She sighs, then explains. "Me, Nate, Gemma, Chase, Shelby, Chrissy, Mark, Theo, Owen, and some of Nate's other boys, if he decides to give them the night off. Which is unlikely, but a girl can dream because hot damn, those boys are gorgeous. Oh, plus Shelby's husband, if he can bear to pull himself away from work." She sighs. "But, anyway, we'll all be there to cheer on Blaze! Apparently the guy he's fighting is a real douche. The boys have been betting and discussing odds all day."

"But..." I glance at Parker a little desperately. He just grins at me, the bastard. "Don't you all have better plans for ringing in the New Year than an underground UFC fight at a crappy gym?"

"Nope!" Phoebe says happily. "No plans at all!"

"Oh. Imagine that."

She laughs. "Anyway, come by my place if you have a chance. Any time! I have big news, and I want to share it with all my favorite girls at once."

Holding Parker's warm gaze, I find the strength not to panic at this show of sisterly affection.

"Okay," I murmur into the receiver. "I'll be there."

"Fabulous!" she exclaims. "See you soon!"

She clicks off before I can say anything else. I stand and wrap my arms around Parker's waist.

"Your sister is alarmingly pushy."

"I know."

"A quality you share," I note dryly.

"Well, I did raise her." He shrugs and tucks his chin on top of my head. "When we have kids, they'll probably be pushy, too."

"What?!" I practically screech at the top of my lungs.

"Shhh." I can hear the smile in his voice. "I was just kidding. Maybe."

"Parker!"

"You're right." He laughs. "I totally wasn't kidding."

"Parker!"

"Zoe!"

"This isn't funny."

"Actually, it's kind of hilarious."

I sigh deeply. "Why do I get the sense it'll be easier to give in than keep arguing with you?"

"Because you are very wise, Oh Tiny One."

I snort. "I have to go get ready. Apparently, I'm being subjected to another girls' day at Phoebe's place. No doubt there will be gossip and naked pillow fights galore. When these women get together, anything is possible."

"Please keep in mind that you're talking about my sisters." Parker grimaces. "Not a good image."

"After the kid comment, it's really all you deserve."

"True enough." He hooks an arm around my waist and starts leading me down the docks. "Come on. I'll drop you at Phoebe's and go check in with Nate. I want to get the details of all the shit that went down with Lancaster first hand."

"You'll tell me everything," I demand instantly, my tone booking no room for argument.

"Of course." Parker's mouth hits my temple. "None of this would've happened without you, darling. I know it, Nate knows it, the damn FBI knows it, and I'm sure Lancaster knows it. Hell, he'll be spending the next twenty-five years in his prison cell knowing it."

I grin at the thought. "It's a Christmas miracle."

After a quick change of clothes from foul weather gear to jeans, flats, and a comfortable sweater, Parker bustles me into the Porsche and drives me across town to Back Bay. When we pull up outside Phoebe's brownstone, he leans over and kisses me soundly on the mouth.

"I'll be back in an hour or so to take you to the fight." His hand grips my chin so he can look deep into my eyes. "Don't do anything to put yourself in danger."

"All the bad guys are in jail, remember?"

His eyes are serious. "And yet, I still want nothing more than to put you back on my boat and lock you away in my lighthouse for the rest of eternity, where I know you'll be safe."

"That's kidnapping," I say lightly, leaning forward to nip his bottom lip with my teeth before I turn and push open the door.

"Not if the captive is willing!" he calls after me.

I bend back down to blow him a kiss. "When it comes to you, Peter Pan, I'm always ready and willing."

"That sounded like an innuendo, Tinkerbell."

"That's because it was."

His eyes flash with heat. "You'd better go, before I change my mind about letting you out of my sight."

I'm still smiling as I slam the door and turn to face the brownstone. Before I can do something logical, like run for my life, the front door swings open and Phoebe appears in the entryway, Boo a white blur at her feet.

"There you are!" she yells, running barefoot down the snowy stairs and grabbing my hand. "Come on! Everyone else is already here and I'm dying to tell you my news!"

I don't fight her as she pulls me into the house, though I do cast one last longing look over my shoulder at Parker, who's idling at the curb to ensure we make it inside safely.

Unnecessary, but rather nice of him, I must admit.

Phoebe practically sprints into the house, dragging me behind her like a rag doll. I do my best to keep pace with her, but by the time we burst into the kitchen where Shelby, Gemma, Lila, and Chrissy are gathered around the granite island drinking wine, I'm breathless.

"Hey, Zoe!" They all smile at me.

"Hi," I croak, bending at the waist and hauling in air.

"Jesus, Phoebe, you've nearly killed the girl," Lila chides. "We already scared her away once, let's try not to do it again."

"I can't help it. I'm excited. I have news!" Phoebe settles on a barstool and I follow suit, happily accepting the glass of wine Chrissy slides my way.

I bend down and scratch Boo behind the ears so he'll stop sniffing my shoes like a maniac.

"I have news too!" Gemma announces.

Phoebe's grin widens. "No way will it beat mine."

Gemma's head tilts. "Oh, I think it might."

"As fascinating as this conversation is, can someone just spill the fucking beans already?" Shelby says, taking a big sip of wine. "I'm getting wrinkles just sitting here listening to you two debate whose news is better."

I hide a laugh behind my wine glass.

The two sisters stare at each other, eyes locked in challenge, both totally convinced they're about to out-do the other.

"On three?" Phoebe suggests.

Gemma nods. "One... two..."

"Nate proposed on Christmas!" Phoebe screams at the same time Gemma yells, "Chase and I are pregnant!"

And then, quite suddenly, everyone is jumping up and down, alternately screaming and crying, touching Gemma's entirely flat stomach as if there's already a full-blown baby doing jumping jacks in there and fawning over the mammoth rock Phoebe's just pulled from her pocket and placed on a very important finger.

I barely know these women, but their excitement is infectious. So I don't let myself hold back - I scream right along with them, just one more lunatic in the flock of crazies, and it doesn't feel forced or weird. I don't feel like an outsider. I'm just... one of the girls.

And it's pretty fucking great.

When the collective freak-out cools from a boil to a simmer, we all sit in silence around the island, grinning until our cheeks ache.

"Suddenly, the spa gift card Mark gave me seems a bit underwhelming." Chrissy shakes her head. "Though, Winston made me an ornament out of macaroni noodles and a paper plate at daycare. That was pretty sweet."

"If it makes you feel any better, all I woke up to was a hangover from the tequila shots I did on Christmas Eve," Lila says, grinning. "Not exactly the most magical day of the year."

"I received multiple orgasms," I blurt, drawing all their gazes to me. "Which pretty much makes it my best Christmas ever."

Lila, Shelby, and Chrissy silently high-five me while Phoebe and Gemma make gagging sounds.

"Brother," Phoebe reminds me. "Practically raised me. Gross."

I shrug. "Your brother is hot."

I receive more high-fives all around.

Shelby sighs and looks from Phoebe to Gemma. "Nate gave you an engagement ring. Chase gave you a fucking baby for Christ's sake. I really hate to be a story-topper on your special day, but..." She trails off with a grimace, slugs back a big sip of wine, and steadies her shoulders. "I gave a pretty sweet gift of my own, this year."

We all wait in suspense as she takes another sip.

"Divorce papers." Shelby smiles and, for the first time since I've met her, I see something like relief in the depths of her pretty brown eyes. "I served Paul divorce papers, with a big red bow right on top."

"Oh, honey," Chrissy whispers, wrapping an arm around her friend.

"Are you okay?" Gemma asks, crowding in on her other side.

"Should we kick his ass?" Phoebe asks. "And by we I obviously mean Nate and his boys."

Shelby laughs and waves away their concern. "Guys! Stop. This is a good thing. I mean it." She leans back on her barstool. "I never thought I'd get divorced. To be honest, it always felt a bit like admitting I was a quitter, or that I'd made a mistake. But I don't feel that way anymore. The bigger mistake would be continuing to shrink myself down to fit a relationship that I've outgrown. Frankly, I'm tired of making myself smaller so my husband doesn't feel insignificant or emasculated. It's not enough to have someone there to take care of your financial needs if they refuse to take care of the more important ones."

Lila's nose crinkles. "By needs you mean those of a sexual variety, correct?"

Shelby laughs. "I was thinking more about my emotional needs, but hell yes. I do yoga three times a week. I haven't eaten a carb in four years. I'm almost thirty years old, and I'm not going to waste another goddamned moment of my life fighting for someone who gave up on us a long time ago."

We're all quiet for a long moment.

"How did he take the news?" Phoebe asks after a minute.

Shelby's expression darkens. "Not well. Surprising, since I figured he'd be too busy boning his secretary to even notice I'd finally put my foot down."

There's a sad moment of silence where no one knows quite what to say.

What can you say to fix an unfixable situation?

"Oh, love." Gemma squeezes her tight. "Anything you need, we're here to help."

"I could bring over food," Phoebe offers. "Whatever vegan crap you want."

Chrissy's head tilts. "Or alcohol. Under the circumstances, I think tequila might be necessary."

"I'll help you change your locks," Lila contributes. "I've had to do that several times after ex-boyfriends got a little testy about me kicking them out."

Shelby smiles. "Thanks guys, but none of that is necessary."

I'm the only one who hasn't contributed anything, so I clear my throat. "I could hack into his computer and replace all his files with YouTube videos of goats screaming. Or, if you're really looking to inflict some emotional damage, I could put him on the government no-fly list so next time he's headed through security at the airport..." I smirk. "Full cavity check."

A startled laugh flies from Shelby's mouth. "Wait, that's awesome. Really?"

"I knew we liked her," Lila murmurs, grinning at me.

Phoebe slings an arm around my back. "Welcome to the club, Tink. Now that you're in, there's no going back."

"I would be lying if I said that didn't terrify me a little." I look around warily. "You're not going to have me killed by your crazy macho boyfriends if I decide I don't want to be friends with you anymore, right?"

They all laugh like I've said the funniest thing ever... but I notice not one of them contradicts me.

19.