“I’m not falling for him or anything like that.”
The girls exchanged looks and crossed their arms simultaneously, and she squirmed beneath their inspection.
“Not that I don’t appreciate what he does for me. I mean all the things he did for us this weekend. That was really for y’all, though. Anyone can see he’s a nice person. That doesn’t mean I have feelings for him.”
“‘The lady doth protest too much, methinks,’” Emily quoted.
“What about Henri? Do you still like him? Are you still going to visit him in Paris?” asked Charlie.
Anne felt her stomach churning. “Yes. I’m still going.”
“Don’t be so excited about it. It’s not supposed to be an execution. You don’t have to go to Paris, Mom. If you don’t want to go anymore, just tell him.”
“Henri likes me. And I like him too.”
“You do? Or do you like Mr. Gherring?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think about Mr. Gherring, because he doesn’t like me.”
“Why do you think he doesn’t like you? He bought us play tickets. He went climbing with us. He drove us around in his limo. He went on a tour with us. He paid for dinner.” Emily ticked off these points on her fingers.
“He did all that for you girls.”
“He did that because we’re your daughters,” argued Emily.
“I think he does stuff like that because he doesn’t have children of his own.”
“What about on the boat last night? You two looked pretty cozy over there. I don’t think he did that for us.” Charlie arched her eyebrows.
“Nice men don’t let woman freeze to death. You two were cozying up with Spencer and Mark.”
“That’s because Emily likes Spencer,” said Charlie.
“I don’t either!”
“He sure likes you.”
“I can’t believe I was so off on that one,” Anne said told Charlie. “I figured Spencer would end up with you instead of Emily.”
“So if they get married, you won’t get credit for their match, right?” Charlie made a face at her sister.
“We’re not getting married,” Emily said. “And Mark likes you, too.”
“Maybe, but Mark didn’t get my cell number and email address. Has Spencer texted you this morning?”
“I don’t know.” Emily’s cheeks reddened.
“Aha! He’s already texted you. He’s really fallen for you.”
“I’m not interested,” Emily folded her arms. “Mom said girls are always hanging on him. I don’t intend to be one of his groupies. Besides, I’m way too practical to get involved in a long-distance relationship. Look at the mess Mom’s in.”
“Hey,” Anne protested. “Are you calling me a mess?”
“If the shoe fits…”
The sun was out. With no wind blowing, the rays felt warm despite the nippy air. “This is beautiful. I can’t believe how big this park is. It just goes on and on. It’s hard to believe we’re in the middle of Manhattan.” Emily leaned her head back, basking in the sun.
Anne looked up from her book in time to see Charlie make an amazing catch for her pick-up team of Ultimate. “She’ll need a shower before we go anywhere else.”