he was all of those things. His words came to mind, and she thought, He’s claiming me, and it feels good.
“I’ll catch up in a sec, you guys,” Penny said. “I need to talk to Quincy.”
As they led her away, Roni felt Quincy’s eyes on her, and she glanced over her shoulder to look at him. Sure enough, though he and Penny were talking, he was watching her. He blew her a kiss, and she mentally caught it and tucked it away with the other romantic things he’d done.
“There she is!” Josie, a petite strawberry-blonde, popped to her feet at a table where she was sitting with her sister, Sarah. Sarah was cradling her baby.
“Is Quincy still watching us like a hawk?” Dixie asked as they all sat down.
Gemma craned her neck and said, “He’s talking to Penny. Oops, there’s a peek.”
Roni had to peek, too. Her heart skipped at the way Quincy was looking at her.
“Well, if that look doesn’t say it all,” Dixie said. “You’ve met all the girls, haven’t you, Roni?”
“I think so, except Sleeping Beauty,” Roni said, motioning to Sarah’s baby. “That must be Maggie Rose. She’s beautiful.”
Sarah tucked her dirty-blond hair behind her ear and said, “She’s all tuckered out.”
“I can’t believe she can sleep with all the noise in here,” Roni said.
“She’s used to it. I swear our house is never quiet.” Sarah kissed Maggie Rose’s head and said, “Have you met my other kids yet, Bradley and Lila? Biggs absconded with Lila a little while ago. I’m sure she’s full of cookies by now, and Bones was keeping an eye on Bradley and Hail.”
“The boys zoomed past us right before Kennedy announced my playdate with Quincy.”
“Sorry about that,” Gemma said as Penny joined them at the table.
“Oh, don’t be. Kennedy’s a pistol,” Roni said. “I have to admit, I’m an only child, so this whole gathering is a little overwhelming, but I love kids, and I’ve really enjoyed meeting so many of Quincy’s friends.”
“This crowd can definitely be overwhelming. You’re still here, so that’s a point in your favor,” Josie teased.
“She’s got loads of points in her favor,” Penny said. “Quincy is crazy about you, Roni. He couldn’t take his eyes off you the whole time we were talking, and when Jed, Tru, and Scott cornered him, I heard Quincy raving about you as I walked away.”
That made her feel good all over and gave her a boost of confidence. “I’m crazy about him, too.”
“Did you enjoy the scavenger hunt?” Sarah asked.
“We had a blast. I thought the list had some strange things on it, though. I’ve never been on a scavenger hunt where they asked you to kiss your partner. Not that I minded,” Roni clarified. “I love kissing Quincy, and once I saw Penny and Scott kissing by the park and taking a selfie, I figured it must be something this group does for the scavenger hunt.”
“Kissing was on your list?” Gemma asked.
“I’m way more interested in the fact that Penny and Scott were kissing.” Dixie cocked her head, looking at Penny, and said, “Spill it, chick.”
“Why wasn’t kissing on my list?” Crystal asked.
Josie said, “Penny, you kissed Scott?”
“Or did Scott kiss you?” Sarah asked.
They were all looking at Penny expectantly when Finlay burst through the crowd and plopped into a chair with a sigh. “My feet are killing me.” She looked around and said, “Uh-oh. What did I miss?”
“Penny kissed Scott,” Josie said. “Or our brother might have kissed her.”
“What?” Finlay glared at Penny. “I’m your sister, and I’m the last to know?”
“I’m so confused,” Roni said. “You guys didn’t have kissing on your lists? What about waxing a body part? That was another weird one.”
All eyes turned to her, and Crystal burst into hysterics.
“Oh my goodness,” Finlay said, and covered her mouth as laughter bubbled out.
Josie touched Roni’s arm and said, “We’re not laughing at you. This has Dixie written all over it.”
“Did you wax something?” Crystal asked, doubling over with laughter.
“I waxed Quincy,” Roni said, and everyone cracked up, including her. “It was worth a hundred points, and we wanted to win!” That caused everyone to laugh harder.
“You’re going to fit right in, Roni,” Dixie said. “Izzy’s gossip radar must be on high alert. Here she comes.”
Dixie pointed to the gorgeous bartender with straight dark hair and big almond eyes heading their way, walking like she was on a mission in a figure-hugging minidress. Roni had forgotten her name, and she was glad Dixie had reminded her.
Izzy grabbed