Page 28 of It's You
“Hey, brat,” she mumbled in a tight voice, keeping her eyes down, wiping her hands on her jeans.
Amory pursed his lips at her, turning to his sister and mother with a forced smile. “Hey, Darce. Evening, Mom.”
“Amory.” Cassie opened her thick arms for a hug, and Amory stooped down to press his cheek against hers. “How’s that big project you’re working on?
“Almost done. Had to get one last coat of finish on it before sundown today. You know him, Mom? Jack Beauloup? Apparently, Darcy knew him in high school.”
At the mention of Jack’s name, Darcy’s heart skipped a beat, remembering the way he held her this morning, and was instantly reminded of her plans to have dinner with him tomorrow night. Darcy’s eyes flicked to her brother’s face, wide and annoyed. Just about everyone in Carlisle knew Cassie Turner was a mother who wanted to see her unmarried daughter happily settled. Amory was baiting the hook with Darcy and grinning as she wriggled.
“Is that right, duckling?” Cassie asked, turning to Darcy with a hopeful smile and one eyebrow raised. “Is he nice?”
“I barely know him. We were inThe Music Mantogether, Mom. That’s all.”
Cassie gave Darcy a hard look before turning back to Amory. Darcy knew she hadn’t heard the last of Jack Beauloup from her mother.
Darcy turned to Amory. “Didn’t you bring a guest tonight?”
As if he had forgotten something important, Amory looked around sharply to his right, then left, where he found the object of his search standing in the living room just short of the kitchen doorway. Looking around Amory, Darcy caught the bright blue eyes of a petite young woman holding a wrapped bottle, looking cheerful, if forgotten. She had short blonde hair cropped in a Mia Farrow-style pixie cut, and her nose was covered with a sprinkling of freckles.
Yep, cute as a button.
Not to mentiona blonde-haired facsimile of Willow Broussard.
Blonde, blue-eyed, and a good ten years younger.
Amory took her free hand and drew her closer until he could put his arm around her shoulders and draw her close to him with a tug.
“This is Faith.”
Darcy’s eyes nervously flicked to Willow.
Willow’s eyes narrowed, watching as the interloper offered her hand to Cassie.
“I’ve heard so much about you, Mrs. Turner.”
“Oh, it’s Cassie! Please, dear,” said Darcy’s mother warmly. “I hope you like lasagna.”
“I love it,” said Faith. “In fact, I’ve brought some red wine to go with it.”
Cassie took the bottle with a squeal of delight and, out of the corner of her eye, Darcy caught Willow’s icy stare.
“I’m Darcy,” she said, offering her hand to Faith and running interference. Faith smiled at her, and Darcy watched the freckles dance across the bridge of her nose. “And this is Willow.”
Faith turned to Willow, and if she noticed Willow’s cool demeanor, she didn’t let on. She dropped Darcy’s hand and offered hers to Willow. “Hey, there. I’m Faith.”
“Mmm.” Willow breathed, running a hand through her close-cropped black hair, her almost-black eyes capturing Faith’s blue ones. “Yes.”
Turning away without shaking hands, Willow grabbed the salad bowl from the kitchen counter and headed for the dining room without a word.
“She’s the town doc,” said Cassie, watching Willow go. “Always so much on her mind.”
Faith smiled politely at Cassie, who drew Faith’s attention to the bottle of wine she was opening, asking if it was a favorite of Faith’s. Darcy looked at Amory, who had his eyes trained onthe dining room doorway, and sighed.Oh, Amory. What a mess you’re making.
At twenty-six, Amory was eight years younger than Willow, and despite some halfhearted attempts at flirting with her as the years went on, Willow had always maintained Amory’s status as her surrogate little brother. That Amory had been deeply and irrevocably in love with Willow throughout his adolescence was no big secret, but as far as Darcy knew, nothing had ever happened between them. Only recently, Darcy had noticed the way Willow delighted in baiting Amory in conversation and how Amory seemed to show up more regularly to family events that included Willow. He seemed to seek her out, showing up with amusing anecdotes to share with her. Not to mention, he’d become especially clumsy over the past year. It seemed like he injured himself on the job at least once a week—a dropped hammer here, a minor laceration there—necessitating visits to Willow’s office.
Darcy wondered if something had finally happened, ornothappened, at Honoria’s wedding, because Faith seemed like less of a girlfriend and more of a statement, somehow. The timing felt funny.
Darcy picked up the pitcher of water on the kitchen counter and followed Willow into the dining room, where she found her friend seated at the table, checking messages on her phone.
