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"Pardon?"

"Nothing It's nice that you two are so happy," I said and pulledto return to my work and end this silly chitter-chatter before it really had begun

"Well, we have our little ups and downs just as any couple would, but overall"

I gazed up at hiht Maybe he wasn't as stupid as he appeared Suddenly, I did feel sorry for him

"My sister is lucky to have landed a catch like you, Carson"

"Oh no," he said ht pink, "I'm the lucky one"

"It's generous of you to say that," I said, "considering her troubled past"

"What's that?" He smiled with question marks in his eyes "Troubled past?"

He clutched his hat against his chest as if it were a shield to protect hiht throw his way

I smiled with bitter sweetness

"Well, now that you're practically afor you to be aware that Belinda's had proble school, you know, but it didn't work out and we had to bring her home"

"Oh that, yes," he said with a look of relief, "She told me all about it"

"Told you? Told you what?" I said sitting back again, ainst each other

"How she rongly accused of stealing soirls, all jealous, took the other girl's side She couldn't continue living there under those

circumstances," he declared with the firmness of a protector