"It's no big deal," she a.s.sured him. "They used real milk in my drink. I'm sure it was an accident. I'll just get another."

But before she could even lift her hand to get Kennedy's attention, he was on his feet, motioning Kennedy over, his expression hard.

"Yes?" Kennedy asked in a snide tone.

"Gracie's coffee has milk in it," Luke said as if Kennedy had laced it with poison.

Kennedy c.o.c.ked a hip. "So?"

"She's vegan," he ground out.

"It's really not a problem," Gracie hurried to say because people were starting to stare. Because she felt as if he was using this as an excuse to get into Kennedy's face. "I'll just send it back."

He whirled on her. "Did you ask for soy milk?"

Gracie nodded. "Maybe she forgot."

"I didn't forget," Kennedy said, tossing her head. "The barista must have messed up."

Luke shook his head. "You did it on purpose."

Gracie had enough. "I think you two have some things to talk about, so I'm just going to go." And because she was miffed at him for making a big deal out of something that wasn't a big deal at all, she didn't even offer to pay for her drink. Let him buy it for her. Maybe Kennedy could drink it, since Gracie wouldn't.

He stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Wait. Don't go."

"Oh, let her leave," Kennedy said. "Can't you see what she's doing? It's so pathetic." Kennedy turned to Gracie. "Andrew told me how you threw yourself at him last fall."

Gracie went cold. No matter what she'd thought about Andrew, she'd never expected he'd tell Kennedy about what had happened between them. "What?"

"I knew there was something weird going on when you were talking to him in school that one day," Kennedy said. "The way you were begging him to sit with you at lunch. G.o.d, it was really sad. But he told you he wasn't interested, and now you think you're going to...what? Insert yourself into the popular group by getting with Luke?"

Gracie could only shake her head. "You've been watching way too many '80s teen movies."

Kennedy turned to Luke. "Don't tell me you're falling for this dork. I mean...G.o.d...look at her."

Gracie couldn't breathe. She waited for Luke to say something. Anything. Until he did.

"Gracie and I are friends," he said, his cheeks red. He wouldn't look at her. "Just friends."

"Yes," she said, her voice unsteady, because no matter how hard she tried to tell herself not to let his words hurt her, they did. "What else would we be?" She faced him, held his gaze. "You're so much better suited for someone like Kennedy."

He winced, obviously understanding that she didn't think highly of Kennedy-or of him.

And then she walked out, her dignity wrapped around her. Her heart breaking once again.

CLINTON OPENED THE door to his room, his carry-on in one hand, laptop case in the other, only to pull up short when he found Ivy there, her hand lifted to knock.

"Hey," he said, grinning, knowing it was ridiculous to be so happy to see her when he'd just left her apartment half an hour ago but unable to deny it nonetheless. "Everything all right?"

"Fine," she said, but she was frowning slightly. "I don't want to keep you from getting to the airport but..." She shook her head. "Sorry. It's just...I could have sworn I pa.s.sed Kane on my way here, riding his motorcycle."

"That was him," Clinton confirmed. He wondered how long before Charlotte put her foot down about him riding that thing.

"Kane was here?" Ivy asked.

"Surprised me, too."

The whole weekend had been one shock after another. First, Ivy had come to him for help yesterday. He'd come back to Shady Grove to prove to her that she could count on him. After putting the crib together, she'd had to work at O'Riley's. He'd gone with her, had eaten dinner there, then spent the rest of the night sitting at the bar with Charlotte, who'd had the night off.

This morning, he'd offered to take Ivy out to brunch, but she'd insisted she enjoyed cooking so they'd spent a lazy day at her place, eating, reading the paper and watching old movies on TV.

And when he'd left to pack before catching his flight back to Houston, she'd kissed him goodbye so sweetly, he'd wondered if she just might miss him while he was gone. Hoped she would.

"Kane was waiting on the porch when I got here," C.J. told her. "He came to collect the favor I owed him."

"Ooh, let me guess. He wants you to leave a horse's head in his biggest enemy's bed."

"Nothing quite that bloodthirsty. He asked me to be his best man."

"Yeah? I guess he likes you more than he lets on, huh?"

C.J. couldn't help it. He laughed. "I doubt that. Probably Charlotte forced him into it. Kane's never been the type to have many friends. I was probably the only person they could think of who would say yes."

"I don't know about that. You do have two other brothers. He could have asked either of them."

True. Though C.J. doubted Zach would even show up for the wedding, let alone agree to stand up for one of his brothers.

A family of five walked down the hall and he and Ivy stepped aside to let them pa.s.s.

"I'm not sure why he asked," C.J. said when they were alone again. "But I'm glad he did."

He and Kane still had their issues, but being asked to be part of Kane's wedding day made C.J. hopeful they could work through those issues. Eventually.

Though he knew it was going to take a h.e.l.l of a lot of work on both their parts to get past two decades of resentment.

"Ah, brotherly love," Ivy said with a cheeky grin. "There's nothing else like it. Best friends one minute, wanting to eviscerate each other the next."

"That's a brutal description. But accurate." He pulled his door shut. "Are you working tonight?"

She'd told him that she sometimes spent her nights off here doing prep work or trying new recipes.

"No. I was hoping to catch you before you left."

Shifting his briefcase to the hand holding his carry-on, he laid his other one on the small of her back. Led her toward the stairs. "Why is that?"

"I felt the baby move." She laughed. "I mean, I've felt it before, like a tiny fluttering, but I could never tell if it really was the baby or just indigestion. And this time I knew, for certain, it was the baby."

He stopped, just...slammed to a stop at the top of the stairs. "What?"

She nodded, looking thrilled and slightly ill at the same time. "It was right after you left. It was this rolling sensation. Like he was doing a somersault. Here." She took his hand and laid it against the soft swell of her stomach but C.J. didn't feel any movement. "It was wonderful and scary and just made me realize how...real...this all is. We're having a baby." She looked up, smiled into his eyes. "I'm terrified and excited and I just... I wanted to tell you."

She'd come to him so he could be included in this moment. So they could share it.

Like a real couple. A real family.

His fingers curled against her stomach and he leaned down to kiss her. "Thank you."

She returned his kiss but then stepped back. Shrugged as if it was no big deal and cleared her throat. "You'd better get going. You don't want to miss your flight."

He bit back a sigh. He was coming to understand her more and more. When he got too close, or when things got too personal between them, she took those steps-figuratively or literally-to maintain control.

To guard her heart.

It was annoying as h.e.l.l.

But he had to be patient. He wouldn't let his frustration get the best of him again. If he wanted Ivy-in his life and in his bed-he had to be patient.

Even if it killed him.

Besides, he really did have a plane to catch.

"We'll have to celebrate next weekend," he said.

"We can't pop champagne for every pregnancy milestone."

"You're right. We'll switch to sparkling cider."

"That's not what I meant. Not every little thing needs a celebration. Look, this kid is going to have enough to deal with just being a Bartasavich. He or she doesn't need the ego boost of you throwing a parade just for a new tooth or learning to walk."

He nodded solemnly. "Good point. We'll hold off on the parade until he or she is toilet trained."

"Ha-ha. Oh, how I hope the baby has your razor-sharp wit."

C.J. took her hand, started down the stairs, liking how her palm felt against his. "If he doesn't, we'll buy him a sense of humor."

She laughed. Squeezed his hand. "You rich people and your snooty specialty stores."

They reached the foyer, but instead of letting her go, he raised their joined hands to his lips and placed a warm kiss on her knuckles. "Have dinner with me next weekend."

"I can't. I'm working. Friday at King's Crossing and Sat.u.r.day at O'Riley's."

But for the first time, she actually seemed disappointed to turn him down.

Progress. Slow and steady, but still progress.

Maybe there was something to this patience thing.

"How about lunch on Sat.u.r.day?" he asked, wanting to push for more of her time but holding back.

"We have a bridal shower scheduled here Sat.u.r.day so I'll be working that. I'll have a few hours free on Sunday but by the time I get up, it'll be late morning. You shouldn't even bother coming. It's stupid for you to fly all this way to spend three or four hours with me."

"Stupid or not, I'll be here Friday night." He already had his flight booked.

She tugged free. "It's a waste of time."

"It's my time. And being with you is never a waste of it."

Before she could argue-which he knew d.a.m.ned well she was gearing up to do-he crushed his mouth to hers. He kissed her hungrily, wrapped his free arm around her to pull her close. She clung to him, her fingers digging into his shoulders, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s pressed against his torso.

By the time he tore his mouth from hers, they were both breathing hard and he was aching for her.

She licked her bottom lip and he couldn't stop himself from kissing her again. "Think of me," he whispered against her mouth. A demand. A plea.

He stepped out into the warm summer evening. And wondered if it was ever going to get easier to let her go.

THE BACK OF Gracie's neck tingled, like her very own Spidey sense warning her that trouble was nearby.

Her fingers tightening on the toilet brush, she turned her head toward the bathroom door only to find Luke there watching her.

Obviously her sixth sense was defective. If it had been working properly, she would have known he was close by and could have slipped away before he'd trapped her in the Yellow Room's bathroom.

"Gracie," he said, then cleared his throat. Shoved his hands into his pockets. "Can we talk?"

"I'm sort of busy right now." Okay, so maybe she didn't have to sound that b.i.t.c.hy, but she'd managed to avoid him for the past few days-mainly because she hadn't been scheduled to work-and she didn't want that streak to end.

Plus, she really didn't want to chat with him while she scrubbed a toilet. She did have some pride.

"I can wait until you're done," he said, but not in a patient way. He was more like...determined. And when she glanced at him, she easily recognized the stubborn "I'm not going anywhere and you can't make me" look on his face.

Lord knew she'd seen that exact same expression on her brothers' faces often enough.

"Fine," she said, setting the toilet brush in the caddy along with the other cleaning supplies. She straightened, pulled off her rubber gloves and tossed them down before crossing her arms. "What shall we talk about?"

He frowned as if trying to figure out if she was serious. "We could start with you telling me why you're so p.i.s.sed at me."

"Who says I'm p.i.s.sed?"

He sent her a duh look. "You left me at the coffee shop and you haven't returned any of my texts or phone calls for four days." He edged closer, and the bathroom seemed to shrink. "Just...tell me what I did," he said quietly, "so I can fix this."

Seriously? How could he not know? "How's Kennedy?"

He opened his mouth. Shut it and shook his head. "I wouldn't know."

"So you two aren't back together?"