The Room with the Second-Best View by Virginia Smith Page A

and led her to the wall where the sofa would go, and they sank to the floor to sit side by side.
    â€œAunt Lorna’s a tough old bird and a lot harder to offend than you think. If you give in on the flowers, she’ll see that as an open door. She’ll elbow her way into every detail, and before you know it, we’ll be getting married at St. Paul’s Cathedral.”
    â€œDon’t be silly. She can’t be that bad.” She leaned sideways to nudge his shoulder with hers. “When was the last time you saw her, anyway?” Susan decided to skip relating the part of the conversation where Aunt Lorna lamented the fact that the family had abandoned her and left a helpless old woman to die a lonely death in the frozen north.
    â€œLet’s see. It’s been…” He leaned his head against the wall, eyes closed as he considered. “Seven years? She came down when my brother graduated from college. No, wait.” He opened his eyes, and Susan detected a glint of sadness in them. “It was mom’s funeral. Kevin and I took her ashes up to Boston and stayed with Aunt Lorna. So it’s been five years.”
    Susan slipped her hand into his and intertwined their fingers. She’d lost her mother when she was young, but at least she still had Daddy. Justin’s father died of a heart attack when he was in high school, so the loss of his mother left him with no parents. His brother, Kevin, lived in Texas, and his grandparents were gone as well. So really, Aunt Lorna was the only family he had left besides a distant cousin.
    â€œI’m looking forward to meeting her and your cousin.”
    â€œRoss?” A smile replaced the sad expression. “I’m kind of surprised he’s coming. It’s not like we were close or anything. We’re like third cousins, or maybe second cousins once removed or something like that. I haven’t seen him since I was a kid.”
    â€œSee?” Susan squeezed his hand. “Aunt Lorna had a good idea inviting him. It’ll be like a mini family reunion.”
    A scowl gathered on his brow. “Well, she could have asked before inviting him. We told her she was the only family being included.”
    â€œDaddy did the same thing when he invited Uncle Mark without asking.” Now it was Susan’s turn to scowl. Mark wasn’t really even her uncle. He’d been Daddy’s college roommate. The only reason he was coming at all was because he planned to make a vacation out of the trip and go to the horse races at Churchill Downs.
    â€œHey, if your dad wants to include his buddy, that’s okay with me.” Justin shrugged.
    She indulged in a smile and leaned her head sideways to rest on his shoulder. Justin was quick to defend anything Daddy did, an undisguised attempt to curry favor with the man who had staunchly disapproved of their relationship at first. What a relief that the two men in her life had made peace. At times she even suspected they were starting to like each other.
    â€œSo you think definitely no on the flowers?” she asked.
    â€œSuz, do what you want to do. If you want to hold flowers when we get married, great. If you want me to wear a flower in my lapel, I will.” A low chuckle rumbled in his chest. “Heck, I’ll even put a rose behind each ear and hold one in my teeth if you want. But don’t do it because of Aunt Lorna.”
    â€œI’d kind of like to see you with a rose behind each ear.”
    Her giggle faded into a comfortable silence.
    He tilted his head to rest his cheek against her hair. “It’s kind of sad, really. Neither of us has many relatives.”
    â€œI know. I’m an only child, Daddy and my mother were both only children…I don’t think my grandfather had any siblings either. I guess I come from a long line of single-kid families.”
    Justin executed a deft twisting maneuver that ended with Susan in his lap, her face