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“All I’m saying is it might be time to find a different thing to tease her about. Besides, you know she’s a little more sensitive than usual these days.”

Duke shrugged just as Charlotte and Luke arrived behind us, the fabric of Charlotte’s pale blue shimmering dress stretching over her swollen belly. She squealed when she saw us and quickly waddled over to us, the excited noise quickly followed by immediate tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.

“Oh, Char, this place almost looks as beautiful as you do,” I said, wrapping my arms around her. Even after seven months, I still wasn’t used to the new distance between us when we hugged. Which was often. Pregnancy had made Charlotte more emotional than ever. And as crazy as it was that my best friend in the whole world was literally brewing a new human inside her, I was more grateful than ever to be living in Shady Grove so I could be with her and experience the freaking miracle of it all with her every step of the way.

“Val, you seriously can’t say things like that!” she cried, grabbing a napkin from a nearby table and dabbing at her eyes with it. “At least let me make it through cocktail hour before I lose all my mascara.”

I rubbed her back as we joined the boys, who were pouring themselves each a glass of whiskey at the bar.

“Can I get one of those?” I nodded to Duke’s glass, and he responded by handing it to me, wordlessly pouring himself another. I smiled and kissed his cheek in thanks.

“Ugh, I’m so proud of you two,” Charlotte gushed, placing a hand on Luke and Duke’s shoulders. “Winning the Best in Texas award for Excellence in Whiskey within the first couple years of statewide distribution? That’s unheard of. The Wilder men are a force to be reckoned with, that’s for sure.”

“Thank you, duchess,” Luke said, leaning over and planting a kiss on her lips.

Duke turned to me and raised an eyebrow.

“For the record, I’m proud of you guys too,” I said. “Char’s pregnancy glow is hard to top, though.”

We all laughed, and the men ushered us to our table to drop our purses before the rest of the crowd showed up.

We’d gotten the call that Wilder Whiskey was being honored this award season about a month ago. If opening the tasting room and expanding distribution statewide was Duke’s dream come true, this award was his wet dream. We decided that we had to celebrate in the biggest way we could think of, and given Charlotte’s years of experience throwing impressive dinner parties and events in New York, we thought a full-on red carpet style night of celebration would be fitting. We invited the whole town and pulled out all the stops, which included a catered dinner, a full band from a few towns over, and the unveiling of a new signature champagne and bourbon cocktail, Bourbon and Bubbles.

As people began milling in, the whole town dressed to the nines, Luke and Duke stood near the entrance of the distillery, greeting everyone as they arrived. I loved how hands-on they still were, despite how quickly things were taking off. Watching Duke in action always made me swell up with pride, though I was hesitant to gush over him as easily as Charlotte did for Luke.I’d learned over the course of our relationship that that kind of attention had the tendency to only go to his head, whereas a serious conversation at the end of the day could serve as a meaningful reminder that I saw how hard he was working and appreciated it. But then again, what did I know? It still felt like I was learning something new every day in this relationship, and I loved every twist and turn.

“Oh my God, Val, you’re an absolute vision in that dress.” I turned to find Molly standing behind me, dressed in a floor-length gauzy rose-colored number that made her look like a fairy princess. Her hair was curled and pinned back loosely around her temples, which only made her trademark Wilder green eyes pop even more.

“Aw, thank you, Mols, you’re always way too sweet to me.”

“Are you kidding? That plunging neckline, the midi-length, the way it hugs your curves, that color against your skin? I mean, you always look good, but this is a whole other level.”

I smiled and shook my head. Molly and I had gotten close since I decided to move to Shady Grove for good, and a few months back she even started helping me with some of the remote work I was doing for the firm. She might not know anything about law, but damn, that Molly Wilder could keep track of a schedule and get ahold of a flaky client.

“Well, you don’t look so bad yourself, Mols. I’m loving the way this color complements your eyes.”

A blush crept over Molly’s cheeks, just in time for Charlotte to return from the bathroom to join us at our table near the front of the room, close to the makeshift stage.

“Oh my god, Charlotte! Look at your belly! I feel like it’s grown at least another inch since I last saw you.”

“Don’t I know it. This baby is going to be a bitch to squeeze out.”

“Char!”

“What? I’ve talked to enough women with infants to know what’s in store for me. But that doesn’t mean I love my little honeybun any less,” she cooed, placing her hands on her belly and smiling down at it.

“Well, we can’t wait to meet him,” I added.

“It’s a him? I thought you guys decided you wanted to be surprised!”

“We did,” Charlotte said, narrowing her eyes at me. “Val here just has an active imagination.”

“I just have a feeling,” I shrugged, tossing back the last of my drink.

Molly looked between us, her face an equal mix of happy and sad.

“You two are so lucky,” she sighed, taking her glass in her hand and swirling the amber liquid. “If I don’t find someone soon in this one-horse town, I’ll be doomed to die alone.”

“Oh, Molly, that’s not true,” Charlotte insisted, furrowing her brow and rubbing Molly’s back. Molly forced a weak smile and sighed, to which I clucked my tongue.