Free Absolutely, Positively by Jayne Ann Krentz Page A

thought.”

    “Well, I suppose that any sort of date is better than nothing at all.” Venicia did not sound entirely convinced. “Heaven knows that I've been quite concerned about your lack of social life for some time.”

    “That's the spirit, Aunt Venicia. Look on the bright side.”

    “Oh, I am, dear, I am,” Venicia assured her. “I'm so glad to hear that you've got plans for tomorrow night. Who knows where it might lead? Why, when I first met Cutter on that cruise, I never dreamed we would fall in love.”

    “I'm not planning to fall in love with Harry,” Molly said quickly. “We're not really each other's type.”

    “One never knows, dear. Opposites attract.”

    Molly winced. “I've never really believed in that old saying.”

    “Listen, I'll ask Cutter to arrange to have dinner with us some other evening. How about Saturday?”

    “Saturday will be fine.”

    “Wonderful. Have fun tomorrow night, dear.”

    “I'll do that.” Molly replaced the receiver with a sense of relief.

    Kelsey did not look up as she unscrewed the motor housing. “What's the latest on the wedding plans?”

    “Green and gold.”

    “What happened to blue and gold?”

    “That was last week's color scheme.” Molly slit open another envelope and removed an order form that had been torn out of her newest catalog. “I'll be glad when this wedding is finally over.”

    “I know. Aunt Venicia is kind of obsessing on it, isn't she?”

    “I'm glad for her.” Molly studied the list of spices that had been ordered by a customer in Arizona. “After all those years with Uncle Julius, she deserves a nice, attentive man like Cutter Latteridge.”

    “A nice, comfortably well-off man like Cutter Latteridge,” Kelsey amended dryly. “That house on Mercer Island and that yacht of his didn't come cheap.”

    “There is that.” Molly placed the order form in a stack on her desk. “At least we don't have to worry that he's marrying her for her money. But the important thing is that he pays attention to her. She deserves it.”

    “Uncle Julius wasn't so bad. He was a lot like Dad.”

    “Exactly.” Molly reached for another envelope. “Half the time Dad forgot he even had a wife. Uncle Julius wasn't any better. Aunt Venicia told me once that in the entire thirty years of their marriage, Uncle Julius never once remembered their wedding anniversary, let alone her birthday.”

    Kelsey gazed deeply into the guts of the clogged motor. “Just like Dad.”

    Molly said nothing. Kelsey had said it all. Years of benign neglect were summed up in that simple statement. Jasper Abberwick had loved his family in his own way, but he had always loved his work more. Even the wonderful mechanical toys that he had built for his daughters years ago had been designed primarily as prototypes for the robotic devices he later developed.

    Molly loved the old toys. They were stored in the basement workshop. Every six months she faithfully checked the special long-life batteries that Jasper had designed for them. At one time she'd thought that her own children would play with them someday. But lately that possibility had begun to seem more and more remote.

    The office door opened. Tessa peered warily around the corner. “Everything okay in here?”

    “I think we've survived another of Kelsey's experiments,” Molly said.

    “Great.” Tessa walked into the office. There was a determined gleam in her eyes. “In that case, it's time we talked about your hot date with T-Rex.”

    Molly slit open another envelope. “What's to discuss?”

    Kelsey put down her screwdriver. “Tessa's right. We need to talk. It's been a long time since you went out on a real date. Since you stopped seeing Gordon Brooke, in fact.”

    “That's not true. I had dinner with Eric Sanders just last month.”

    “Eric is your accountant,” Tessa pointed out. “It was a working dinner. You told me the two of you spent the evening discussing your tax