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you nonstop. It?s like being an infant, only you?re old enough to appreciate
it.?
?Not so much fun when you have to go to the bathroom, though.?
?No! Especially not when you?re around strangers,? Helen said,
expecting a laugh or a witty response from Luke, and not getting
either.
?We?re not strangers,? he said quietly, slowing down so he could
look her in the eye.
?Well, not anymore,? she agreed. She felt a hot blush stinging her
cheeks and had to look down. His eyes were so honest and so blue
that Helen felt if she didn?t force herself to look away right from
the start that she?d get stuck and never stop staring at him.
They held hands as they walked back. When they got close to the
house, Helen noticed Cassandra staring down at them from one of
the second-story balconies. She didn?t look happy.
When they went into the kitchen, they found Noel already hard at
work over half a dozen pots and pans. She set them up with a pint
of ice cream, cookies, nuts, and caramel sauce and told them they
were strong enough to make their own darned sundaes before she
went back to snarling at the ox-sized roast she was wrangling into
the oven. After a decadent snack that tempted the rest of the house
into the kitchen to spoil their appetites, Noel told everyone that
they might as well just stay in their seats because dinner would be
ready in another twenty minutes.
?I can?t. I have to go home,? Helen admitted in a disappointed
tone as she pushed a few soggy pecans around the bottom of her
bowl.
?Ridiculous. You?re not going anywhere,? Lucas responded.