LITMIR.BIZ

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Mr. Kelly was as renowned for his barbecuing as his baking, but Clayton’s hunger barely stirred. Abby Hamilton had been back in town for little more than an hour and already he’d lost his appetite.

      He glanced over at her, grudgingly appreciative of how her curves filled out the white tank top and tight jeans. Her friends were all in casual dresses because of the rehearsal, but here she was, still dressed like a teenager. A damned sexy one, he had to acknowledge. Apparently he’d only lost his appetite for food.

      But more than her body drew his interest. Her face softened with affection as she gazed at his mom and her daughter. Her expression of love touched something deep in his chest, bringing about another kind of longing—one he had no business feeling.

      “Clayton, where’s Erin?” his mother asked.

      “Erin?” he repeated, distracted.

      “She means Ellen,” Colleen said. Even outside the agency, she sometimes acted like her brother’s office manager. “Weren’t you bringing her tonight?”

      “She couldn’t make it.”

      “A lot of people couldn’t make it tonight,” Brenna noted, as she picked up tongs to finish tossing the salad greens. The maid of honor’s voice deepened with frustration when she added, “Even the best man didn’t show up. It’s going to be pure chaos tomorrow.”

      Despite her friend’s concern, Abby smiled. They had always considered Brenna the mother of the group. She liked being in control almost as much as Clayton did, which was why she’d already taken over and expanded her parents’ bakery. Abby had occasionally wondered why Clayton had never gotten together with the voluptuous redhead, since they had so much in common. But he’d always treated Brenna simply as if she were one of his sisters. Maybe it was because she shared the same Irish and Italian heritage the McClintocks had. Or maybe it was because Clayton had approved of Brenna, whereas he’d never approved of Abby.

      Eight years had passed, and she didn’t seek his approval anymore—his or anyone else’s in Cloverville. She’d only come back for Molly’s wedding. The bride-to-be slid her arm around Abby’s waist. “So you’re not the only one who won’t know what she’s doing tomorrow,” Molly teased.

      Abby bit her tongue, holding back her comments about Molly not knowing what she was doing, either. Along with learning how to manage her ADD, she’d acquired some tact over the years. If only she could remember those lessons around Clayton….

      But he distracted her. “I’m going to join the guys outside,” he said as he stepped through the open doorway, obviously anxious to escape her presence.

      Lara, however, wasn’t eager to let him go. She wriggled out of Mrs. McClintock’s arms. “Can I go, too, Mommy?” she asked. When Abby reluctantly offered a nod, the child ran out after him, reaching for Clayton’s hand as two boys about her age ran up to them. They were dark-haired, blue-eyed miniatures of the man who stood beside Mr. Kelly at the grill. But Lara was obviously not charmed by their cuteness, and she clung to Clayton until the twins ran off across the backyard.

      “Clayton has a fan,” his mother said, grinning as she picked up the salad bowl and joined the others on the patio, leaving Molly, Brenna, Colleen and Abby alone in the kitchen.

      A wide smile spread across Colleen’s face. “This is so great. We’re all here together again.”

      “Except for one of us.” Molly reminded her younger sister of Eric’s absence.

      Abby had a pretty good idea about why Eric had backed out of being a groomsman. She imagined he would still probably rather be Molly’s groom. Apparently a lot of things hadn’t changed.

      “It’s so great to have you home, Abby,” Colleen exclaimed, throwing her arms around Abby’s neck.

      Despite her concern over the impending marriage, Abby’s heart swelled with happiness. She patted Colleen’s back. “Hey, it’s not like you guys haven’t seen me in years. You’ve visited me. Not often enough,” she playfully observed, “but at least you’ve visited.”

      “It’s not the same as having you here,” Colleen insisted. “Now that you’ve given up your place in Chicago, you need to move back to Cloverville. You can open the third branch of Temps to Go here.”

      The request wasn’t exactly new. Abby had fielded it repeatedly in phone calls, letters and e-mails. She’d never been able to make Colleen understand that, to her, Cloverville could never be home. So instead of arguing, she changed the subject. “Brenna, did you hire any strippers for tonight?”

      Colleen’s thin body shook with laughter. With her graceful build and gorgeous face, the girl could have been a supermodel rather than an office manager. But like her big brother, she might have assumed her career out of a sense of obligation. Or guilt—as Abby well knew.

      Regret dimmed Abby’s happiness as she considered the part she’d played in Colleen’s guilt. Maybe Clayton was right. Maybe she had caused too much trouble in the McClintock household.

      “Strippers?” Colleen shook her head. “You haven’t met the groom yet. No stripper could measure up to him.”

      “We’re not having strippers,” Brenna insisted, her expression strained. Not that she would disapprove of strippers—Brenna Kelly was no prude. Was she stressed with her responsibilities as maid of honor? From the long-distance conversations she’d had over the past few weeks, Abby suspected Brenna had more interest in planning the wedding than the bride had. And maybe more interest in the groom.

      “It looks like dinner’s ready,” the redhead murmured as she stepped outside to join the others on the patio.

      “Come on,” Colleen pleaded with her sister. “You can share Josh with us for one night. You’re going to have him for the rest of your life.”

      What little color there had been in Molly’s face drained away, leaving her skin almost translucent.

      “The thought of spending the rest of my life with one particular someone would give me the willies, too,” Abby admitted. Not that anyone would want her forever. Even her own parents hadn’t wanted her.

      Molly shook her head. “No, it’s just that…”

      “What?” Abby persisted, hoping Molly would finally admit to her doubts.

      But the brunette laughed. “I haven’t even seen him naked yet.”

      Colleen sighed. “What a waste. But at least Clayton will be happy you saved yourself for marriage.”

      Abby suspected that her friend had waited to make love to Josh for a reason other than her big brother’s approval. Molly didn’t love her groom. And if she couldn’t sleep with him, she certainly couldn’t marry him.

      MOLLY’S DARK EYES welled with tears, summoning every protective instinct Clayton possessed. What had Abby said to her? They’d only been alone together in the house for a few moments.

      He asked his brother Rory to entertain Lara and went over to Molly. “Honey, are you okay?” he asked, using the same tone he had with Lara. His sister seemed as vulnerable and afraid as Abby’s daughter had when she’d met him at the airport. Yet Molly had always been the strongest of his three siblings.

      What had Abby said to her? He turned his attention from his sister to the blond troublemaker, and although she never slowed her conversation with his mother and Mrs. Kelly, Abby met his stare and then closed one eye in an audacious wink.

      Molly laughed, even as the tears shimmered on her lashes. “Nothing much has changed between the two of you,” she commented.

      “What do you mean?” There had never been anything between the two of them but animosity.

      “You can’t keep your eyes off each other.”

      Clayton’s pulse quickened. Did Abby watch him in the way that he watched her? “I’m just making sure she’s not

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