Lush (35 page)
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smell of your skin. The way your hair tickles my lips when I kiss
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your face or neck. The way your nipples feel against my palm.”
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He tugged and pinched and she squeaked.
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She felt the curve of his lips against her neck as he smiled at
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her reaction. “The way you give over to me, demanding your
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due. You’re the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
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She swallowed back the emotion, throwing herself into the
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sensation instead. The ground was more solid there.
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The hand in her panties moved, his fi ngers spreading her
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open to pet her clit.
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“So hot and wet. Always.”
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“You could put something far better than your hand in there.
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Just sayin’.”
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He laughed. “Oh, darlin’, I will. But I like to make you come.
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It makes me happy. After. Then I’m going to fuck you so hard
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you stutter. Ah, your cunt just got even hotter.”
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She closed her eyes, resting her forehead against the wall, her
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fi ngers curled into the wallpaper.
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That hand slid a little further down, enough that he circled
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her gate, entering her ever so slightly before moving back to her
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clit. He knew her so well. Knew just how to touch her. Just how
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much pressure to use, how fast, how slow to draw it out.
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Pleasure rose, slow and steady. Building. Filling her from her
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pussy outward. Outward until it scorched through her system and
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there was only the need to climax. It overfl owed, sucking her under 05
so hard she barely registered the way he shoved her pants down.
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They kept her in place, hemmed her in, much like his body
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at her back did. A wild thrill spiraled through her as he bent her
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to angle her body better. His cock brushed against her and then
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he pushed inside in one hard stroke.
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“Goddamn.”
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He thrust and thrust, wanting more. Wanting everything.
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And she gave it to him. She always did. Despite her protesta-
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tions, she was his.
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The need to fuck her, to be in her, to possess her, drove him.
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Need nearly made him blind. Consumed him. He touched every
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part of her that he could. Slid his palms over the curve of her
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hips, the weight of her breasts, the strength of her thighs as she
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got to her tiptoes to meet his strokes better.
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Sweat broke over his skin, his muscles burned and when he
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came it seemed to last forever, echoing through him, making
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his fucking teeth tingle with it.
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He gasped for air, kissing the back of her neck as he pulled
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out carefully.
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“Wow.” She turned, her eyes glossy, her lips wet.
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He grinned, but his legs were shaky as he got himself back
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to rights. He was head over heels in love with Mary Whaley. In
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so deep that if he had any sense at all he’d be scared.
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• • •
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The following morning at Tart he watched her while she worked.
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Careful of course to keep out of the way. She could be a bear if
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people got into her fl ow when she cooked. It made her ferocious
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and bitchy. Which only rendered her hotter to him.
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He played on his tablet, answering e-mail, sending instruc-
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tions to his manager, declining to participate in a label event in
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New York the following week. Paddy loved that stuff so he could
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go instead.
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Jules wandered in and gave him a raised brow. “Well, hello
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there.”
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“He surprised me last night. Nearly scared the life out of me.
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I thought he was a prowler.” Mary continued to seed cucumbers
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as she spoke, a smile on her lips.
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“I’m glad you didn’t shoot him.” Jules winked at him. He
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knew Cal and Jules were protective of her. Knew too that they
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didn’t trust him at fi rst. But over the last weeks, each time he’d 19
seen them and interacted with them, things had gotten a little
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less tense. “You want a coffee? Something to eat?”
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“I’d love you forever if you made me a latte.” Mary fl uttered
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her lashes and went back to her work.
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“You already do love me forever on account of me being so
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pretty and charming.”
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Mary barked a laugh. “I’m sorry for your deep self- esteem
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issues, Juliet.”
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Damien liked their interplay. Liked knowing she was sur-
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rounded by people who cared about her. It made it easier to be
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away from her, though on some levels it also made it harder. He
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wanted her to come to him for emotional support, but she didn’t
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need to.
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“I’d love an Americano if it’s not too much trouble.
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Thank you.”
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Jules nodded. “No trouble. Be back in a sec.”
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She moved to the large espresso machine and began to work.
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Mary spoke over the swish and swirl of the espresso machine.
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“Oh, I have something for your mom if you’d take it back when
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you go home again.”
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“Really? Of course I will. What is it?”
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“I took a lot of really great pictures when I was down at the
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ranch. There are a few I thought were pretty spectacular. One
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of her and your dad. I had an extra frame so I put it in. Noth-
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ing big.”
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He warmed. His mother would dig that. A lot.
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“Thank you. Can I see them? The pictures, I mean.”
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“Yeah.” She rattled off a URL and then a password. “They’re
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all there.”
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He looked, pretty amazed at her eye. “Wow. These are really
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good.”
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“I’m no Daisy. She’s got so much talent it’s not funny. But I
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like taking pictures and I think there are several in there with
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some nice composition.”
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He grinned. “The demon pig even looks sort of sweet in
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these.”
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Mary laughed. “She’s a sweet animal. Just sort of lost.”
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“You’re pretty special, you know that?”
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She looked up from her work, her hands glistening from the
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vegetables and, God help him, it shot straight to his cock.
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“Thank you. They’re just pictures.”
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“Mary has a diffi cult time taking a compliment.” Jules placed
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a cup at Mary’s right hand. “Latte here. Honey and a little choc-
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olate.” She handed another cup to Damien. “Americano. Milk,
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cream, soy, sugar and all that is right over there. I don’t know
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how you take it.”
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“Hush, both of you.” Mary blushed, sipping her latte. “Per-
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fect. Thanks.”
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Jules kissed Mary’s cheek. “Anytime.”
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“Pictures of food. I should have known.”
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She looked up again. “Oh, I’d forgotten about those. They’re
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for a cookbook proposal.”
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“Really? Tell me about it?”
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She blushed. “A while ago an agent contacted me. She was
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at a dinner I catered. Anyway, she suggested I write a cookbook.
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I put together a proposal. Those are just some shots I took
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for it.”
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“Wow.”
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“I don’t know if it’s wow- worthy, but it’s pretty cool. Any-
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way, I just sent it to her a week ago. I’ve been so busy.”
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“What did she say?”
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“She did some sort of whiz- bang formatting for it to make
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it look better. She said she had a few sources she was going to
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pitch it to. I haven’t heard. I put it out of my mind. Easy enough
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when I’m busy.”
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“I think it totally merits a wow. I hope you hear good news
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soon.”
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Mary’s assistant came in a short time afterward and they
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began to put together the luncheon she’d been preparing, pack-
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ing it up.
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“I’ll be back in a few hours.”
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He stopped her, pulling her close for a kiss and not caring
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who saw it.
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And was relieved she accepted it without hassle, even reward-
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ing him with a smile. “Thank you.”
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“Believe me when I assure you my kisses are available at any
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time. I’m heading over to Adrian’s. Text me when you’re done?”
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She nodded. “All right. Tell Gillian I said hello.”
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And she was gone.
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Jules cruised back in. “So, I’m going to try to ask you this in
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a way nicer fashion than I did the fi rst time. Which was totally
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rude and unfair, I admit.”
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“I’m in love with her. I want to make something real with
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Mary. But she’s skittish.” He knew Jules was going to ask what
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his intentions were so better to just answer honestly.
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“Love?”
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“I’m over thirty. I know the difference between infatuation
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and love. I’ve known her since June. She’s dominated my
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thoughts every single day since then.”
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“You have a reputation.”
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“I do. But that’s manufactured by the media.”
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“Not all of it.”
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“No. Not all. Look, I don’t regret anything I’ve done. I was
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a young man with lots of success, lots of money and lots of
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women. But I never hurt anyone. I never misused anyone. Every-
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thing I’ve done has been with consent. And none of them has
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been Mary. That’s how I know the difference. I’m not going to
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apologize for what I’ve done in the past with people before I
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even met her. But I can tell you that since the moment she came
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into my life, that Damien has been retired.”
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“She’s special. She works harder than anyone I’ve ever met.
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She takes care of the people she loves. She needs a man who is
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worthy of her.” Jules looked him up and down. “You that guy?”
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“I sure hope so. I’m trying my best.”
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“If you hurt her, I’ll hunt you down. She’s my family.”
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He nodded. “I’d expect nothing less. But I don’t plan to
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hurt her.”
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“Which is why I made you an Americano and didn’t throw
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it in your face.” She smiled and he laughed. “She has always been
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there for me. For all the people she loves. I don’t blame you for
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loving her. I don’t know how anyone could resist loving her. If
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you’re who she’s chosen, you’re part of us too. You make her
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happy. I like that. Keep it up.”
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She turned and went out to deal with customers.
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Mary went home, showered and then headed over to Gillian’s
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place. Miles had just gotten home from school and he chattered
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nonstop about this or that class, music composition, the song
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he’d been working on for a project.
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When they were alone, Miles told her about something he’d
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seen on the Internet. She didn’t know how to process it, so she’d
