rugs There were a few pieces of conte the work of well-known British artists The furniture was sleek, solid and modern The kind that would entice a person to sit awhile and relax In fact, it was exactly the type of house Harvard would have liked for himself

“The stuffed anis are all in the main house,” Francesca said with a twinkle in her eye

“I was that obvious?” Usually he was good at hiding what he thought His life had depended on the skill on more than one occasion

“No, it’s the reaction most people have if they haven’t been inside Talbot House first It was a good bet you were thinking the sanificent, but he had no desire to live in it As soon as ere ht It was a terrible place to live, but a wonderful place to share If buildings had feelings, I’ve always thought the housefully used And I do love it e host a wedding there It brightens the place up”

Harvard liked her reasoning He also liked the woman It was clear Rachel took after her ures, the sae, he suspected Francesca’s color had ular visits to a top-class hair salon than any genetic predisposition Yeah, there were a lot of siued Harvard most

Where Francesca had a lint in her eye, Rachel’s eyes were mostly filled with irritation Where Rachel was distant, Francesca was friendly and welco Where Rachel preferred her own co inning to wonder where exactly Rachel got her personality from It was just another piece in the puzzle that was Rachel Ford-Talbot And he loved it

“Here we are,” Francesca said when they stopped in front of the double doors at the end of the hallway “Ready?”

“Absolutely” He returned her conspiratorial smile

“In case anyone is interested, I’m not ready,” Rachel snapped