TALL DARK AND HUNGRY Page 0,111

me."

"No problem." He gave her a hug in greeting and took the handle of her suitcase in one smooth move. "How was your flight?"

"Long," she said on a sigh.

"Isn't it always?" he asked. "A shame they got rid of the Concorde."

"Yes."

"You look..." Her brother-in-law hesitated to say it, but he didn't have to; Terri knew how she looked.

"Awful?" she suggested helpfully.

"Well, I wouldn't have put it quite so bluntly, but yes, you look awful," he admitted, concern now crowding his eyes.

"Wore herself out with all that partying she did in New York, no doubt. It's a good thing she's home and can rest now."

"Sandi!" Terri turned to embrace the shorter red¬head, who had appeared from the crowd. "When I didn't see you, I thought perhaps you were working on a deadline or something."

"She is. But that wouldn't stop her coming to pick up her favorite sister-in-law," Dave said staunchly, slipping his free hand around his wife's shoulder to hug her close.

"No, it wouldn't," Sandi agreed, hugging him back. She smiled, then explained, "I was in the ladies' room... as I usually am when the important stuff happens."

Her words made Dave chuckle, and they brought the first sincere smile to Terri's lips since she'd left Kate and Lucern's wedding reception.

"Well, come on," Dave said suddenly. "Let's get you out of here and home."

He ushered the two women to the parking eleva¬tors. The couple chatted about the traffic on the ride in, and about what had happened while Terri was away, leaving her to merely listen and absorb the fact that she was home again. The funny thing was, it didn't feel like home anymore. Nothing seemed quite the same as when she'd left. Their accents--accents she had lived among for ten years, and probably picked up a bit of herself over time--sounded for-eign to her ears. The cars they passed as they walked through the parking garage to Dave's black Jaguar seemed oddly shaped, small and strange after two weeks among larger, sleeker North American models. Even riding on the left-hand side of the road no longer seemed normal. In truth, Terri had adjusted so quickly to being back in the States, England now felt as foreign as it had the first time she came.

"So, tell us about the wedding. Did it go off with¬out a hitch?"

A small burst of laughter slipped from Terri's lips.

Sandi, who had asked the question and turned in the front seat to include her in the conversation, raised her eyebrows slightly at Terri's response. "Oh, now you have to explain that reaction," she said. "It sounds like quite the story."

"The wedding," Terri said with a hollow smile; then she launched into a recounting of the calamities that had befallen Kate's wedding and what she and Bastien had done to resolve them. She managed to fill the entire ride back to Huddersfield with the tale, winding down just as they turned onto the street where Dave and Sandi lived.

"We thought you'd like to stop in for tea before we take you home," Dave explained. "We knew you wouldn't have anything at home to eat, and thought this would give you the chance to unwind a bit. We'll take you to Sainsbury's to pick up groceries before we drive you home, too. Is that all right?"

"Yes, that's fine. Thank you." Terri met his gaze in the rearview mirror and nodded. It was more than fine with her. She really didn't look forward to being on her own in her little cottage again. Terri knew, the moment she was alone, all those thoughts and memo¬ries she was trying so hard to forget would come crowding in.

"I'll make the tea while you girls catch up," Dave offered as he parked the car.

"You're a good man, Dave," Terri said with affection.

"He's better than good," Sandi announced. They got out. "He's a star."

"So are you, flower," her husband responded, tak¬ing her hand and dropping a quick kiss on her fore¬head before turning toward the house.

Terri smiled as she followed the couple inside, but her heart was aching a little at their easy affection. It reminded her of Bastien.

"Well!" Sandi led the way into the living room and dropped onto the couch with a sigh, then raised her eyebrows at Terri. "Now that we're alone, would you care to talk about this Bastien and what he did to break your heart?"

Terri stiffened, then glanced sharply at her sister-in-law.

"What makes you think he broke my heart?" she asked finally. "Or that I love him,