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\u201cEleanor, darling.\u201d Amanda offered an air\u2011kiss that landed safely a breath from my cheek. \u201cSo glad you could make it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo wine,\u201d I said. \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pivoted to a tall man in an Italian suit. \u201cJulian, you came.\u201d Her hand fell to his knee and stayed there. I found a corner and held to the last thin rope of composure.<\/p>\n
Palmer positioned himself by the marble fireplace. \u201cLadies and gentlemen,\u201d he said, and the room fell into the hush of expensive rooms. \u201cThis is the last will and testament of Richard Thomas Thompson, executed and notarized four months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Four months. Richard updated every August on his birthday. New Year\u2019s had changed something I didn\u2019t yet know the name for.<\/p>\n