Always Mine by Christie Ridgway Page B

for the past thirty years. “She got a new phone and a new number for reasons not quite clear to me in the fifteen seconds we had to talk before her flight was called.”
    â€œAnd your father?”
    â€œHe was reading a newspaper, but apparently gave a pinkie-wave when he heard it was me on the phone.”
    Emily heaved a sigh. “They’re not—”
    â€œAnything different than they’ve ever been. It’s when you start expecting more that you get disappointed by people.”
    â€œSome people won’t disappoint you, Iz. Some people will be there always and—”
    Izzy shut her up with a brief, hard hug. “Sure. Like Will is there for you, Emily.”
    Emily’s eyes narrowed. “Is there some other family thing you should be telling me about?”
    â€œNo! You already know all about my family ‘things.’” And the last thing that would relax herwas a rehash of her relatives. “So, spill all about marital bliss.”
    â€œYou’re married, too, Izzy.”
    â€œAnd I’m going to have to do something about that, I realize. Did you get very far in finding out what it takes to annul—” She broke off at the odd expression crossing her friend’s face. “Let’s not talk annulments then. Let’s talk happy husbands and winsome wives.”
    â€œâ€˜Winsome’?” The word made Emily grimace. “What the heck are you talking about, Isabella?”
    â€œI don’t know.” She laughed. “I know nothing about how this coupledom thing is supposed to work.”
    â€œIs that how you see you and Owen? Are you a couple now?”
    â€œNo. That wedding thing was impulsive, spontaneous, and we place the blame entirely on you and Will.”
    â€œHey, we didn’t force that ring on your finger.”
    Izzy smiled a little at the memory of Owen beside her, the flash of his smile and that wild—and absurdly right—feeling she’d had as he slid the narrow band down her left ring finger. Common sense hadn’t kicked in until the next morning, when he’d caught her in the lobby, trying to sneak out of the hotel. She’d been in the checkout line, tugging on that matrimonial symbol. “Did you know window cleaner is the best method to remove a ring?”
    â€œI’ll put that in my reference librarian files,” Emily said, rubbing her thumb over her own wedding band. “Though I’m planning to keep this one on forever.”
    â€œI believe it.”
    Emily frowned a little. “Owen didn’t seem to.”
    â€œIt’s just that he’s in a cantankerous frame of mind,” Izzy answered. “He’s been pretty much set on moody since the day we walked in here.”
    â€œWill thinks he’s upset about Jerry.”
    â€œMe, too,” Izzy admitted. “And maybe beyond the grief that you would expect. But I don’t know what to do about it.”
    â€œChicken soup sans Sanka flavoring?”
    â€œThat’s the best I have to offer so far.” Though her mind drifted to those kisses they’d shared since she’d moved in. Granted, they’d been more for show than for seduction, but the sparks had been there all the same. Their Las Vegas experience had been similar. An instant, fiery attraction that at the time had seemed serendipitous and delightful. The sensation of his arms around hers had been just like the books said, a “coming home” sort of feeling that even someone who’d never had a real home could recognize.
    On the dance floor, she’d fit her cheek in that hollow where his shoulder met his chest and she’d be as comfortable as if he were her pillow, but also tingly and twitchy at the same time. Her skin had shivered at his slightest touch, and when he kissed that sensitive corner of her jaw, her knees had gone soft.
    â€œIzzy. Izzy!”
    She blinked, coming down to earth as Emily sharply