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st turned sixty, Anne had decided to let her hair go gray Twisted up into a sophisticated French knot, her silver hair complemented her beautiful pastel blue shift dress perfectly

“How do you know?” Rachel asked, looking over at her tennis-garbed uncle, as laughing raucously with Rupert

The toether, “The s and went off to find seats

One by one, the rest of the fa annoyed as usual Preston and Marcus, both businesslike and clearly eager to get theto Rachel about wedding dresses And her mother, who kissed her cheek and took the seat on the other side of Rachel

“How’s Father?”

“He’s perfectly fine, but he has to take it easy for a few days” She gave Rachel a tight smile that emphasized the dark circles under her eyes “I want to hire a keeper for hi? I need someone who’ll follow him around and ensure he keeps away from fried food”

Rachel sed her smile “I’m sure we could find you soht do hiht rin

Herto for a second Forget I asked I’ll speak with Harvard; he seems the more sensible option”

Rachel leaned into her and lowered her voice “Are you doing okay, Mum?”

“Yes, lassy and she blinked back tears, straightening her shoulders as she did so “I keep telling one; that there’s no point in wondering e could have done differently It’s the future that matters now and the choices we make from here on in”

“Exactly” Rachel nodded “Everything will be fine I promise”

“My darling girl, you’re far too capable for your own good But I do love you”

“Why does everyone feel the need to clarify their love for me?” Rachel said dryly “It’s never just ‘I love you,’ it’s always ‘you’re awful, but I love you anyway’”

“Perhaps it’s because they’ve randmother said helpfully

“Okay” Jonathan took a seat at the end of the table “Let’s get this show on the road”