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this. She didn’t have any family of her own and George’s sons hadn’t exactly welcomed her with open arms.
    “Have you tried talking to Jack?” she asked. “He’s not unreasonable.”
    “I know,” Helen said as she dug in her purse. She pulled out a tissue and wiped under her eyes. “He’s very polite and concerned, but we’re not close. I tried. I tried so hard, but no matter what I did, those boys resisted.” She sniffed. “I suppose I shouldn’t call them boys. They’re all grown men. They were grown when I met them. It’s just that’s how George thought of them. As his boys.”
    Samantha angled toward her friend. “I don’t get it, either. They should have adored you.”
    “Oh, I agree. I did everything I could think of. On my good days, I tell myself it wasn’t me. George was a wonderful man, but he was never very close with his sons. I don’t know why. Whatever problems they had existed long before he met me. Oh, but I loved him so much.”
    “I know you did.”
    Helen smiled. “All right. This is stupid. I didn’t come here to cry. I want to talk about you. Tell me everything. Are you loving your job?”
    Samantha accepted the change in subject. She didn’t know how to help her friend, so maybe distracting her would allow her a few minutes away from the pain.
    “Every second,” she said. “There’s so much work, which is great. I like keeping busy. I have so many ideas for the new website that I’ve started keeping a pad of paper and a pen on the nightstand. I wake up two or three times a night with more details or directions or things we could do.”
    Helen wrinkled her nose. “I can see we’re going to have to have the ‘balance’ conversation in a few weeks.”
    “Maybe,” Samantha said with a laugh. “But for now, I’m really happy. I like the people I work with, I feel I’m contributing. It’s great.”
    “Do you miss Vance?”
    Samantha sighed. “No. And I really mean it. I thought I’d hurt more, but I think all the betrayal burned away the love. For the longest time I thought I’d never forgive him. Lately, I’ve come to see that I don’t care enough to worry about forgiveness. He was horrible in so many ways. I have to think about myself and getting better. Not about him.”
    “Good for you. You’ve made a fresh start. You can get back on your feet. Look around. Maybe fall in love again.”
    Samantha held up her fingers in the sign of a cross. “Get back. There will be no talk of love or relationships in the context of my life, thank you very much.” She lowered her hands to her lap. “I’m done with men.”
    “Forever?”
    “For a while. I don’t need the pain and suffering.”
    “It’s not all like that,” Helen said. “Vance wasn’t the one for you. You figured that out and moved on. It was the right thing to do. But you don’t want to turn your back on love. You don’t want to miss the chance to have a great love. I believe there’s one great love for everyone.”
    Samantha nodded. “And George was yours.”
    “He was everything,” Helen said. “I was so lucky to find him. We shared so much. That’s what I want to remember forever. How much we shared. How much we mattered to each other. I’ll never find that again.”
    Samantha wondered if that was true. Helen was still a relatively young woman. And a beautiful one. Samantha had a feeling there was at least one other great love in her friend’s life. As for herself, she wasn’t interested in trying. Not when she’d been burned so badly.
    “Speaking of men,” Helen said. “What’s it like working with Jack?”
    “Good. He’s very efficient and gives me all the room I need.”
    Helen raised her eyebrows. “And?”
    Samantha shrugged. “And what?”
    “Are there sparks? I remember there were sparks when you were in grad school with him. I remember long discussions about whether or not you should risk getting involved with him. I also remember saying you should, but you ignored