Page 41 of Nothing to the Wedding

Laughing, the group enjoyed Roux’s tease.

Most of them were in committed relationships, some married, some expecting or breastfeeding.Lilya deserved the break but often got a slightly frantic air.Since birth, she’d been needed to sustain life.Switching that off couldn’t be easy.

“Are you missing Zay-Jay?”Jane asked almost like she’d been thinking the same thing.

“I never thought I’d be one of those women,” Lilya answered.

“We’re all that woman when it comes to our kids,” Rylee said, resting a hand on her barely there baby bump.“Even as they grow.”

“It’s so sweet,” Jane swooned.“I can’t imagine how you wouldn’t miss him, he’s so precious.”

“We haven’t been separated before,” Lilya replied, shifting in her seat.“But I know he’s safe.”

“Because Zach’s at the hotel?Is he checking on him?”

“Might be,” Roux said.“Until he gets too drunk.”

Lilya accepted the tease with a smile.“Daddy’s staying sober tonight.”

“You sure about that?Maybe someone should check on Daddy.The guys will be onto the shooters and hookers by now.”

“Do you mean strippers?”Mieux asked.

“Depends who hired them,” Roux said to the laughter.“If it was Rourke, the whole state will be out of hundred-dollar bills.He doesn’t believe in singles.”

The guys were enjoying Zairn’s apparent last night of freedom at the hotel while the women got Crimson to themselves.Could’ve gone the other way except her guy knew the music was important to her partying.

“They had a party in New York two days ago,” Sway said.“Vegas last night.”

“And LA tonight.How many bachelor parties do these guys need?”

“This is Zairn Lomond,” Sequoia said, pouring more of the virgin cocktail she shared with Lilya and Rylee.“A lot of broken hearts tonight, a lot of tears across the globe.”

“And a lot of relief,” Freya said.“Some people thought he’d never settle down.”

Jane beamed at her.“He just needed to find the right woman.”

Okay, Kesley was sitting right over there.You know, Zairn’s ex-girlfriend?The one who’d have jumped at a chance to marry him.Probably still would.Though she seemed cool.Everyone was relaxed.Except Astrid, but that girl didn’t know how to chill.

They’d had dinner together, with the moms and more mature women who may not like the sex talk.No, she was no fool, those women knew and enjoyed sex just as well as the rest of them.But some of the matriarchs were related to her girls or their men.With a few drinks, they may have heard things about their children’s sexual habits that no parent should ever know.So dinner was a respectable affair, then the group split, and she came to Crimson with her girls.

“You know who’ll never settle down?”Rainie said.“Tripp Breckenridge.”

“Oh, God, that guy is all kinds of fine.”

“He’ll settle down,” Sequoia said.“It’s in the Breckenridge blood.”

“When he finds the right woman,” Savvy said.“Tripp’s a sweetheart.”

“I, for one, am sorry I never got the experience,” Roux said.“Would be some kind of travesty to take him off the market completely.”

“Yeah.”Bambi straightened.“Some might say he provides a public service.”

More laughter.

“And with Zairn unavailable now, that service is needed more than ever.”

“Any second thoughts?”Rylee’s narrowed eyes probed.“About walking down the aisle?”