Добавить в цитаты Настройки чтения

Страница 51 из 56



“Everything was fine,” Je

“I could see that,” Charlotte said with a nod. “I stopped by to check on them before coming here, and they looked wonderful. Thank you again for staying there with them these last two weeks.”

The group lapsed into silence and Charlotte ’s dark eyebrows-which clashed drastically with her carrot-red hair-came together in a frown as she studied her niece even more closely. The lackluster expression, the slow, methodical motion of her hands as she knit at about one-quarter her usual speed.

Je

Could it be that the yarn hadn’t worked its magic this time around?

No. Charlotte wouldn’t believe that. It had done such a marvelous job with Ro

It felt like there were ants in Charlotte ’s pants as she tried to remain still in her seat and not ask what the Jolly Green Giant had gone wrong. Hadn’t Je

Charlotte wasn’t at all certain what the qualifications and nuances of the magical spi

Lordy, Lordy, if that was the case, then they were in trouble, indeed. How many times could she count on Fate bringing a man and woman together long enough to knit with a magic skein of yarn?

The fact that Ro

Her heart gave a little lurch in her chest as another horrible thought struck. What if she’d done something wrong? What if she’d used the wrong type of fibers this time, or hadn’t spun them quite right?

What if the beautiful, solid-oak spi

A chill swept Charlotte from the top of her Lucille Ball head to the corn pads stuck to her toes. She’d been so sure the wheel was infused with magic. So sure she could help to bring about true love matches through a hobby she already adored.

But if the wheel was just a wheel, then that meant Veronica and Dylan working out their differences and falling for one another was nothing more than a fluke. A natural human occurrence.

How dreadfully boring and mundane.

It also meant that Charlotte had no hope of drawing Je

Sigh. Perhaps she was giving up too soon. Thinking the worst before she had definitive proof that the yarn from the enchanted spi

Unable to stand the ominous silence a second more, she piped up and directed a pointed question in Je

Grace snorted, quickly lifting a hand to cover the rest of her laugh. Something was definitely going on here, Charlotte thought, narrowing her heavily lined eyes in suspicion.

“Actually, Charlotte,” Ro



“Oh?” Charlotte asked, scooching forward in her seat a fraction, trying not to appear overly curious. “Like what?”

“Like discovering Zachary Hoolihan is a cheating dickwad SOB whose ass had to be kicked to the curb,” Grace grumbled.

“Oh, my.” Charlotte ’s eyes widened and her cheeks heated at the ferocity of Grace’s statement.

Playing the part of levelheaded narrator, Ro

Grace scathingly referred to the other woman as a “puck bu

“That’s terrible,” Charlotte offered. “I’m so sorry, dear.”

Grace inclined her head and kept her mouth in a tight line, putting on a good show of remaining unmoved. But Charlotte didn’t miss the telltale glimmer that filled her prettily madeup eyes. When she thought no one was looking, she sniffed, then wiped a finger beneath her lashes to remove any hint of moisture.

Poor Grace, Charlotte thought, her heart tugging in sympathy. She’d been so happy, so deliriously happy with that young man and all her elaborate wedding plans.

She’d even started knitting her own wedding gown, which Charlotte had been thrilled about. Not many young people would be willing to put the time and effort into such complicated projects, and she’d been eager to see the final results.

The miniscule needles and thin, white yarn were conspicuously absent at this evening’s meeting, Charlotte suddenly noticed. And no wonder. If Grace’s intended had stepped out on her, she wouldn’t have continued working on any part of the wedding plans, either.

Through all of this, Je

“And what about you, Je

In response to Charlotte ’s question, Je

Hmm. Things just kept getting curiouser and curiouser.

“Our little Je

Charlotte raised a brow as the color rushed back into her niece’s face. She wasn’t entirely clear on what a booty call was, but thought Grace’s intonation and Je

Continuing to act as diplomatic moderator for their little triumvirate, Ro

“Oh, my goodness,” Charlotte exclaimed. She certainly hadn’t been expecting to hear anything like that.

“At last report, things were still going hot and heavy.” Grace gri

“Actually,” Je