July.”
Cassandra’s eyes started
to overflow and her hand went to cover her mouth. Clytie could feel her emotions
and felt her own eyes fill. She heard Miley sniffle beside her and they turned
to catch her wiping her own eyes. But Cassie didn’t look anywhere but Clytie. Then
she dropped the hand and her voice broke. “You’re going to have a baby.” Then
she put both hands on Clytie’s small belly and breathed deep. “I’m going to be
an aunt.” Her smile was blinding. “Oh,” she gasped and looked from her to
Miley. “We get to decorate a nursery, buy clothes.”
Clytie and Miley both
laughed. “After the wedding,” Clytie reminded her.
“Right,” Cassie mumbled,
then brightened again. She patted the belly she still touched and took a deep
breath. “We have the final fittings tomorrow, so we need to make sure Jordan
can make it, and with the three of us, bride and bridesmaids are all accountable.
Roxy already has her flower girl dress, but do we have any clue what the guys
are wearing? Mac and Ben won’t discuss it.” Just like that she was off and
running.
Clytie laughed again, and
reminded her they had an agreement. “I told the guys to wear whatever they
want. I get to wear my wedding dress. I don’t want them to be suffering the
whole time if they aren’t comfortable in formal wear; besides, we all know they
are going to look amazing in whatever they wear so why worry?”
Cassie gave her a head
shake and a narrow look. “You know if you continue to be the nicest woman on
the planet the rest of us are going to feel inferior.”
Miley snorted in
agreement. “I can tell you that if I ever decide I want to get married you can
be damn sure the guys will be in tuxedos. Tasteful well-made tuxedos.”
Cassie pointed at Miley.
“See, she knows; whose special day is this anyway?”
“Mine and Demon’s,”
Clytie said with a laugh while she pushed them back along the path home.
Cassie gave her a pitying
look, still shaking her head sadly and commiserating with Miley who was making
the same sad eyes at her. “She has no clue.”
Miley sighed in over-dramatic
pity. “Like a small defenseless bunny loose on the world. Clueless.”
They were all laughing
and freezing cold when they burst into the house a short time later at a run.
***
Every man in the
conference room smiled as the sound wafted through the house.
Crow walked into the room
with Roxy’s dripping snow trailing him into the house. “That human is back,”
he said blandly.
“That human?” Mac asked.
“The sister with the
stick up her ass, with the hot daughter.”
“ Smoking hot! ” Ian
agreed wholeheartedly from his seat in the back with Liam. “Did she come,
too?”
“No,” Crow growled his
answer, clearly not liking Ian’s interest.
Demon growled at Ian on
the way to the door. Crow he slapped upside the head as he walked by. “Show
some respect, kid,” he grumbled on the way. He pointed a big finger at Roxy’s
nose. “Get out of those wet things before Clytie loses her mind.” Then he
walked away to meet Clytie’s sister at the gate, assuming that the seven-year-old
would follow orders. She watched him leave and then looked up at Crow. “You
said I could have cocoa.”
“Yeah, I’ll get it.”
Crow rubbed his head watching Demon walk out, and then turned to see everyone
else giving him the eye. “What?”
Eli chuckled. “Guess we
can call it a meeting anyway. We got dick for information, but I’ll see what I
can find of Logan’s trail.”
Crow’s eyes sharpened. “Is
Logan missing?” he asked as casually as he could, but still managed to portray
his worry.
“He hasn’t checked in,
but he is hunting,” Lucas said, his eyes on Crow. “Nobody in this room has any
doubt that Logan can take care of himself,” he shrugged, “but we’ll watch his
back all the same.”
Crow seemed to absorb
this, then he turned to
Heidi Cullinan
Dean Burnett
Sena Jeter Naslund
Anne Gracíe
MC Beaton
Christine D'Abo
Soren Petrek
Kate Bridges
Samantha Clarke
Michael R. Underwood