“Natya!” Jessica shrieked with delight. She jumped out of the car, not slowing down to close the door, and raced barefoot across the lawn. Jessica hadn’t seen her cousin since she’d come through Chicago last year for a tech seminar.
“Jessica!” Natalya shrieked out their customary greeting in turn as she leapt down the front steps of the grand Lamont Victorian home.
They came together with a quick kiss and a hard hug that made Jessica feel like maybe it wasn’t too weird to be home.
“I thought you were in Portland.” Natalya was supposed to be there because then she’d be Jessica’s secret refuge from the reality of Eagle Cove.
“I came down to help with the wedding.”
“Didn’t they tell you it had been delayed?”
“They did,” and the way Natalya said it, Jessica knew that her friend had come
