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moment I knew we were meant to be together! He was so ridiculously possessive around Alex, and when Drae came on the scene? Holy cow. Talk about being off the hook.”
    Tori smirked. “Let me guess. He led with that double-oh-bullshit, didn’t he? Do his very best Daniel Craig on you?”
    Lacey giggled and flushed red. This was Tori’s husband they were talking about. “Well, yes. Of course! Draegyn St. John”—she sighed with dramatic mockery—“need I say more? But he dropped the shtick so fast I got whiplash when Carmen informed him I was living in the casita. Found out later that was code for ‘Property of a Justice brother.’ I’d never met anyone like those three.”
    “They’re an unusual trio; I’ll grant you that.”
    “I guess for me, Alex represented the strong, male authority figure my life had lacked. He’s been more of a protector and a dad than my own worthless parent.”
    Tori reached across the table and squeezed Lacey’s wrist. “It’s the same for me, you know. I mean, shit! My mother dropped me here in the compound and all but signed a permission slip for the good Major to save my sorry ass. And Draegyn? Oh, my god. Idolizes isn’t strong enough of a word. I guess it’s not all that surprising if you see a resemblance to Alex in your son. He’s had an effect on all of us.”
    “Speaking of your mom …” Lacey sniggered. “What the what-ing what with her and the constant Instagramming? She posts everything! Did you see the picture of her and Calder at the Farmer’s Market?”
    Tori rolled her eyes and started to chuckle. After a quick gulp of water, she capped it off and smirked. “You mean the one where they’re wearing matching sombreros and have those stupid fake black mustaches?”
    “Yep!” She hooted with full-throated amusement. “That’s the one I’m talking about. If you look closely, your mama’s hot boyfriend had his hand on her ass.”
    “Oh, my god,” Tori wailed. Covering her face with her hands, she shook her head and groaned. “They’re re-goddamn-diculous, Lacey. If I had to guess, I’d say they do it morning, noon, and night.”
    Her friend’s distress struck Lacey as comical. “They’re in love, sweetie.”
    “They’re old!” Tori cried passionately.
    “Old?” Lacey really hoped she was kidding. “Tori, your mom isn’t even fifty yet and Calder? Well, my goodness. He turns more heads than most. Ya do know he placed second last weekend in the motorbike rally in Bendover, right? Old isn’t a word you should associate with him.”
    “Lacey,” Tori bit out, “he’s doing my mother. And he still hasn’t sealed the deal. I figured he was waiting till Alex got back, but when I think about it, that’s a suicide mission. Alex will kill him if he lets all these months go by without a wedding in the wings.”
    The ceiling fan picked up a warm breeze and swirled it around them. It really was hot. But then again, Arizona in the middle of summer was generally blistering. She slid off her seat and went to the water cooler where she filled a sippy cup.
    Handing the cool drink off to Dylan, she ran her fingers through his hair and smiled. Her baby was so big. Big enough to hold the handles on his own cup. Soon, he’d officially be a toddler and his baby days would be behind him.
    Lacey couldn’t help it. She circled her hand on her tummy and chewed a lip. She and Cameron wanted another baby, and they had certainly been trying for one. Then two months ago—before she even realized she was pregnant—she had a miscarriage that threw them both. They kept the loss to themselves—nobody knew.
    Well, Draegyn knew. He’d driven them to the hospital, stayed during the short, emotional ordeal, and then driven them home. He’d also kept their secret. Even from Victoria. When they were ready to share, they would, but until then, he wouldn’t say anything.
    Part of her wanted to tell Tori, but she couldn’t. Not with her friend going through a rough