by Laurie Roma
“Of course it is,” Kali said exasperated. “But I just…I have the perfect man, with the perfect wedding venue, and now I have the perfect dress…” When she started crying again, they couldn’t understand the words she sobbed out.
“What was that?” Francesca whispered.
Wide eyed, Evie turned to the rest of the group. “Did she say baby?”
Madeline had heard the word, too. Hope surging like a tidal wave inside her, Maddy cupped Kali’s face, tilting it up so she could look into her soon-to-be-daughter-in-law’s eyes. “Sweetheart, are you pregnant?”
“Y-yes,” Kali hiccupped, then her breath left in a rush as Madeline jerked her into a bear hug before letting out an exuberant shout of pure delight.
“Oh my God! My baby is having a baby! I’m gonna be a grandmother!”
The rest of the women jumped up from their seats and hurried over to them.
“I just found out this morning,” Kali told them. “I took a test and…Jared and I talked about having kids, but not yet. It was supposed to happen after we were married!”
“Oh, honey. Who cares about all that?” Madeline asked as she wiped at Kali’s tears with her thumbs. Leaning in, she pressed her lips to both of Kali’s cheeks in turn. “You and Jared will make such wonderful parents. I’m so happy for you both.”
“But the wedding is in less than a month. I don’t know how far along I am, but what if my dress doesn’t fit then? Oh God, can you imagine what my mother will say if I’m showing in my wedding dress?”
Madeline’s eyes narrowed. “I dare your momma to try and say something mean to you about my grandbaby. I. Dare. Her.”
“Do you want the baby, Kali?” Becca asked cautiously. “Are you happy?”
The smile that lit up Kali’s face was as bright as the sun. She wrapped her arms around her waist as if she could protect the life that grew inside her. “Happy doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel.” She lifted one hand to wipe at the tears still streaming down her face. “I’m sorry. I can’t seem to get a handle on my emotions.”
“That’s okay,” Madeline told her as she beamed. “Hormones will do that to you.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything until I told Jared, but I just couldn’t help myself. I know we were all going to go to dinner after we were done here, but I think I want to go home so I can spend some time with him instead.”
“Let’s get you out of that dress before you cry all over it and have to pick another one. We can go home now if you’d like,” Zoe offered.
“Oh, no,” Kali said with a grin. “I may have found my dress, but we still have to pick out the one you guys are going to wear.”
“Great,” Sam said dryly, then she winced as Becca pinched her arm.
Kali laughed as she looked around at her friends and her new family, and felt her heart swell with love. Madeline was the epitome of the kind of mother Kali had always wished she’d had growing up. Now, Maddy would really be hers. She would be a loving grandmother to her and Jared’s child, and she would cherish all the other children they were blessed to have in the future.
Through Jared, Kali would also be able to call Evie and Francesca her cousins, and Becca, Sam and Zoe were as close to her as sisters. They were all strong women that she was proud to call her friends.
Suddenly, it all became clear to her. Kali had been striving for perfection. She’d wanted to make the wedding exactly like she’d imagined it in her head. To find the right dress, the right venue, with everything going according to plan. When she found out she was pregnant, she’d felt as if she’d gotten the wind knocked out of her. She wanted Jared’s child more than anything, but the thought of her perfect schedule changing had left her feeling slightly lost.
But what Kali hadn’t realized until now was that she already had the perfection she’d be looking for, and she’d been stressing about all the wrong things.
She loved Jared, and he loved her back with a passion and intensity that constantly left her wondering what she’d done to deserve such a wonderful man. She had friends who cared for her, and now she was going to have the family she’d always dreamed about.
Kali had found perfection in her man, in her friends, and even in the town she called home.
“Thank you for sharing this with me,” Kali whispered shakily. “It means so much to me to have all of you in my life, and I love you so much.”
Zoe fought tears of her own. “Of course you do. Now, are we gonna hug it out or what?”
Kali threw her arms wide, and the women gathered together to join in one big circle.
“Trust me, if I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t be wearing pink for your wedding,” Sam grumbled.
As Zoe stood within the group’s embrace, her heart hurt. She was surrounded by love—more than she’d ever thought possible—and couldn’t help but feel like a complete fraud. A storm was coming…and in the aftermath, she could lose everything she’d come to care about.
And knowing that, she held onto all of them a little tighter to make the moment last.
Chapter Six
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Zoe grinned at GT as she, Sam and Francesca sat down on three empty barstools that had just opened up. The Fox Hole was packed with people, and their timing couldn’t have been more perfect. “I couldn’t stay away.”
“You’re a sick woman, Zoe. It’s your night off, and yet here you are.”
“I know it.”
“I need a goddamn drink, GT,” Sam growled. “There was too much female bonding going on today. Make mine a beer.”
Chuckling, GT nodded. “Want your usual Strongbow, Zoe?”
After Zoe agreed, GT asked Francesca what she wanted.
“Beer is fine with me, too, but could you make mine a light?” When Sam muttered something obscene, Francesca just laughed.
GT left to fill their order, and Zoe looked around the room, glad she wasn’t working. It had been a long and emotional afternoon, and even though she didn’t want to go home when they made it back to Breakers, she didn’t have the energy to work a shift at the moment.
When they’d left the bridal shop, the women had all wished Kali luck telling her fiancé the wonderful news about the baby. Evie and Madeline had also gone home to their men, and Becca had opted to head back to her apartment since she had to be up early to open the bakery. Sam, Francesca and Zoe had decided to go to The Fox Hole, wanting a drink after the pains of trying on countless dresses. They had found one they all agreed on, but it really hadn’t mattered. As long as Kali had liked it, the group would have worn anything she chose.
“I’ve decided I need to kill off a clothing designer in my next book,” Francesca announced.
Sam snickered. “That’s not very romantic.”
As an erotic romance author, Francesca’s books were filled with love and happily ever afters, not murder. “I don’t care. Whoever made some of those dresses we tried on today needs to be punished. Seriously, it’s like they are trying to mock people with hips, and that’s just mean.”
Zoe chuckled and shook her head. “At least you have hips.”
“But you’re so slim, and you—” Francesca wagged a finger at Sam, “—I don’t even know where to begin.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“All I’m saying is that I love you guys, but there is no way I’m getting stuck standing between you and Nikita for the wedding. Nope. Being the cream filling between Combat Barbie and Fitness Barbie is too much to ask of anyone.”
“I’m really going to have to hurt you if you don't stop calling me that,” Sam warned.
Francesca fluttered her lashes and smiled. “You love me too much to do any real damage.”
“Fucking female bonding,” Sam groused again. Gratefully, she picked up the glass that GT placed in front of her and drained half of it in just a few swallows.
“That sounds awful,” GT said in sympathy.
“It was,” Sam insisted. “We were s
tuck trying on dresses for hours today. Hours.”
GT shook her head sadly. “That sounds like my idea of hell. Why couldn’t Kali just pick out a dress she liked and make you guys wear it? Isn’t that how it normally goes?”
“That’s what I said!”
“It wasn’t as bad as Sam is making it sound,” Francesca countered. “She had just as much fun today as we did. I really like the dress we picked, even though my hips look huge in it.”
“I would kill for your curves, Frannie,” Zoe said with a sigh.
“You say that because you’ve never had to fit this ass in these jeans.”
“No one in their right mind would wear those jeans. You have rhinestones on the pockets for Christ’s sake,” Sam muttered.
“Don’t hate.” Francesca’s eyes were alight with mischief when she added, “Besides, weren’t you the one to pick the winning bridesmaid dress today? You know, the one with all those pretty little sparkles on the strap and the waist?”
GT choked. “You…what?”
“And did I forget to mention it was a pink dress?” Francesca asked.
“Oh, wow,” GT said, straight-faced. “This is a whole new side of you I never knew about.”
“Don’t make me kill you.”
“Stop teasing Sam,” Zoe admonished even as she tried to hold in her laughter. “Wait until she’s had a few more drinks at least.”
“Fine. I’ll behave,” Francesca promised. “It’s just so fun to rile her up.”
“Gee, aren’t I lucky.”
GT leaned on the bar in front of them, completely ignoring customers trying to get her attention. “Speaking of being riled, maybe you could spare a minute to talk to the boss, Zoe. He’s been on a real tear tonight.”
Zoe frowned. “What happened?”
“He knocked out some asshole groping a girl on the dance floor, then got in the middle of a big brawl outside in the smoking area. It’s just the usual spring break bullshit, but you know how he gets when you aren’t around to calm him down,” she said, watching Zoe carefully for her reaction. “Plus, Dante has also been bitching about you ladies drinking and driving back from Houston. Just thought you might want to let him know you’re back, safe and sound.”
With that, GT walked away to serve a group of people further down the bar.
Zoe could feel Francesca and Sam's eyes on her. Turning, she glared at them when she saw they were both grinning. “What?”
“That’s so sweet,” Francesca said cheerfully. “He was worried about you.”
“Us.” Zoe stressed the word. “He was worried about us.”
“Dante couldn’t care less if we were pole dancing in Houston right now,” Sam countered. Holding up her glass, she gestured toward Zoe. “What the hell is going on with you two?”
“Why does everyone keep asking me that?”
Francesca grinned. “Because we’re curious. Added to that, I love a good romance.”
Zoe sighed before lifting her glass to take a small sip. “I don’t know what we’re doing.”
Sam shot her a derisive look. “Well, you might want to figure it out…and quick. Dante’s a good guy, but he’s still a man, and all of them do stupid stuff sometimes. My advice is to do something about it before one of those hussies catches him during a weak moment.”
“Wow, that’s way harsh,” Francesca admonished.
“I’m a realist.”
“No, you’re a cynic.”
Sam shrugged and her eyes shifted to look at something off to the side. “I’m just saying…”
Zoe’s gaze followed Sam’s, and she stiffened when she saw Dante striding away from a giggling woman with dark-blonde hair and two of her friends. He was heading toward the hallway that led to the bathrooms and his office. The blonde shot her friends a sly grin before she broke away from the group to follow after him.
Zoe’s glass hit the bar top with a loud crack as she slammed it down. “Oh, hell no.”
“Go kick some ass, girl,” Sam encouraged.
Zoe didn’t have to be told twice.
Slipping off her barstool, she got to her feet and pushed through the crowd, ignoring those who called out to her as she moved past them. Things might not be settled between her and Dante, but she’d be damned if she was going to let another woman get in her way now.
The lines to the bathroom were long, and it took her some time to maneuver through the mass of bodies. By the time she was clear, she’d lost sight of both Dante and the blonde. Anger surged through her as she remembered why the woman looked so familiar.
The woman came into the bar with her friends once in a while, and made a point to belittle everything about The Fox Hole...except for the men. There had been a few times when Zoe had overheard them discussing the male staff members, but she specifically remembered the blonde talking about Dante, going so far as bragging about how she could have him anytime she wanted him and discussing in detail how he was in bed.
Zoe knew that Dante had a reputation for hooking up with multiple women before she’d met him, but she didn’t doubt his word when he said he would stick to their bet and abstain for the duration. Still, she wasn’t about to let some other woman go after what Zoe thought of as hers.
And Dante was hers.
She paused briefly in front of the closed office door, then moved on, knowing automatically they weren’t in there. As she neared the end of the hallway, her steps slowed when she heard voices coming from outside the side door. The door was propped opened a bit, and Zoe saw Noah Brixton’s large body blocking the view outside. Zoe stepped into the shadows, moving a little closer until she could glance around Brix.
Damn it.
Her eyes narrowed as she saw the blonde clinging to Dante. Her first instinct was to grab the woman by her hair to drag her off him. Women threw themselves at him all the time. He usually engaged in a little flirting before turning them down, but with the more insistent, he could be biting and cold. Curiosity had Zoe shifting so she could get a better view of the situation. The expression of pure disgust on Dante’s face had a slow smile spreading across her own.
Dante was in no mood for this shit.
“Cut it out, Tammy. Stop touching me. You’re just embarrassing yourself. I told you I wasn’t interested,” Dante growled out as he pulled her arms down forcefully when she tried to wrap them around his neck….again.
He was losing what little patience he had as she rubbed against him.
“You were before,” Tammy said with a giggle he assumed was supposed to be sexy.
“That was a year ago, and it was before I really knew you,” he shot back. The insult didn’t seem to bother the blonde who was busy trying to shove her hands under the black t-shirt he wore. Fucking hell, the woman had hands like an octopus…they seemed to be everywhere.
He glared at Brix, who was standing between the door and the floodlight so he was cast in shadows. “Don’t just fucking stand there. Do something.”
“Like what? I just came out here for a smoke.” The blond giant lifted the cigarette in his hand and took a drag. Blowing out smoke, Brix said, “I ain’t touching her.”
“You’re no fun anymore,” Tammy announced with a pout.
Dante ignored her words, still focused on his friend. “She was with those two twits she’s always here with. Get someone inside to get their asses out of here.”
Brix got on the radio while Dante continued to struggle with the drunk woman. Most of the women he’d hooked up with knew there would be no repeats, but Tammy obviously didn’t get it. And with a father who gave her everything she wanted, Tammy wasn’t used to being told no.
She saw it as some sort of challenge.
Dante knew that women went after him expecting him to jump at the chance for a quick fuck, but he’d lost interest in that shit when he’d met Zoe. He heaved out a sigh, prepared to hold onto his temper until her friends came out to take her off his hands.
That was, until Tammy reached down and grabbed his cock.<
br />
“What the fuck?”
“Come on, Dante. I know you’re always up for a good time,” Tammy purred.
Disgusted, Dante forcefully shoved her hand away from him, not caring when she lost her balance and almost fell down.
“Jesus, is she for real?” Brix asked as he tossed his cigarette aside and made a quick grab for the woman, holding her upright.
“Get your hands off me—” Tammy began, then blinked as she finally got a good look at Brix. Her face softened and she blinked a few more times, working up some fake tears. “Oh, Noah. Did you see that? Dante pushed me and—”
“Save it for someone who cares.”
Tammy’s expression hardened. Pride injured, she jerked away from Brix and sneered at both men. “How dare you treat me this way? Don’t you know who I am?”
“A spoiled, rich bitch looking for a quick fuck?” Brix shrugged when Dante snorted. “What? She asked.”
“Like I care what you think. You’re a nobody,” Tammy scoffed scornfully. She whirled on Dante. “And you…the only thing I should be embarrassed about is slumming with you. I thought we’d have a little fun, but I guess you’re too busy doing your little bartender whore to be with a real woman. Really, Dante. Fucking the help? How cliché. But then again, I can’t expect any better from a man like you.”
Dante had taken a few steps away to head back inside, ready to dismiss her, but he froze at Tammy’s words. Turning slowly, his face must have shown some of the anger he was feeling, because Tammy took a cautious step back from him as he leveled a glare in her direction.
“If you were a man, I would kill you for that.” Dante’s voice was low and filled with such contempt it made Tammy take another step away from him. “You’re going to want to leave. Now. Before you piss me off even more.”
Tammy’s eyes narrowed. She knew his rep, and was secure in the belief that he wouldn’t really touch her in anger. The anger in his ice-blue eyes made her nervous, though. “Don’t you tell me what to do, Dante Fox.”