Page 56 of Holding On To Good

“No time. The land of debauchery shuts its doors at ten. If you don’t get in by then, you’re doomed to a night of PG movies, apple juice, and reading ahead for your college classes.” She gave a dramatic shudder at that horror then took Willow’s hands in hers. Squeezed. “I’m so glad you’re here. Everywhere I turn, it’s testosterone, testosterone, testosterone.” She glanced around. “Speaking of which, did you see where Ian went?”

“Hey, I’m no snitch.”

Verity shrugged. “Bella! Where’s Ian? Find Ian!”

Bella, on the other hand, was a snitch.

She ran over to the rhododendron and barked.

Verity followed the dog and shook the bush’s outer branches. “Come on out.”

Ian crawled out. Frowned up at his aunt. “That’s cheating.”

“It really was,” Willow agreed.

Verity snagged a glossy leaf from Ian’s hair. “No one said Bella couldn’t help me search, so it’s fair.”

He considered that. Pushed his glasses up as he scrambled to his feet. “Okay, but when you hide, she can help me find you.”

“Deal,” Verity said, holding out a fist for him to bump.

“Is Miles back yet?” Toby asked as he came out from behind the house. “Hey, Willow,” he said with a grin. “Urban didn’t mention you were coming to dinner.”

Dinner. Willow gave herself a mental forehead slap. That’s right. It was Sunday. And on Sundays, the entire Jennings clan got together for dinner.

Damn them and their sweet, familial ways.

“I’m not here for dinner,” she said. “I just stopped by to see Urban.”

“Yeah?” Toby asked. “Well, come on back. We’ll get you a drink.”

“No, thank you. I’m good.”

And she was. Well, other than her growing headache and seriously regretting every decision she’d made that’d led her to being in this exact spot at this exact moment.

“I don’t want to interrupt your dinner,” she added. “I just need to talk to Urban for a quick minute, then I’ll get out of your hair.”

“Hey,” a male voice said from behind her and she sighed.

Hail, hail, the whole gang was here.

Miles walked toward them, three large pizza boxes from A Slice of Sicily in his arms, a plastic grocery bag hanging off his right wrist.

“Willow,” he said with a grin that would make even the heartiest of gals swoon, and honestly, her fortitude wasn’t at its highest levels at the moment, so her insides might have swayed just a little bit. “Didn’t think you’d be out and about today.”

He knew.

Urban had shared her little misadventure with the bottle of champagne with at least one brother.

Bella wasn’t the only snitch in the Jennings family.

Toby crossed to take the plastic bag from Miles. “Did you get heavy cream?”

“Yeah, it’s in there.”

Toby opened the bag, pawed through it then lifted out a dairy carton. “This is half-and-half.” He tossed the bottle back into the bag. “I need heavy cream.”

“What’s the difference?”

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