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could I forget? But if you want to keep them as girlfriends, tell them I’m not feminine enough for you. Maybe you could persuade them to come for an occasional therapeutic visit. One at a time, of course.”
    â€œYou would put up with that?”
    â€œI’m not so naive that I don’t realize you have…needs,” she said, whispering that last word in a way that had him closing his eyes again in defense.
    â€œYou know, for a country girl, you sound enlightened.”
    â€œI’m not backward, Jack.”
    Brian had always said that Abby didn’t get out much. “And why are you alone on a Friday night?” he asked.
    â€œI have two infants here. I don’t have time for dating.”
    â€œBefore the babies, did you date much?”
    â€œI was married before, remember?” she said. “I’d just gotten divorced when Paige and Brian got married.”
    Of course he remembered.
    He’d been the best man to Abby’s maid of honor. They’d had plenty of time to talk at the reception. Biting his cheek to keep from chuckling, he said, “We danced a few slow dances, and I almost kissed you.”
    The silence stretched out until it became uncomfortable. She was probably remembering how well they had fit together before things had broken them apart.
    Jack figured that every cell of his brain must have withered away from lack of sex. They were moving in together at the end of this weekend, and he had just reminded her that he’d once been somewhat smitten.
    â€œAbby Rose,” he said, borrowing her lecturing tone. “I’m trying to say that you’re reasonably appealing. Why haven’t you gotten involved again by now?”
    â€œWell, for one thing,” she said, “most men don’t seem to be attracted to me.”
    Jack had no idea how to reply. He’d just spent an entireevening explaining to several other women that Abby wasn’t his type. However, when you combined that sexy little body with bright eyes and a keen intelligence, she was pretty compelling.
    In truth, he couldn’t say that he wasn’t attracted. He was, and he always had been. It was hard to believe other men weren’t just as interested.
    â€œWhere would you get that idea?” he finally asked.
    She made a sweet, low-pitched sound that must have been a sigh. “My ex-husband told me I was too unyielding to make sacrifices for another person. He said I wasn’t womanly.”
    â€œHe sounds like an idiot, Abby. You are an attractive woman, and you sacrifice plenty for Wyatt and Rosie.”
    She was quiet again, this time for long enough that he glanced at the battery light on his cellphone. But finally, she sighed again and murmured a thank-you.
    And Jack knew he’d discovered still another tender spot in Abby.
    Â 
    A BBY SPENT ALL DAY S UNDAY hauling her unwanted belongings to a donation center and cleaning her old apartment. By the time she finished, she was tired and grungy and wanted nothing more than a long, hot bath and an evening of peace.
    She knew that was probably out of the question, because Jack was returning today. She’d felt it in her gut all day long, and as she drove through the gates to the farmhouse and passed a moving van on its way out, she knew he had arrived. It was time for her performance to begin.
    She pulled down her visor and checked her image in the mirror. A day’s work had put a bloom on her cheeks, but her hair was acceptably messy and she’d worn a tattered white T-shirt and jeans that were two sizes too big. A streak of crusty brown grease from cleaning out the apartment oven was smudged across one side of her chest, adding that perfect last touch. She was ready.
    But she did wish she’d brought the babies home with her.
    They would have provided an extra protection, of sorts. They might be too young to serve as chaperons, but they could keep her too busy to think unthinkable