Adrian shrugged unapologetically. "Hey, I like getting it on a regular basis, you know what I mean?"
The other guys caught on immediately and nodded in agreement, then made sure they issued the same bit of freedom to their significant others.
Liz and Jill joined them, too, both of whom were expecting and appeared to be close to the same number of months along in their pregnancy.
Easy, friendly conversation ensued among all the women as they strolled around the showroom and looked at each individual design. By the time they were done a while later, Ashley had selected a few pieces of the stained glass artwork, one for herself and the others as gifts, and the other women had each purchased at least one design, too. When Lora didn't find anything she liked better than the fairy pattern, she decided to splurge and purchase the piece, but when she went back to buy the artwork, there was already a sold sticker on it.
Disappointed, but figuring it wasn't meant to be, Lora followed the women back to where the drinks and desserts were set up, which was close enough to see the men, but far enough away for the women to enjoy their own conversation. After perusing the desserts and everyone selecting a few items, they walked to a nearby lounge area, so that Jill and Liz could sit down in the two comfortable chairs and relax and rest their feet.
Jill gasped and pressed a hand to her belly, which looked to be the same size as Liz's. "This one sure is active," she said with an uncomfortable grimace.
Lora finished eating a delicious petit four and glanced at Jill, who was nibbling on a chocolate-covered strawberry. "Are the two of you due around the same time?" she asked.
Liz and Jill looked at one another and burst out laughing. Even Dana and Ashley chuckled, too, though Lora had no idea what was so funny.
"It's going to be a close call," Liz said with a sigh. "Again."
Lora still didn't get the joke. "Again?"
"Yes, again," Jill said with a nod, then went on to explain. "Believe it or not, our first babies were born on the same day."
Now, Lora understood and she grinned. "Ahhh, and you think that's going to happen this time, too?"
"Well, considering we found out that we were pregnant only one week apart from one another, it's a possibility."
"The guys are already taking bets on whose baby is going to be born first, just like they did last time," Liz said, and rolled her eyes at their husbands' antics. "Those men are so damn competitive, even when it comes to this."
While Liz and Jill talked about their most recent sonograms and what they thought the sexes of their babies were going to be, Lora casually glanced toward the Wilde men, and Joel in particular. Interestingly enough, she immediately noticed how he kept himself apart from everyone else in the group, mainly his brothers. His hands were pushed into his front pants pockets, and there was an air of reserve about him that she never would have equated with the Joel she'd come to know.
For a man who was so confident and take-charge in every other aspect of his life, when it came to his family he made himself blend into the background, when he was usually a guy who was bigger than life. And it wasn't as though they were excluding him from their conversation, but it was just so obvious to Lora, especially after her discussion with Joel at the cabin, that he felt as though he didn't fit in and didn't have that bond that his two brothers, Scott and Alex, did.
She supposed that over the many years since his mother's death, Joel's actions had just become routine and automatic, and everyone around him accepted his remote personality as all a part of his tough military image. But now, Lora knew his outward appearance of indifference went so much deeper. Knew that somewhere deep inside there was still a small part of that little boy he'd once been, the one who craved acceptance and a sense of belonging-despite the fact that he'd been the one to distance himself from his family.
But that's the man he'd become in order to cope with the loss of his mother at such a young age. He'd taken his feelings and shut them away, which had been so much easier than dealing with them.
But cutting off his emotions had affected him on other levels of his life, most obviously with relationships, and now especially with them. But she couldn't coerce him to change, or force him to love her-she'd learned that lesson with Brent and knew that it was all up to Joel to want to change. To allow himself to be loved in return.
Her own emotions tightened in her chest, and she finally tore her gaze from Joel and joined the conversation going on among the women.
From there, the evening went by quickly, and before long it was time to leave. She and Joel said their goodbyes to everyone and headed back to her place. Just as they'd walked into her apartment, the cell phone clipped to the waistband of Joel's pants vibrated.
He flipped the unit open and pressed it to his ear. "Yeah?" Joel answered, and just by that informal greeting Lora knew it was one of the ESS guys. Instinctively knew, too, why they were calling.
She listened to the one-way conversation from Joel's end, feeling a jolt of anticipation that this situation was finally over, along with a sense of dread because of what it meant for her and Joel. The end, as well. There was nothing left for him to stay for.
A few minutes later, he snapped the phone shut and turned to face her. "It's done," he said quietly, his gaze not quite meeting hers. "All of it. Mendoza is paid off with interest, your insurance policy is off the table, and you and Zach are both in the free and clear."
After weeks of upheaval, the relief rushing through her was incredibly welcome. "What about Zach?"
"Kevin is taking him to a rehab center as we speak," he said, making way too much of a production of clipping his phone back in place-a stall tactic, she knew, so he didn't have to look at her and deal with the emotional fallout between them. "We already have him registered and the place is expecting him. Most likely, he'll be there for a few months."
"I don't care. Whatever it takes to get him over his addictions and back on track." When Joel still found reasons not to glance her way, she closed the distance between them and curled her fingers around his forearm, giving it a gentle, meaningfully squeeze. "Thank you, Joel, for everything," she said softly. "For taking care of me, and for saving Zach."
Finally he met her gaze. An easygoing smile curved his lips, belying the deeper, darker pain she detected in his eyes-a telltale sign that maybe, hopefully, walking away from her wasn't going to be so easy after all. "Taking care of you was easy," he said huskily. "As for Zach, I owed him. He saved my life, and now I'm going to save his ass. I'm sure he's going to go through more hell in that rehab center than I did when I got shot in my leg, but I'm hoping he'll thank me for it later."
"I'm sure he will." She let her hand drop back down to her side as an awkward silence settled between them. "So, this is it, then? We're done?" The last question deliberately held dual meaning, and considering how his jaw clenched ever-so-slightly, he'd caught her subtle double entendre.
He exhaled a ragged breath and reached for his duffel bag, which he'd left at the end of the sofa. "Yeah, we're done," he said, his tone low and rough, as if he'd just swallowed a handful of gravel. "Just let me pack up my things, and I'll finally be out of your way."
He'd never been in her way, and he knew it, too. Yet he was scrambling to get his things together and leave, instead of facing what was still between them. It was exactly what she'd expected, and his quick retreat shouldn't have hurt, but it did.
She sat down on the sofa as he went to retrieve his shaving kit from the bathroom. Already, she was dreading how alone and quiet it was going to be in her apartment once he was gone.