xxx

By the twentieth of Fall, almost two weeks had passed since Tom and Veronica had shown up in Mineral Town. For the most part – to the surprise of Jack and Jill – their stay had been fairly uneventful.

Of course, Jill was incredibly uncomfortable with their presence, even now. It wasn't... it wasn't so much seeing the two of them together anymore – she might not be okay with it, but she was... gradually becoming immune to the sight. And Tom seemed to be travelling under the radar as much as possible. It was mostly her sister that had her worried.

She knew that she could trust Gray, and that wasn't a problem to her. The real problem was that she knew darn well that she couldn't trust Veronica. If that girl wanted something, she would get it – and the worst part was that she had infinite patience. Veronica could wait for as long as she needed until she got something – even if she didn't really want it all that much. And basically, Jill had seen a few things in the recent weeks that had... got her more than just a little nervous.

It was nothing large – it was just the amount of times that she conveniently saw Veronica and Gray talking, laughing, walking together. There was always a truthful, reasonable explanation when she asked Gray about it... Veronica had asked for directions somewhere. Veronica needed help carrying something. Veronica was just sharing something amusing that she'd heard around town. No doubt his motives were completely innocent. But once again, it wasn't Gray that she was worried about.

She'd talked to Jack about it, and he'd immediately discarded her worries as paranoid and illogical. 'Why would Veronica steal Gray?' 'Why would Gray let Veronica fool him?' 'You're just being a over-anxious.' So maybe she was. Maybe there was... nothing for her to worry about, but until Veronica and Tom left, she would never feel completely secure.

Jack... was growing somewhat... not 'comfortable', but used to the idea of Veronica, at least. Tom, he still refused to speak to – ironically, it was the opposite situation for Jill, who was tolerating Tom but not giving Veronica the time of day.

She was their sister, was Jack's reasoning. Family ties, blood's thicker than water, and what have you. Oh he was mad – really mad, for what they'd put Jill through – but he found it hard to stay so angry at the red-head now that he was seeing her daily.

The thing with Jill's predicament, was that it was... so much bigger than anything going on in his life, and it was a welcome distraction from his own issues.

Those being Mary.

He didn't... know what was going on there. That kiss at the wedding wasn't an issue – it had barely meant a thing, in perspective. It was more what had happened since. What could he say? Nothing had happened, happened, but there was something unspoken, and neither of them could deny it.

He sounded like a sappy, love-struck teenager when he said it – and realistically, that description couldn't be further from the truth – but she brought out a side of him that he wasn't used to at all. It wasn't a side that he was particularly fond of, either. He felt... comfortable and confident, which was normal. What wasn't normal was how subdued she could make him feel, with just one genuinely disappointed glance. It was slightly sickening, even – never in his life, not his mother, not girlfriends, had a woman had that much influence over his self-awareness. Jill had come close, at rare times... but definitely not to this extent.

Goddess, he really did sound like a love-struck teenager. Blah.

So, in a very strange way, he was glad that Veronica and Tom were here – dealing with them kept him from getting too lost in his own mind.

And... that was why he was waiting in the inn, to have lunch with his youngest sister. A situation that could easily turn bad – and probably couldn't result in a whole lot of good, either. Maybe if -

"Afternoon, Jack!" Veronica's sing-song voice called as she swooped down to kiss his cheek. He wrinkled his nose and shot her a funny look.

"Mmph."

"Goddess, it's great to talk to you. I mean, I know we've talked – but this is nice. Just the two of us." She smiled, taking the seat opposite him. "How are you?"

He still had that look on his face. "I'm fine."

"Oh, really? Me too. Thanks for asking." She giggled for a moment, then sighed and settled back, drumming her fingers on the table. "Do you want to call the waitress over?"

"Why can't you do it?"

She hesitated. "We... clash. I'm not sure I'm... comfortable with ordering from her." Jack grinned and lifted his hand, waving Ann over.

"What'll it be?" she asked, smiling at Jack and shooting Veronica a quick, meaningful glare. Jack ordered and watched in amusement as his sister stayed unusually silent until Ann had walked off. He'd believed that Ann was stubborn – believed that she wouldn't quite get along with his sister – but it was the first time in his life that he'd seen anyone actually silence Veronica.

"Anyway," the red-head piped up as soon as the waitress left, "How is Jill? How's she doing? It kills me that she won't even talk to me anymore –"

"Jack?" he glanced over quickly to see Jill standing in the doorway, her eyes wide.

"Hey. What are you doing here?"

"I'm going to see Gray –"

"Oh, he's great," Veronica jumped in. "You're lucky – he's a wonderful guy. Very, uh... what's the word? He's a real gentleman."

"I'm sure you think so," Jill retorted venomously. Jack sighed.

"Jill, she's just trying to start a conversation –"

"My boyfriend is not the kind of thing I want to be discussing with her, believe it or not."

Veronica stood up, her hands clasped in front of her. "Jill, please listen to me."

"... Yeah, I'm going to say 'no' to that." She turned around quickly, smashing straight into Ann who was carrying a tray loaded with food. Almost in slow motion, the waitress slipped backwards, sending the tray and its contents flying through the air, covering the unfortunate Veronica in a mixture of spaghetti, wine and salad.

"Goddess!" she exclaimed in disgust, holding her hands out to either side of her. "For heaven's sake, Jill!"

"How was that my fault?"

"You're such a –" she stopped herself before finishing the sentence, then made an exasperated noise and stormed upstairs.

"Bite me," the blonde snarled after her, spinning on her heel and walking quickly out of the inn. Jack buried his head in his hands and Ann's mouth twitched as she obviously tried to hold back a grin.

"You have to admit, I've got good aim."

"You threw it at her on purpose?" Jack asked, horrified.

"Did it seem like an accident?"

"A very, very coincidental accident. But yes, it did." Ann started laughing to herself and Jack – after a lot of huffing and scowling – eventually joined in.

xxx

Gray blinked a few times as Veronica came up the stairs towards him, covered in what looked like wine, tomato sauce and... pieces of salad? She had angry tears in her blue eyes, and her fists were clenched like she was just about ready to drop someone. Someone that hopefully wasn't him.

"Uh..."

"Learn to control your girlfriend," she snapped, pushing past him roughly and into her room. Gray reached out quickly, wrapping his hand around her tiny wrist and pulling her back.

"You're saying that Jill did that to you?"

"You're saying that you don't believe me?"

"I'm saying that I don't believe Jill would do something like that for no reason."

Veronica blinked at him for a few moments before sighing. "Come in. I'll tell you about it." She held open the door and waited until Gray shuffled past her, before closing it firmly and walking over to her mirror. "Yuck. Mascara everywhere."

"Where's Tom?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Not a clue. It's okay, he's a big boy. He can take care of himself." She paused, frowning slightly at the skeptical look on the blacksmith's face. "I trust him."

"I never said you didn't."

"You're thinking it. Look – neither of us are bad people. We love each-other, and... Jill unfortunately had to take the fall for that. I don't blame you for siding with your girlfriend – it's cute, actually – but you've spoken to me enough to know that I don't hate her. I love her very much, and... none of this was to hurt her." A long pause followed her statement, before Gray shook his head and sighed.

"Just... tell me what happened."

"I was having lunch with Jack," she said distractedly. Apparently, she had no reservations about getting changed in front of Gray, slipping a t-shirt on before taking her dress off, though showing a little more skin than Jill would deem 'appropriate' as she did it.

"Do you want me to leave while you get changed?" he asked dryly. Veronica looked up at him, eyes wide.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't even realize it could be uncomfortable. I'll wait until you're gone, then." He stood up to leave, but she protested. "No, not now! Just wait a few minutes, okay? We can finish talking."

Beginning to vaguely see why Jill might be suspicious, Gray hesitated. "Maybe I should go –"

"Jill walked in the door," she continued, cutting him off, "And kind of... scowled at us... and I said something, and she threw a tantrum –"

"Well, what did you say?"

Veronica paused. "Certainly nothing to provoke the response that she gave me –"

"What did you say?"

"I just said that... you were a great guy. I said she was lucky to have you." The blacksmith groaned, burying his head in his hands. "I didn't mean it like that! It's not my fault if she's hyper-sensitive about things like that." Gray raised an eyebrow, and her face fell. "Well... maybe that is kind of my fault... but I swear, I didn't mean to get her angry or anything."

"I know," he exhaled. "She's going to be really upset now, though."

"Anyway, she turned around really quickly, and the waitress girl –"

"Her name's Ann –"

"The waitress girl was right behind her, and she collided with Jill, and the dishes she was carrying spilt all over me."

She received a blank stare. "I... don't see how that could be Jill's fault. It was Ann who was holding the dishes, right?"

"Yes..."

"And could Jill... see Ann behind her when she turned around?"

Veronica sighed. "No... all right, all right. Maybe it was accidental."

"Jill's not spiteful. She doesn't really try and 'get back' at people."

"I know."

"I should probably go and find her," he said, walking over to the door. "She'll be upset."

"Tell her I didn't mean to get her angry," Veronica begged as he left. Gray shook his head.

"She might not like the idea that I spoke to you before I spoke to her. I'll... see you later." He pushed the door open and walked out, half-expecting to be ambushed by a suspicious blonde. Of course, there was no-one there - and as far as he was concerned, he had nothing to hide – but obviously, if he was feeling this guilty, something was wrong.

xxx

"H-I-J," Mary muttered under her breath, putting a book away on the shelf in perfect order. She sighed, glancing over her shoulder at the empty library.

It was so lonely, now that Gray wasn't coming anymore. Tim still came on Wednesdays, her dad would drop by occasionally, just to make her feel like someone was remotely interested in the books, but now that her most loyal customer hadn't been by for months... she wasn't feeling incredibly popular. Then again, there was Jack...

Huh. Jack was... different. Incredibly self-assured, but at the same time, he seemed to be constantly seeking her approval. It wasn't a bad thing, and there were times when she was with him that she could forget about Gray, for a few hours. Those times were becoming more frequent, as well.

She obviously wouldn't admit that she had a soft spot for his cheeky smile and charm, but there was no point in denying that he could make her laugh like no-one else had ever been able to. Sure, there were times when she wanted nothing more than to slap him, but at the same time... she couldn't help but accept that there was something like affection growing. Compared to Gray, his personality couldn't be more different...

Goodness, it was ridiculous of her to even be thinking about it! She knew from speaking to him and his sister that Jack had dated a ridiculous amount of beautiful girls. The only reason he would pay the slightest attention towards her was... see, she couldn't think of a single reason! It was best that she put it out of her mind for good.

That resolution didn't stop her heart from racing at the sound of the door opening. She raced back to her desk, sitting down and brushing a few stray hairs back into her braid.

"Good afternoon," she said, quickly flipping open a novel to look as if she'd been reading it, not daydreaming.

"Hey," the man said, running one hand through his dark hair as he glanced around the room. "My name's Tom. I'm... on holidays here, and someone told me that there was a beautiful librarian – I mean, library."

Feeling slightly sick at his terrible pick-up line, Mary grabbed another novel, obviously not interested in making conversation. "Feel free to read or borrow anything," she said quietly. Wasn't he Jack's brother in law?

"What book would you recommend?" Tom asked, not willing to end the conversation so abruptly.

"They're all fine."

"You don't have... a particular favourite? You seem like a girl with good taste."

"I am. And I certainly know what I don't like," she told him, glaring adamantly. Tom looked a little taken-aback by now, and quietly walked upstairs, leaving a very annoyed Mary behind him.

She exhaled slowly, deciding to forget about it, and actually started reading the novel in her hands. When Tom returned and stood directly in front of her, she didn't acknowledge him until he started to speak. "Interesting book?"

"Very."

"What's it called?" Mary wordlessly flipped the book to show him the cover, then continued reading. "What's it about?"

"Would you like to read it?" she asked, standing up, pressing the novel into his hands and walking over to the other side of the room under the pretence of searching one of those shelves.

"I didn't mean to cause an inconvenience – here, you were reading it first –"

"Not at all. I can read it at any time I feel like it."

He cleared his throat, glancing at the book in his hands and looking a little confused. "So... I wouldn't expect to find a library in a little town like this. You must like reading, huh?"

"That would be the most logical reason for me to be a librarian."

"Oh," he laughed. "Of course. So... you know Jill, right?"

"Yes."

"Are you two good friends?"

"Not particularly close. I've heard some interesting things about her life, though." The handsome man seemed to blush a little, studying Mary intently.

"Ah – right. You're, uh... right." He received a sweet, sarcastic smile before Mary turned away from him once again. It was puzzling for Tom – girls didn't usually act like this towards him; quite the opposite. Never mind – it was just one girl.

On the other hand, why should this girl be any different? Surely he could change her mind eventually. Maybe she was a feminist? Maybe she was playing hard to get, and really wanted him to keep flirting with her. Maybe... he walked over to the librarian once more, intending to ask her to recommend another book.

"Hey, Mary. Hey, jackass." Tom turned quickly to see Jack standing in the library's doorway, arms crossed over his chest aggressively. He thought he heard a muffled laugh come from the librarian next to him.

"Jack," the dark-haired man replied bitterly. Jack raised a threatening eyebrow and quickly stared him down, making Tom duck his head and hurriedly leave the library. The farmer turned back to Mary, grinning.

"How are you?"

"Fine," she replied, trying unsuccessfully to tone down the smile on her face. "I see you and your brother are very close."

"He's not my brother," Jack replied instantly, shaking his head. "Don't call him my brother. Brother in law, is the correct term, and I refuse to call him even that. I can't think of a word horrible enough to describe him." He bit his lip, a tiny smirk on his face. "You two looked quite cozy though, standing over there in the corner. I hope I didn't interrupt anything." Mary scowled at him, a look of complete outrage on her face. Jack winced. "I'm kidding."

"I'll have you know, I was less than polite to him."

"Ooh, less than polite? The poor guy." He received another scowl and Mary sat down at her desk, remaining silent. Jack moved over and kneeled down next to her, giving her a beseeching stare. "Don't be mad at me."

"Too late," she replied, her face deadly serious. She gathered some paper out of a drawer and started writing, determinedly ignoring the miserable boy next to her.

"Mary – Mary, look at me." She kept writing, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Don't be mad," he begged sincerely, genuinely believing that she was angry with him. "Mares..."

She bit her lip, trying to hold back a smile – but before she could regain her serious composure, Jack spotted the humor in her expression. "Mary," he scolded, standing up and crossing his arms over his chest. "That's so immature."

"Oh, that's rich coming from you."

"Touche."

The librarian smiled, shaking her head. "You're... a lot more complicated than I initially thought, you know?"

"You're exactly as complicated as I initially thought. Of course, you couldn't really be any more complicated." He sighed, tilting his head to the side and looking at her closely. "You're a confusing girl, Mary."

xxx

"Hey," Jill sighed, opening the front door of her home to a familiar pair of blue eyes. "Come in." Gray quietly followed her, watching in concern as she walked with a little less spring than usual.

"Are you okay?" She turned on her heel quickly, blinking at him.

"Fine. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"... I heard what happened this morning?"

"Oh." She looked at the floor, seeming embarrassed and a little ashamed. "I didn't... do that to her on purpose."

"I know," he replied, moving closer. He gently touched her cheek, tilting her face towards him. "I hate seeing you like this."

"Like what," she muttered, shrugging and taking a few steps back. His brow furrowed in distress and hurt, Gray examined her.

"Like this. Why are you –"

"I'm sorry," she whimpered suddenly, sitting down on her bed abruptly and burying her face in her hands. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry –"

"Shh," he instructed, beginning to get really worried. He quickly crossed over and sat down next to Jill, holding her close as she shook – not exactly crying, just shaking. Resting his head on her blonde one, he bit his lip, confused. "Jill... what's wrong, exactly?"

"I don't know," she choked out. "Gray... I think I'm going insane."

"Don't say that," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear.

"I can't cope with this anymore," she exhaled. "I see her... I see her looking at you, Gray, and it's driving me crazy – I feel mad at you, half the time, and you haven't done anything wrong. I just want her to leave."

"What about Tom," he asked in a low voice. Jill shrugged.

"You would think that I'd be so angry with him... but Goddess, I just... can't be bothered. All my negative energy is going towards Veronica – she's my sister, and she stabbed me in the back –"

"She loves you –"

"And she has a brilliant way of showing it, stealing one boyfriend, trying goodness knows what with the other –"

"Jill," he snapped immediately. "She might be your sister, but she was only eighteen when she did it. I know that I certainly didn't make all the right decisions when I was eighteen – I still don't."

"Would you have done something like that to your own sister?"

"I don't have a sister anymore," he said angrily. Jill's eyes widened apologetically, but Gray went on before she could say anything. "Family should be the most important thing in the world, if you're lucky enough to have it. Tom isn't your family, Jill. Veronica's the one you should try to forgive."

"He was like family," she said softly, tears in her eyes. "He was more my family than Veronica ever was. He loved me."

"He loved you. Veronica still does. Goddess, Jill, I love you more than you can imagine. It doesn't really seem to make a difference to you, though." He got to his feet in frustration, striding across the room and ripping the hat off his head, twisting it in his hands.

"Don't say that," she said angrily, getting to her own feet and crossing her arms over her chest, tears streaming freely. "You know how much you mean to me. I love you, okay? I love you, I love you."

A stunned expression on his face, he coughed. "You... what?"

"Of course I do," she sobbed, sinking down onto her bed again. "I love you. I just –" in all of two steps, Gray had crossed the room, his arms wrapped around her tight, his lips firmly on hers. She hesitantly clasped her hands around his broad shoulders before breaking the kiss and resting her head on his chest. "Please, just... don't hurt me." She paused for a moment. "And don't leave me."

"As if I ever would."

"No matter what Veronica does or says?"

"Jill."

"I can't help it," she said, "It's like... an automatic reaction when it comes to her. For heaven's sake, I sincerely doubt that either of them is above cheating on the other. She sees something that she wants, and she gets it... and Tom's never been easy to say no to either, believe me."

Gray pulled back a little, searching her face. "You mean..."

"I mean he's persuasive... and manipulative, and you don't even realize until it's too late. He can make... anything sound like a good idea, and when you finally work out what a bad idea it was, it all seems to be your own fault somehow."

"What are you talking about?"

Jill shrugged in despair. "Nothing. Everything. I don't even know, anymore. It's all... so confusing, I just..." she sighed, linking his larger hand with her own. "You're the only thing that keeps me going. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Gray half-smiled, looking down at their hands clasped together. "You'll never need to find out."

xxx

Two days passed quickly, with nothing extraordinary occuring. Tom visited the library both days and continued to be snubbed; Jack visited the library both days and succeeded in scaring him off. Gray, after seeing the state that it had got Jill into, tried to stop spending any time with Veronica – but found that she made it a little hard to avoid her. Jill... seemed to pick up, with support coming from Jack, Gray, Ann – and most surprisingly, Mary, who had dropped by to check up on how she was doing.

This had resulted in a minor squabble between Jack and Jill – Jack swearing that he hadn't been talking about her behind her back, and Jill... not believing him. Their disagreement passed quickly, however, and it wasn't long before everything started to go back to normal, with no major dramas.

Of course, in Mineral Town, that couldn't last long.

"Finally," Ann exhaled, throwing a dish cloth to the floor and sighing loudly. "That's all the work I'm doing today." She quickly picked up the dish cloth and ran into the kitchen, bouncing back out and grinning at her blonde visitor.

"Ann, it's... ten in the morning," Jill pointed out, confused.

"By today, I meant my fifteen minute break. So hurry up and tell me why you're here – my time is very, very valuable."

"Well... I'm here because I'm your friend... but obviously that doesn't give me the priority that I thought it did..."

"Guess not." Jill looked most seriously affronted, and Ann grinned, slapping her on the back. "I'm kidding. Smile. Sit down."

Saluting like she was in the army, Jill sat down at one of the tables, waiting for Ann to take the seat opposite. "Okay, so there is kind of a reason I'm here -"

"Ah, the truth comes out." She received a glare and pressed her hand over her mouth, gesturing for Jill to go on.

"I keep thinking about the other day –"

"Me too, my darling."

"Ann! Stop! I mean that conversation we had... where you said you weren't so interested in Cliff... and I was asking if there was someone else."

"Of course there is."

"Who?"

"You, Jill." She lowered her eyelids in a completely failed attempt at being something like seductive. "I thought you knew."

"Very funny," Jill scowled as Ann doubled over with laughter. She watched the redhead crack up for a few more minutes, before smacking her arm. "It wasn't funny at all, actually."

Ann took a few moments more, breathing in and out slowly, becoming half-serious. "I told you, of course there isn't anyone else."

"Are you sure? I mean, I believe you –"

"Clearly you don't."

"But," she continued, narrowing her eyes, "It just seems... weird. That you could so suddenly move on from Cliff, you know?"

"Did I say I'd moved on? I said that there wasn't the same chemistry, or something to that effect, as far as I remember. No, I didn't. I said that he was acting really, really shy."

"That's because it's Cliff! If you weren't expecting shy, you weren't thinking of the right person! Cliff is shy! Shy and Cliff are like... like... well, outgoing and Cliff are like... dolphins and oranges."

"... Do I even want to ask?"

"When you hear the word dolphin, do you immediately think of oranges? No."

"I will now. And when I hear either of them, I'll think of you. And when I hear the word outgoing, or the word Cliff, I'll think of you and dolphins and oranges."

"Ann!"

"Ann!" A male voice mimicked from behind them, earning himself a glare from Jill.

"Don't make fun of me, Jack."

Ignoring his sister, Jack petted Ann's red hair. "Is she being mean to you?"

"Yes," Ann whimpered, turning and clinging to the front of his shirt, an exaggerated distraught expression on her face. "She keeps telling me scary stories about orange dolphins. Make her stop, please!"

A smirk playing on his lips, Jack raised an eyebrow at Jill and crossed his arms over his chest. "I think Jill owes someone an apology."

"Oh, for heaven's sake. You two need to... I don't care, get married or something, and annoy each-other instead of annoying me."

"That's what I keep telling her," Jack said sarcastically, holding out his arm to Ann.

"Shut up, Jack," the waitress warned.

"Yes, dear. Come over the other side of the inn, get away from this grump. Although," he continued, turning back to Jill, "I did come here to find you. But I can talk to you at home."

"Not if I kick you out. Mmph," she muttered in protest as Jack swooped down, brushing blonde hair out of her face and kissing both of her cheeks twice.

"You won't kick me out, little sister."

"Yes?" Veronica asked brightly, tapping his shoulder. "Did you say little sister?" Tension suddenly filled the room as Jack grimaced, Jill determinedly looked away and Ann twiddled her thumbs, probably oblivious to the situation.

"I meant the other one, but I guess you'll do."

She giggled. "Oh. Lucky I only have one big brother, then." She was consciously avoiding eye-contact with Jill.

"I –"

"Veronica," a voice called sharply, making everyone glance over to the man standing at the bottom of the stairs, a scowl on his face. "If you really want to still be standing there when we celebrate New Years..."

"I'm coming," she replied sharply. "Goddess, can you wait for... you know, five seconds?"

"I've waited for about a thousand lots of five seconds."

"Then five more aren't going to kill you, are they?" Hissing what sounded like a choice expletive under his breath, Tom made his way to the front door and pushed it open quickly. Veronica bit her lip, her face flushed as three pairs of interested eyes made their way to her. "We... I should probably go too," she stuttered, leaving them just as quickly. Ann and Jack shot each-other confused looks, while Jill stared quietly at her hands. The farmer nodded to the bar, indicating for the redhead to follow him and leave Jill alone in her thought bubble for a little while.

Thought bubble she was indeed in, but she'd barely registered the exchange between Veronica and Tom, too busy puzzling something else out. Ann... denied that she liked someone else. She wouldn't lie, but it could be... self denial on her part as well, right?

She glanced up at her, resting her chin in her hand as she watched the waitress smack her brother – no doubt for saying something obnoxious. How that girl put up with him without being related to him was a mystery – but they seemed to have fun together. There weren't many people who Ann seemed to genuinely appreciate, and Jack was one of them.

Jill's eyes widened in sudden shock.

Holy Goddess.

Suddenly, the other man in Ann's life wasn't looking like such a mystery any more.

xxx

"You're so moody," Veronica snapped, catching up to her husband. "For heaven's sake, they're not going to sign over any company to a couple that looks like they're about to get divorced at any minute."

"We're not getting divorced," he growled. "Stop exaggerating. I'm just mad at you."

"Mad at me? I swear, she was being the most obnoxious, sullen little b-"

"I don't give a crap if she slapped your pretty little face, all right? From what I heard, you threw a tantrum at her."

"I thought she threw a freaking bowl of salad at me! Not to mention wine... spaghetti sauce... that was an expensive dress."

"We get the company, Veronica, and you can have as many damn dresses as you want. We don't get the company, you're going to have to cut the stupid thing into scrap material to make blankets for when we're living on the streets."

Her fists clenched tightly, she walked a little faster as he did. "Don't give me that. I had one miniature argument with her."

He turned quickly, grabbing her shoulders tight. "Maybe you should stop flirting with that pathetic boyfriend of hers."

"He's a nice guy," she said through gritted teeth, wrenching herself away from him. "I don't flirt with him."

"He's a blacksmith. Goddess," he exhaled, turning away again. "How... could she go from me, to a blacksmith. She could do so much better."

Eyes narrowed, Veronica stepped out in front of him, poking his chest with one finger. "You're... mad about that, aren't you? That Jill's... moved on."

"I don't care what she does, but if you must know, yeah. I think it's a little insulting that he's following up for me."

"You're the pathetic one," she spat, rolling her eyes. "He's sweet to her, she's happy with him, and I don't think you really want her to be happy."

"Please. You're the one that doesn't want her to be happy."

"You did not just say that. She's my sister – I love her. Don't you dare tell me that I don't want happiness for my only sister –"

"Then why are you with me?"

Veronica sighed, shaking her head angrily. "You had to bring that up, right? Do you remember what happened, Tom? You came onto me. I kept pushing you away, didn't I? I told you, so many times that it wasn't right, and if I hadn't liked you for so long, I wouldn't have done anything. You were older, and I somehow ended up having to be the mature one. You can be such a jerk."

"You can be such a stubborn princess."

They'd reached the stairs to the beach and she flounced down them, over to the water's edge. She stood there silently for a few moments, before shaking her head and sighing. "What are we doing? I love you. I'm sorry for saying all that."

Tom grunted in reply, not exactly the apology she'd expected, but she let it go as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. "We need to talk about the important things."

"Fights between us are important," she mumbled.

"The company is more important right now."

"More important than our marriage?"

"Veronica," he warned. "Please remember that we have a daughter to think about. What I want to say to you is that I think I'm getting somewhere with Jill – and personally, I think that you're undoing all my hard work with your flirting with her boyfriend and irritating her. Don't argue with me," he warned quickly as she opened her mouth. "I think you're... managing, with Jack. So what's going to happen... I'm going to stay away from Jack... you're going to stay away from Jill... and we'll leave it for them to tell each other how good we've been to them."

"I don't flirt with Gray," she said quickly, despite the glare she received. "Don't give me that look, I don't. I think... he's a wonderful person, but if I was flirting, trust me. You'd notice."

"I don't see why you would flirt with him... is she serious about this? A blacksmith?"

"Stop saying that like it makes a difference. I'd still love you if you were a blacksmith – and you'd still love me if I was poor, right?"

He hesitated for a moment, before nodding quickly. "Sure."

"I think you're jealous of him."

"I thought you weren't flirting with him?"

"Not because of me," she exhaled, her eyes narrowed. "Because of Jill."

"Please," he scoffed weakly. "I – don't be ridiculous."

"You are. I don't mind. I kind of expected it."

"Listen – that blonde, bimbo idiot was a part of my life, when I was younger, granted. Now? You're smarter, younger, and we have more in common. Common, uh... life goals, if you will."

"Don't call my sister an idiot. She's never been wonderful at... anything... but she's not an idiot."

"Okay," he groaned. "Look... all we're going to do today is argue. We'll go back to the inn, have dinner, go to bed and talk more tomorrow when you're thinking clearly."

She watched him walk off without waiting for her to agree, and placed her hands on her hips. "I'm not the one that isn't thinking clearly," she muttered.

xxx