left by a father and that was a pain that didn’t go away. So while she could have a child on her own, she didn’t want to go that route, and what with her finally accepting she was never going to trust her heart to a man again, she was stuck.
“I’m not going to think about that,” she said aloud as she got out of her car. She’d had great sex the night before, she was going to enjoy hanging with her friends and she would hold Devon and Ryan as much as she could until the other women wrestled the sweet infants from her arms.
She was still smiling as she walked into the gallery. Natalie already had Ryan, so Renee dropped her tote on the buffet table set up by a display of a massive blown glass garden filled with exquisite glass flowers.
“How’s my best girl?” she asked, gently taking the sleeping baby from Carol.
“I’m fine,” her friend said drily. “Thanks for asking.”
Renee grinned. “Good to know.” She gently rocked Devon, enjoying the weight of her and admiring her rosebud mouth and velvety soft skin.
“We need more babies around here,” Pallas said as she unpacked Renee’s insulated tote. “Pasta salad. At some point I need to get off carbs, but I’m not quite ready. What’s in this?”
“Cheese tortellini, bacon, tomatoes, diced cucumber, broccoli all tossed with an avocado ranch dressing and sprinkled with cheese.”
Pallas raised her eyebrows. “That’s a lot of work, young lady.”
Renee thought about her early start and good mood. “I was inspired. It’s a recipe my mom used to make, only she used regular ranch dressing.”
“Sounds delish. I brought brownies,” Pallas said with a sigh. “It’s the carb thing. I can’t help it.”
Silver and Bethany walked in together. Silver dumped her container on the table and headed for Natalie.
“Hi, everyone. Pass him over.”
Natalie reluctantly passed Ryan to Silver.
“I guess we really do need more babies,” Natalie admitted, pushing up her glasses.
“You first,” Silver, a pretty platinum blonde and the owner of a mobile bar called AlcoHaul, told her with a grin.
“Not me.” Natalie shook her head. “I want another year at least before I get pregnant. I’m working on my art and enjoying being married to Ronan. I’m more interested in aunt status right now.”
Renee looked at Bethany, expecting her friend to hurry over and claim Devon, but Bethany stayed by the buffet.
“Hi, everyone,” Bethany said with a wave. “The lunch looks great. I brought a veggie plate.”
Pallas made a face, then forced a smile. “It’s always good to have something healthy on the table.”
Renee lowered her voice and whispered, “Liar.”
Pallas took Devon from her. “I meant it. Sort of.”
Wynn arrived, a plate of brownies in her hand. “Sorry. I got on a call with a client and he was a talker. How is everyone?”
As she spoke, she set down the brownies and reached for Devon.
“Go hug your own baby,” Wynn said with a smile as she cooed at Devon. “Mine is way too old to rock.”
Renee felt an unexpected stab of guilt and worry rip through her. Jasper and Wynn had once been a couple. Sure, things had ended nearly a year ago, but still, they’d been involved. Wynn was her friend and did that make things awkward?
Renee told herself she would talk to Wynn after the lunch—there was no way she was going to discuss it in front of everyone. Not when it was new and she had no idea what having a man available for a booty call actually meant.
The still-sleeping babies were placed in their car seats and the friends filled their plates before sitting at the table that had been set up in the center of the gallery.
“How’s everyone?” Silver asked. “Bethany, weren’t you and Cade planning a trip to El Bahar next month?”
Bethany, the adopted daughter of the king of El Bahar, looked startled by the question. “Nothing is finalized. We’re still figuring it all out. Leaving the horses for that long is always difficult.”
“Don’t you have a manager and several people helping out in the stables?” Renee asked.
“We do, but it’s still complicated.”
Not exactly an answer that made sense, Renee thought. She looked at her friend and wondered if something was going on. Bethany didn’t seem like herself.
“I can’t find anything better than an appletini for the apple wedding,” Silver said. “I’ve tried a bunch of different cocktails and I’m not sure our bride is going to love any of them.”
Pallas looked around the table. “We have an upcoming