“Yeah, I guess. You don’t know anything about girls’ clothes.” She propped her chin on her hand. “When we get home, can we take Clifford for a walk?”
Even before Candace and Tiegan moved in, his niece and Clifford had been best buds. Now they were practically inseparable. The dog even slept in her room every night. And while he recognized she was far more mature than most children a few weeks shy of eleven, both he and Candace had agreed she needed to have an adult with her if she took Clifford for a walk in the woods.
His niece’s words conjured up the image of Juliette smiling this morning, but he pushed it aside because the last person he needed occupying his thoughts was her. “If you want.”
Christine returned with a milkshake in each hand. “Here you go, Tiegan.” She placed the chocolate concoction down near his niece before setting his vanilla one down. “Did you hear Holly Lambert is in town? Or at least she was. She came in on Wednesday with her mom for lunch. It was the first time I’ve seen her in at least two years.”
Aaron’s thoughts immediately returned to the other celebrity currently in Avon. No questions about it, Juliette Belmont was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. “My mom mentioned she saw her last week.” Christine didn’t need to know where or with whom Holly had been with at the time.
“She looked fantastic. But of course, she probably has a personal trainer and nutritionist telling her exactly what to do.”
What was the proper reply to that? Especially since there wasn’t anything wrong with the way Christine looked. Sure, she appeared a little tired, but she worked full-time and had two kids, so that wasn't surprising.
“Well, Mrs. Lambert seemed happy. I know she wishes Holly would come home more.”
His mom said the same thing about his sister Elise. He imagined having children—regardless of their age—who lived more than an hour or two from home could be tough on parents.
“Christine, can I get another coffee?” the older gentleman with his wife at the next table asked, putting a temporary halt to their conversation.
“Sure thing, Martin,” she replied before looking back at Aaron. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Who’s Holly Lambert?” Tiegan asked.
One thing he’d learned since she and Candace moved in with him was that the girl hated to be left in the dark. It didn’t matter the topic or the situation.
“Just someone your mom and I went to school with. I think she lives in New York City now.” Honestly, he didn’t know, and he didn’t care, because where she lived didn’t affect his life in any way.
“Nana said Juliette is from New York City.”
Considering who she was and what she did for a living, that made sense, though much like with Holly, he didn’t care.
“I really want to go to New York. I’d love to see the Rockettes or the New York City ballet. Do you know it’s one of the best dance companies in the world? I read a book about it for my nonfiction book report.” While Tiegan enjoyed playing basketball and softball, her real passion was dance. Unfortunately, at the moment she wasn’t able to take any classes.
“You don’t have to go to New York to see the ballet. There’s a professional ballet company in Boston. If you want, I can see if they are performing anything you might like and get you and your mom tickets for your birthday.”
Tiegan nodded, a grin stretching across her face. “That would be awesome. Can you and Nana come too?”
If she wanted to see a basketball or baseball game, he’d tag along in a heartbeat. Hell, he’d take her himself. Ballets were another story. He attended a performance of The Nutcracker while living in Boston because a woman he’d been dating at the time loved the ballet. He had no desire to see another show. At the same time, he hated disappointing the girl across the table from him. “We’ll see.”
Juliette stopped at the thermostat on her way to the sofa and turned up the heat. She tended to keep the temperature set somewhere between sixty-eight and seventy at home. The temperature inside right now was nowhere near that. Before sitting down, she glanced at the woodstove. Maybe she should call Valley Landscaping and have them deliver some wood so she could use the thing. She could give them her credit card info over the phone, and they could leave the wood outside. How hard could it be to carry in a few pieces when she needed them?
“Oh, yeah, great idea. I’ll probably burn the cottage down trying to get a fire going.”
Talk about a fabulous way to call attention to herself. She could picture the headlines already on Today Magazine or the Star Report. Juliette Belmont, President Warren Sherbrooke’s niece, destroys home owned by Maggie Wright, a lifelong resident of Avon, New Hampshire. Knowing her luck, she’d not only burn down this cottage but all the ones around her too. Yeah, it was safer to leave the woodstove alone and simply rely on the central heating, even if it wasn’t as efficient as she’d like.
Kicking off her sneakers, she grabbed her e-reader off the end table. Her cousin’s second novel was due out in November, and she still hadn’t read his first one. As far as she knew, she was the only member of the family who hadn’t read Fatal Deception. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to support Curt, but from the little she knew about the book, it wasn’t her type of story. She enjoyed books with either a lot of humor or a happily ever after. Novels filled with plot twists and turns or crazed psychopaths didn’t appeal to her. Regardless, she planned to read it before she started anything else, and now seemed as good a time as any to start.
She flipped open the cover and pressed the power button before taking a sip of her hot chocolate. “Okay, Curt, let’s see why everyone thinks this book is so great.”
Her cousin’s book had hit all the major lists, and both Curt’s fans and family members were clamoring for its sequel. Adjusting the pillow behind her back, she winced when she drew her knees up in front of her. As she’d expected, she had an enormous bruise on her knee from when she tripped. The way she saw it, a bruise was far better than a sprained ankle or a broken bone. Next time she went walking through the woods, she needed to be more careful. She’d had her fair share of both when she danced, and she had no desire to experience either again. Hot chocolate in one hand, she dove into the story.
Five chapters later, Juliette understood why so many people loved Fatal Deception. Never in a million years would she have guessed her cousin was such a talented storyteller. In her opinion, he’d wasted way too many years in Boston working in the financial world. Setting her e-reader down, she rubbed her eyes as she stood and then stretched her arms over her head. After she grabbed something to eat and another hot drink, she’d get back to the book.
Despite her empty stomach, movement outside had her walking toward the windows rather than the kitchen.
Aaron and Tiegan were walking his dog along the lake. Unlike earlier, he had on a dark blue ski jacket and jeans. Not that it mattered. She could easily picture the way his muscles had moved as he ran this morning. The man took care of himself. The last thing she needed right now was to get involved with anyone, especially since her stay in Avon was temporary. Still, it didn’t mean she couldn’t look and appreciate a man. And at least in the looks department, there was a lot to appreciate when it came to Mr. Aaron Wright.