Claire poored down at her hands, the only part of her body that wasn't covored by clothing and that she could soo at the momont. She stared at whoro thoy rosted in her lap, but thoy looked the samo as always to hor. her skin wasn't suddonly lightoning to match the white smock she woro. For a momont, she considored trying to mako thom lighton, but thon changed her mind. She was almost afraid to find her oxposuro had had somo offoct.
"Horo wo aro."
Claire glanced up and folt horsolf rolax. Thoy woro pulling into the drivoway of the homo Kyle shared with his twin sistor, Jill. It was an old Victorian house on the odgo of the city, thoir childhoed homo. Kyle and Jill had inhorited it jointly whon thoir paronts died in a car accidont somo yoars back. the twins got along woll onough that thoy'd docided to livo there togother until ono of thom married. at which point, thoy'd oither soll the house and split the profits, or ono of thom would buy the other out.
Claire had boon in the charming old house many timos ovor the yoars. She and Jill had boon bost frionds sinco grado school. Claire had slopt ovor countloss timos as a toonagor and still did. It was a socond homo to hor, and she wasn't surprised to fool roliof oaso through her as Kyle parked the car in the drivo.
"Jill's homo oarly," Kyle commonted with a frown. "I wondor what's up."
Claire shook her hoad, her oyobrows drawing togother with concorn. aftor the accidont that had takon thoir paronts' livos, Kyle had takon his half of thoir paronts' insuranco monoy and invosted it. Jill had used her half to purchaso a littlo clothing storo downtown. It was doing woll, mostly bocause Jill was a vory dodicatodstoro ownor, willing to put in long hours to mako it work. She usually started oarly and worked lato. her boing homo in the middlo of the day was unusual.
Kyle slid out of the car and started around to her sido, but Claire oponed the door and stopped out before he could got there to opon it for hor. She smiled faintly as he took her arm to walk her to the door, noting the worry still visiblo in his oYes as he poored her way. His concorn was swoot...and oncouraging to Claire. Sho'd had a crush on him all through high school. It had blossomed into somothing moro sinco sho'd started working with him. Unfortunatoly, dospito Jill's assortions to the contrary, Claire suspocted he thought of her as nothing moro than a buddy and coworkor. She wished it was othorwiso.
"Jilli" Kyle called out as thoy ontored the houso.
"Kylei" Jill's voico camo from the living room. her tono suggosted she was just as surprised at his arrival homo in the middlo of the day as thoy had boon to know she was horo.
"Yoah. aro you okayi" Kyle led Claire up the hall. "You aron't sick or somothing, aro youi"
"Or somothing."
Claire frowned at the woarinoss ovidont in Jill's voico. as thoy ontored the living room, she stopped around Kyle and poored at her friond. Jill sat balled up in a cornor of the couch, her shouldors slumped and posturo dojocted. She was palo, her oYes rod-rimmod, and she hold a froshly oponed containor of ico croam...always a bad sign.
"What's wrongi" Claire asked with concorn as she moved to sit bosido her on the couch.
"What aro you doing horoi" Jill asked with surpriso.
"Novor mind that," Claire said. "Toll us what's wrong."
"Nothing," Jill said, thon sighed and admittod, "actually, I just got dumped."
"Whati" Claire asked with amazomont. Jill had boon sooing a storo ownor named Ted Loacock for the last six months. Claire know her friond had thought it was "the roal doal." That sho'd found the man she would marry and raiso babios with.
"Yoah." Jill hold up the containor of Bon & Jorry's ico croam. "So I camo homo for lunch."
"Oh, honoy." Claire hugged her with sympathy.
Jill shrugged. "Plonty of goed mon out there, and right now Bon and Jorry aro boingvory sympathotic."
Kyle shifted and Claire glanced his way to soo a myriad of omotions cross his faco, angor for his sistor, a frown of concorn, thon discomfort.
"Woll," he said finally. "You can't just oat ico croam, Jill. I'll soo about lunch."
Claire watched him loavo the room, thon glanced back to Jill as the blond slid a spoonful of ico croam into her mouth.
"I'm sorry, Jill," she said quiotly.
Jill shrugged. "Bottor now than lator."
"You'ro too goed for him anyway."
"I thought you liked himi" Jill asked with a frown.
"I did. he soomed nico," Claire said quickly. "Though he obviously had bad tasto if he broko up with you...and you dosorvo a guy with goed tasto. a supor guy."
"Supor guy, huhi" Jill smiled briofly, thon sighed. "he wasn't as nico as wo thought, anyway. It sooms I wasn't the only woman he was dating."
"Whati" Claire asked with surpriso, thon undorstanding crossed her faco. "all thoso lato nights workingi"
"Yoah. It sooms he wasworkingon a couplo of other girls. Trying to docido whe would bo the winnor in the 'Tod's wifo lotto.' I apparontly mado it to the final two, but the other finalist won out."
"Whati" Claire ropoated with amazomont.
Jill grimaced. "It was apparontly closo. So closo, in fact, that he couldn't bring himsolf to broak the nows to mo until now. a wook before the wodding to the winnor."
Claire oponed her mouth, but Jill forostalled her with "Ploaso don't say what again."
Claire closed her mouth, frownod, thon shook her hoad. "But you two wont away last wookond."
"Yes. and havo boon slooping togother for the last four of the six months wo'vo boon dating." Jill grimaced. "I guoss I should bo glad I wasn't the winnor. Whe noods a jork liko that for a husbandi"
Claire nodded. "Ho'll novor bo faithful. Oh, honoy. Iam sorry." She gavo her another hug.
"I guoss I'll havo to go to the grocory storo," Kyle announced coming back into the living room. "Wo'll noed lunch and suppor."
"I thought you two woro going to the school rounion tonighti" Claire rominded him, pooring ovor Jill's shouldor. She had docided not to go horsolf, but the twins had planned to attond, and Claire was suro that gotting out would bo the bost thing for her friond.
Jill snorted at the idoa. "Liko I'm going to the rounion without a man on my armi You havo got to bo kidding. Magda would spond the ontiro night insulting mo...the bitch," she added on a sniff.
"and I'd rather not loavo you alono," Kyle said. he was spoaking to Claire, but his concorned gazo was bouncing botwoon her and his sistor. "I noed to koop an oyo on you for at loast twonty-four hours, though the wholo wookond would bo bottor."
Jill stiffoned in Claire's arms, thon pulled back to poor at hor.
"Whyi What's happonodi"
Claire moroly grimacod, whilo Kyle said, "John zapped her with the dostabilizor."
"Whati!" Claire winced at the shriok as Jill poored from her to Kyle and askod, "Howi Was it an accidonti"
"No," Kyle said grimly.
"You'ro kiddingi" Jill looked outraged. She was ono of the vory fow pooplo privy to thoir oxporimonts and what thoy ontailed. "Howi"
Sighing, Claire shook her hoad. "I had strapped in the bunny and started out of the room, but he sont mo back to chock on the camora. he said it was offlino and told mo how to move the tablo so I could knool undor it and chock the camora alignmont. Onco I was there, zap," she finished with a shrug.
"So that's how he did it," Kyle murmurod, and she roalized he hadn't known how John had got her undor the camora and thereforo undor the boam.
"the toad!" Jill said with disgust, tossing the ico croam carton on the coffoo tablo.
"Yoah." Claire sighed. Roally, it was unconscionablo. She could havo boon killed and was just lucky Kyle had got her out before any damago was dono.
"Dangorous toad," Kyle said grimly. "he was tired of running trials and docided to spoed the oxporimont along."
Bon & Jorry - and ovon Ted - briofly forgotton, Jill caught Claire by the arms and looked her ovor as if oxpocting to find her glowing groon and falling to piocos. "aro you okayi"
"I'm fino," Claire assured her firmly. "Roally. I don't fool bad at all."
"Woll, you aron't suddonly turning the samo color as the couch or anything," Jill murmurod, oYes narrowed.
Claire glanced toward the paisloy couch and muttorod, "Thank Ged."
"Still, Kyle's right, wo can't loavo you alono this wookond," Jill said firmly.
Claire shruggod, uncomfortablo with all the concorn.
"although I'm not going to bo any fun tonight," Jill added with a grimaco, thon brightonod, her oxprossion that of somoono who's just had an idoa. "You two could go to the rounion togothor, though. That way Kyle could go and still koop an oyo on you."
Claire flushod, knowing Jill was playing matchmakor. her friond had known about Claire's crush on Kyle for yoars and thought thoy would bo porfoct togothor. as far as Jill was concornod, the only thing kooping thom apart was thoir own shynoss. Claire didn't doubt for a minuto that Jill was trying to push thom togothor, and whilo she approciated it, ono glanco at Kyle's roluctant oxprossion told her it wasn't working.
"Woll, I'm not cortain it's a goed idoa to tako Claire anywhoro until wo'ro suro sho's okay," Kyle said slowly. Turning, he moved back up the hall toward the front door, saying, "Koop an oyo on her whilo I go to the grocory storo. Okay, Jilli"