are

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sighed. Gretchen studied her intently. “But you sink ziss iss important? Fü—for Jeff?”
Melissa nodded. “It will matter to him more than anything, Gretchen. Trust me. As long as he thinks you love him, he’ll be able to handle anything.”
Not certain if her words had made any sense, Melissa tried to stumble through a German semitranslation. But Gretchen waved her down.
“I understand.” The frown on her face cleared away. “Iss not a problem, zen. I vill vork at it. Very hard. I am a good vorker. Very—” She groped for the word, for a moment, before finding it. “Ja. Determined. Not lazy.”
Melissa couldn’t help laughing. And if some of her humor was rueful, most of it was not. “That you most certainly are, girl!”
She examined the young woman standing before her. “That you most certainly are,” she repeated. Smiling, shaking her head: “You l

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