“Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?”

She was positively glowing.  “A boy.  Get a load of Akira.  You could guess it was a boy just by the way he’s strutting around and pounding at his chest.”

I glanced around, saw him across the room, chatting with James.  He did look particularly smug.

Bianca pinned a pink diaper pin to the neckline of my dress.  “Now, you aren’t allowed to say B-A-B-Y, but if you do, whoever calls you on it gets to have your pin.  At the end, whoever has the most pins gets a prize.

I fingered the pin and nodded, thinking Oh Lord, baby showers.  We’d all likely be forced to eat baby food by the end.

I greeted Estella with a big hug and Frankie with a long one, then moved to shake Akira’s hand, and nod with a smile at James.  He gave me a very warm smile in return.  I still found myself amazed at the change in him over the last year.  He’d always been a great guy, as far as I was concerned, but he was just so much happier now.  It was heartwarming.

As I had the thought, Bianca returned to his side, and he s.n.a.t.c.hed her to him, like he’d just been lying in wait for the chance.

I went to mingle with the partygoers that I didn’t know quite so well, but was friendly with.

Camden, Lana’s brother, was in a corner chatting with Bianca’s stylist, Jackie.  It struck me what an odd pair they made as I greeted them with handshakes and hugs.

I smiled extra wide as I ran into Stephan, coming out of a hallway that led somewhere at the back of the house.  He was Bianca’s best friend and just one of the nicest human beings I’d ever met.  He had literally taken a bullet for Bianca.  That right there told you all you needed to know about Stephan.  He was nearly as obsessed with her as James was.

We shared a long hug.  “How are you?” I asked him.  I hadn’t seen him for nearly three weeks, which was unusual for us.

“Great.  But you need to come visit more.”

He and his husband, Javier owned and operated a sw.a.n.ky bar in the casino.  I usually made a point of coming and hanging out at least a few times a week.

“I’ll come have a drink tomorrow or the next day.  It’s just been a crazy couple of weeks.”

Javier approached us, dragging me into a deep hug without a word.  He kissed my cheek, murmuring, “Miss you, girlie,” and pulled back to smile at me.

I smiled back.

I adored Stephan, and I got along great with him.  Everyone did.  But Javier and I were something of kindred spirits.  He was quiet and very sweet, but he had a wicked sense of humor that he didn’t reveal to many.  Our personalities just complemented each other, I thought.

Our quiet conversation was interrupted by two loud squeals that erupted behind me.

I turned and grinned as Marnie and Judith rushed me.  They were a funny pair, but two women less likely to be close friends with the reserved Bianca I’d never met.  Still, every party she threw, these two were invited and showed up.

“Is Lana happy you’re here, tempting her brother?” I asked them.

Marnie rolled her eyes.  “We’ve been warned off, and pregnant Lana scares me.”

I made a face.  “You poor things.  What are you going to do for three whole hours with no one to hit on?”

“I’ve been wanting a piece of that magician,” Judith said, sounding forlorn.

My expression tried to stiffen, but I smoothed it out with great willpower.

“He is not interested,” Marnie added, making me feel instantly better.  “Not at the wedding and not now.  He’s f**king hot though.”

“He must have a girlfriend or something,” Judith continued.  “But I’m telling you, if he was up for it, whew, we would have some fun.”

Stephan patted my shoulder.  I wasn’t sure what he knew about Tristan and me, but I figured it was as much as Bianca did, which was that we had a painful past together.

I’d made a full circle around the room, introducing myself to those I hadn’t met before.  It wasn’t a huge gathering, but it was substantial.

Bianca approached me.  “We’ve turned the living room into a onesie painting studio.”

That made me smile.  “If you paint one, it will be worth at least five figures.”

She laughed.  “Well, that’s only because of you.”

I shook my head.  She would always underestimate her own talent.  It was such a gift that she just did it, was compelled to do it, but I’d never overpriced her work.  I’d given it exactly the value I would any work of that quality.

She glanced behind me suddenly, chewing her lip.  “Um, Tristan is in there already.  Just giving you fair warning.  I know it can be…touchy between you two.”

I nodded, feeling guilty.  We were close.  I should clue her in at least a little bit about the strange changes that had been taking place between Tristan and I, and I was determined to do so at a more appropriate time.  I knew for a fact that Bianca didn’t care for the role of hostess, so I didn’t want to take up any of her time today.

“Can I help you with anything?”

She rolled her eyes, glancing back, looking for James, I presumed.  I was sure he’d be along shortly.  “No.  There’s nothing to do.  James, who always has a team of people on hand, hired an extra team today to make sure I wasn’t stressed out.”

I laughed.  “And that probably stresses you out,” I guessed.

“Exactly.  He even turned the backyard into a full on daycare for anyone that brought kids, with five lifeguards on deck.  Who else does that?  But what can you do?  I knew he was a lunatic when I married him.”  There was a fond twinkle in her eye as she said it.

We shared a good chuckle, and then I moved into the living room turned onesie painting studio.

Tristan was the only one in room.  His back was to me, and he was painting away on a onesie.  As I approached, I saw that he was painting a deck of cards, and it was actually good.  “That’s impressive,” I told him quietly.  “I didn’t know you could paint.”

He set down his brush, then held up his hands and wiggled his fingers as he turned to me.  “Magic hands, remember?”

He zeroed in on the dress right when he saw me, his eyes glazing over a bit.

That just tickled me.