“I’ll walk you home,” I said.
“Oh, no need. I called Griff, and he’s watching for me.”
“Oh, so it’syouhe was watching for. Were you two exchanging hand signals?”
She had the grace to blush. “Matt, dear—Hope is a very sweet girl.”
I nodded. I could tell a “but” was coming.
“You need to be careful, though, dear.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I don’t think she’s a serial killer or anything.”
“No, of course not. She’s a wonderful artist—the girls’ room is just looking spectacular—but she’s only here for a short time. And if you get involved with her, the girls will get attached, and...” Peggy pulled her sweater tight around her shoulders. “Well, it would be hard for them to have another loss.”
I tamped down a rush of annoyance. Why did everyone think they had the right to get all up in my business?
“And Jillian...” Peggy continued.
Oh, boy. Here it came.
“Well, this is none of my business, but Jillian thought the two of you were going out tonight, and the fact you brought Hope—well, frankly, it upset her.”
I ran my hand across my jaw. “Yeah, I picked up on that. And I apologized. I didn’t realize she thought it was a date. Because the truth is, Peggy, I just don’t see her that way.”
“Well, maybe in time...”
“No.” I cut her off abruptly. “It’s just not there.”
She shifted her purse to her other arm and nodded. “Well, honey—all Griff and I want is for you to be happy. You deserve nothing less. But the girls want a mother, and every woman you date, well, they’ll cast her in that role.”
The woman the girls were currently casting was Jillian, and Iwasn’tdating her, but I didn’t want to put Peggy in the middle of things.
“I would hate for them to get their little hearts broken,” she said.
“As far as Hope’s concerned, you’re worrying about nothing, Peggy. They’re well aware that Hope is just here temporarily. But quite frankly, I think they need to get used to the idea of me dating.” I opened the door. “Thanks again for watching the girls.”
“It was my pleasure. It always is.”
“Next year, I’ll hire a sitter so you and Griff can come to the fete, too.”
She flicked her wrist. “Oh, there’s nothing that would have dragged Griff away from the ball game on TV tonight. And I love spending time with the girls.”
“They love spending time with you, too.”
“I’m so glad you moved to Wedding Tree.”
I nodded. “It’s worked out pretty well.” For everyone, I thought as I closed the door, except for Jillian. And quite possibly me.
32
adelaide
The next morning, I was eating a bowl of oatmeal Nadine had prepared when Hope entered the kitchen, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. “How was you evening, dear?” I asked.
“Lovely.”
“I bet it was.” I cast a pointed glance at the aide, who reluctantly left the room. She already knew what I was going to ask about, but I wanted Hope to answer freely. I waited until she was out of earshot, then leaned forward. “Eunice Ivy says Matt kissed you.”
