Sprinkled with Love

Suzanna glanced up from where she was arranging baked goods and fresh brewed coffee on a small table with a white tablecloth. “Good morning to you too. I’m guessing you didn’t have such a good weekend.”

“My weekend was fine until I ran into him.”

Suzanna tucked a lock of her short dark hair behind her ear. “I take it Glenn was in town again.”

“Glenn? Why would you think that?”

Suzanna’s eyes widened. “I just thought…well, you were going on and…never mind. Who are you talking about?”

“Avery.”

“Oh.” Suzanna’s pink glossy lips stayed in that ‘O’ shape as though she were surprised by this news. She held out her hand for Jillian’s container of muffins.

Jillian relinquished the baked goods. “You mean you didn’t hear that he arrived home last night? I didn’t think anything happened around this town without everyone knowing.”

“Yeah, I heard, but I didn’t know you two had run into each other.” Suzanna placed the muffin container off to the side of the table.

“We ran into each other all right. He practically ran me over.”

Suzanna’s brows rose. “Really? I can’t wait to hear this.”

“Hear what?”

Suzanna frowned at her. “You know, whatever he’s done now to get you all fired up.”

“He didn’t do anything.” Suddenly she regretted bringing up the subject. She’d promised herself that she wouldn’t let him get under her skin. “It’s nothing.”

“It sure sounded like something.” Suzanna stared at her as though trying to read her mind. “Come on. Spill. It’s me. We’ve told each other everything since we were kids.”

Jillian sighed. “I did tell you the truth. Nothing happened.”

“Oh, so that’s the problem. Well, you know Avery, he’s never one to make a move on a woman.”

“Avery had an excuse after his parents died. He had to step up to be the man of the family. But then the kids grew up and still nothing. And now I’m done understanding. He can just stay on his side of Marietta and I’ll stay on mine.”

“You’ve got to be kidding, right?”

“No. I’m perfectly serious. There’s no longer any reason for our lives to intertwine.”

“This is Marietta. Not New York City. You know there’s going to be no chance of avoiding him. Especially since he’s in town for a while from what I hear. What exactly is wrong with him?”

“It’s none of my business. We’re practically strangers now.”

Suzanna’s expression said she didn’t believe her. “Uh-huh. You do remember that you two have been friends since you played on the swings in elementary school?”

“Things change. People change.” She really didn’t want to talk about Avery any longer. “And how about you? How did your date go this weekend with the new guy?”

It was Suzanna’s turn to shrug. “It was okay.”

“Okay? What does that mean?”

“That he wasn’t six foot two like he’d put on his online profile.”

Oh no. Not good. “How tall was he?”

“Five foot six or so.”

“Ouch. That’s just a bit off.”