aria we could try today - it's always felt to me like a celebration of silliness."
Already Elsie felt the music tugging at her heart. And an odd desire to be a little outrageous. Perhaps, even silly.
Lauren tried not to laugh as Thea sashayed into the office, broadcasting a very clear mental picture of herself as a hot-air balloon. Ever since Thea had discovered her realtors were mind witches, she'd made it her mission to share as many over-the-top thoughts as possible.
Their very pregnant client was two days away from taking possession of her new home - and Lauren hoped Bean wasn't going to crash the party.
Thea sat down, rolling her eyes. "I'm not going to give birth in your office, I promise." She grinned. "I went to the diner for bacon and eggs this morning - you'd have thought I was a small bomb or something."
"You do look kind of ready to pop," said Lauren, pulling out her snickerdoodle stash. She knew better than to try to hide cookies from pregnant women. "What brings you by?"
Thea neatly snagged two cookies and rested one on her belly. "I was visiting with Louise."
Lauren laughed. Usually clients waited until they actually moved in to meet the neighbors. Thea had already made fast friends with the two seventy-year-old ladies who lived next door, and they'd already thrown her and Bean a big backyard barbecue. Since they'd lived in their little bungalow for forty years, that meant Thea was now on a first-name basis with half the neighborhood.
"Louise is knitting the most awesome baby booties for Bean. And Norman, the nice old man from down the road, has a rocking chair he insists we have." Thea giggled, eyes a little misty. "Louise says to watch out for him, though - apparently he's a bit of a pool shark. He always wins the Thursday night tournaments."
"They have pool tournaments?" Lauren wasn't above pumping people for the kind of insider information that closed real-estate deals all the time. Of course, it was probably already on Lizard's maps. She couldn't keep up.
Thea nodded, polishing off her first cookie. "Sure. Lizard told Louise to tell me all about them. Says there's lots of cute guys and plenty of hands to hold babies." She grinned. "I'm going next week - Norm says I can be his partner for the first one. He won't fleece me until I've been around for a while."
She had the world's most unconventional real estate assistant. "Lizard's trying to hook you up with a cute guy?"
"Pretty much." Thea patted her belly as she swiped Bean's cookie. "We don't really need one, but Lizard's a good friend, and we don't mind if some of our new neighbors are cute."
Lauren wondered if old-guy-and-pool-shark Norm fell into that category. Probably - Thea was generous with her affections, and clearly there was a small village already lining up to help with Bean. She wondered if Lizard even knew how above-and-beyond she was going.
Thea turned as Lizard came through the open front door. "Hey, Lizzie. I came to snag you for dinner. Bean and I are buying, so long as you feel like linguine."
Lauren tried to hide her grin. Her assistant would have throttled anyone else who dared to call her Lizzie.
Lizard blinked. "Isn't it like 3 o'clock in the afternoon?"
"Bean's hungry." Thea shrugged. "If you're not hungry, we'll go eat noodles by ourselves."
"Can't." Lizard looked pained. "I have way too much stuff to do."
Lauren refrained from volunteering to come - barely. Romano's linguine was her absolute favorite. And she held off on whacking her assistant with a mental two-by-four, pretty sure Thea was up to that task.
"You can't turn down a date with Bean," Thea said, slinging her arm through Lizard's. "It's a pregnant-lady rule."
Lizard snorted. "You totally make up those rules."
"Of course I do." Thea grinned. "And when you're pregnant, you can make them up, too."
It was only for a tiny moment - so fast that Lauren almost missed it, even with her mental antennae up. Longing. And then the weird emptiness of mind barriers slammed shut.
Lizard wanted a baby?
No, not exactly... Lauren grabbed for the fleeting emotion she'd picked up, trying to bring it into focus. Lizard wanted a family.
Lauren watched as the odd duo of pregnant client and tattooed fairy made their way out the door. And hoped Lizard realized she was already well on her way to having one.
Nat felt a presence intrude on her solitude just as her pendant began to vibrate. She tensed, not