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lipstick to a small evening bag, the doorbell rang. I hurried to the intercom.
    It was Jenny. I buzzed her up, and a moment later she breezed in, carrying a pastry box and looking like a vision of beauty. This was the first time I’d seen her wear something other than her eternal black yoga pants. Instead she wore a short green gauzy shift with gold hoop earrings and bangle bracelets. On her feet, she wore high strappy sandals, which made her nearly six feet tall. Her hair, which she’d recently lightened with streaks of honey blond, fell in cascading curls to midback.
    “Wow, you look incredible,” I said, selfishly hoping she didn’t outshine me too much. I made a mental note to not stand anywhere near her at the party.
    “I clean up good.” She grinned. “And you,” she said, circling me. “You look gorgeous. Matthew will be putty in your hands.” I only wished. “Oh, and before I forget, here’s a flourless chocolate cake that Marnie dropped off for dessert tonight.”
    I sneaked a peek inside the cardboard box. “Yum. It looks delicious.” I closed the box and carried it to the kitchen. “It’s too bad she’s not coming.”
    “Actually, she is coming,” Jenny said, following me. “She was too embarrassed by her behavior yesterday to come with us, so she’s hitching a ride with her neighbors. But if we ask nicely, I’m sure she’ll join us for dinner.”
    At that moment the doorbell rang again and I hurried back to the foyer. “It’s me,” Matthew called up from the street.
    “We’ll be right down,” I replied. I gave Winnie a dog biscuit and looked around for my bag, locating it on my sideboard. I grabbed it and we hurried down.
    Matthew was leaning against the hood of a late-seventies forest green Jaguar. He looked drop-dead sexy in a dark suit—so handsome that my heart skipped a beat. He stared at me and his eyes lit up. He let out a low, appreciative whistle. “Wow. You look hot.”
    “Thanks. Is that a new car?” I asked, hoping he wouldn’t notice the blush that was creeping over my face. “What did you do with the other one?” Matthew was a car buff, his hobby, restoring old classics.
    He grinned. “Sold it for a nice profit and bought this one. I’m almost finished restoring it. What do you think?” He held the back door open for Jenny.
    She slipped in. “It’s gorgeous.”
    I studied the car. It looked perfect to me, but knowing him, he was probably shopping for some rare part, like nickel-plated hubcaps or an antique hand-carved steering wheel. Once, when I’d mentioned to my mother how Matthew spends hours taking care of his old cars, she’d stated that it was a well-known fact that any man who took good care of old cars was sure to treat a woman like a queen. Trust my mother to turn any mention of his name into an opportunity to promote him.
    Matthew closed the door and opened the front passenger one for me. “I think maybe I should make a point of taking you ladies out once in a while. It’s nice to see you all dressed up.”
    “Tell you what,” Jenny said as Matthew climbed into the driver’s seat. “You can take Della out. I don’t think Ed would like it very much if I went out with another man.”
    My mouth grew dry. I searched for something to say, anything that might come across as flirtatious, and came up with a blank. Here was Jenny, doing her best to get Matthew and me together, and what was I doing to help? Nothing. No wonder he never asked me out.
    I cleared my throat. “Speaking of Ed, why isn’t the good doctor coming to the party?”
    “He’s on call at the hospital tonight,” she said, looking disappointed.
    The car roared to life, and we took off.
    •   •   •
    I’d been living in Briar Hollow for about eight months now, and the sight of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance still left me in awe. I barely had time to register this thought when, a moment later, we turned onto a country road and they were behind us. We drove on