“Clara?” What did his twin have to do with all of this?
“She’s dating Anthony again.”
Spencer very nearly fell out of his chair. “Excuse me?”
“Dating might not be the correct term. What is the stage before that? Talking? Is that what you young kids call it?”
He blinked twice, certain he hadn’t heard this correctly. “When did all of this happen?”
“Recently, I believe. But you can ask her. She’s coming up tonight to stay through the weekend. It’s a good time, actually, because we’re light on reservations anyway.”
It was hard not to be offended by the fact that Spencer’s twin sister hadn’t told him any of this and that he had to hear it from Nana. Then again, Nana Jo always did have her finger on the pulse of town gossip and goings on. Frankly, Spencer didn’tlike the idea of Clara and Anthony spendinganyamount of time together. Yes, it had been a long time since their breakup, but he knew his sister hadn’t ever really gotten over Anthony. And that was a dangerous place to be—when your heart still beat for the one who broke it.
He didn’t have long to think about this puzzling new situation, because not even ten minutes had passed when his sister came through the front door. She had her duffel bag from college slung over her shoulder and a wary expression on her face as she stepped into the kitchen to find her brother and grandmother still seated at the table.
“Well, this explains my burning ears.” She dumped the overnight bag at her feet and pulled up a chair, then commandeered Spencer’s mug that he’d just refilled with a fresh batch of cider.
“What makes you think we were talking about you?” he asked his sister, completely bypassing ahelloorhow have you been?
“Nana’s got her gossip face on.”
Nana Jo gasped. “I wasn’t gossiping. Just filling your brother in on the latest with you and Anthony.”
“Nana, if a person is not present and you’re talking about them, that’s considered gossip,” Clara asserted.
Nana Jo shook her head vehemently and clucked her tongue. “It’s called keeping everyone in the loop. There’s a difference.”
“You get away with it because you’re?—”
“Old?” Nana Jo supplied for her. “At least there’s one perk to aging.”
Clara just rolled her eyes and then caught her brother looking at her, his expression unreadable. “You don’t need to worry, Spence. I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you?”
A huff parted her lips. “Yes, I do. Plus, nothing is really going on with us. We’ve just been talking on the phone, texting a little.He suggested I come up this weekend to attend an event at the library. Something about one of his favorite authors being in town for a signing. It sounded fun.”
“Since when have you cared about reading?”
“Since when have you cared about floral arranging?” she quipped so quickly it was like she had the comeback on the tip of her tongue, ready to deliver.
“I’m interested in Trinity. I’ll own up to that. But the difference with my situation is that Trinity hasn’t already broken my heart.”
“No, she’s just had hers completely shattered, which actually might be more of an issue.”
Clara hadn’t meant it the way it came out, Spencer was certain. She hadn’t meant for it to knock the wind from his lungs. But it had. He had to gulp to get a breath.
“Trinity has done a lot of healing,” Nana Jo piped up. The tension between the twins was thick, but nothing she hadn’t dealt with before. “And she deserves the love of a good man.”
“So do I,” Clara said, like Nana’s statement had somehow implied she didn’t.
“No one’s saying you don’t, sweetheart. If seeing if things with Anthony can go somewhere is what you want, then I’m fully supportive of it. It’s no secret this town had its share of issues with him back when he wrote that awful article about Snowdrift. But he’s since redeemed himself. There’s been a lot of growth there, professionally at least. Hopefully there’s been the same amount of growth relationally, too.”
“He’s a different person from the boy he was back then,” Clara defended. “And if I’ve learned anything from you, Nana, it’s that people deserve second chances.”
“And thirds and fourths,” Nana Jo added.
“If you’re able to forgive him, that’s great,” Spencer finally added to the conversation. “But I’m not there. I might never be.”
