“How’s working with Jess going?” Caite asked.
“Good. Really good,” Zoey said. “She’s a hoot. She’s this teeny little woman with a huge personality. I swear I’ve blushed more around her than I have in my entire life.”
“Have the cops found out anything else about whoever might’ve hired that pilot to leave you and Bubba in the middle of nowhere?” Sidney asked.
Zoey shook her head. “Not that I know of. I know there’s a guy named Tex who is also looking into it, and Mark thinks he should find out something soon.”
Piper nodded enthusiastically. “Tex is amazing. If anyone can find out who set it all up, he can.” Then she proceeded to tell Zoey all about how Tex had arranged for the almost immediate adoption of her girls, and how he’d popped into one of their barbeques one day and she’d gotten to meet him. “He was a SEAL himself but lost a leg in combat. He’s almost a God around here, and I can see why. I wanted to do something to thank him, but Beckett told me if I tried, Tex would do something completely over the top in return.”
“Like what?”
“I asked the same thing, and Beckett said he once sent someone an exploding glitter bomb after they thanked him one too many times.”
“Holy crap. No one wants that stuff in their house. It never goes away!” Zoey exclaimed.
“I know,” Piper said. “Sinta begged me for some of that glitter glue stuff to use in a project, and I stupidly caved. I’m never going to get that shit out of my carpet.”
Everyone laughed.
“Anyway,” Piper went on. “I guess Tex doesn’t do well with anything other than a simple thank you. Although I did have the girls each make him a card, and I got away with that.”
“So you still have no idea who wanted you guys dead?” Caite asked.
Zoey shook her head and shrugged.
“That sucks. I know exactly how that feels,” Caite commiserated. “But the good thing is that you’ve got Bubba at your side. How are things going with that?”
Feeling a sense of déjà vu since she’d just had this conversation with Jess, Zoey once again tried to explain how things were between her and Mark, and how she both wanted things to move faster but was scared to move things along because she didn’t want to do anything that might screw up the connection she felt with him.
When no one said anything after she was done explaining, Zoey wasn’t sure what to think. She’d felt a kinship with these women, and the last thing she wanted to do was say something that might mess that up. They’d known Mark longer than she had…well, that wasn’t exactly true, since she’d known him when he was in high school, but still.
“So, here’s the thing,” Caite said after a long moment of silence had gone by. “I think none of us has jumped in with any sage advice because we know exactly how you feel. We were all in your shoes. Not exactly, but pretty much. I didn’t know someone was trying to kill me for the longest time, which was crazy, but once I did, and Blake got all protective, I wondered if he was with me just to keep me safe or because he liked me.”
“Same with me,” Piper said. “Besides, we were so busy with the girls and getting them settled and acclimated to living here in the US. I was pretty sure that he’d only married me so the girls could get out of Timor-Leste.”
“How did you…um…move your relationship to the next level?” Zoey asked, glad that she’d had some liquid courage.
“It just kind of happened,” Caite said.
Piper nodded in agreement.
That wasn’t what Zoey wanted to hear; it wasn’t very helpful.
Sidney leaned forward. “I’ll be the first to admit that I messed up pretty badly in my relationship with Decker. I did some really stupid things, and I’m grateful that he didn’t immediately dump me on my ass as a result. But I’m seeing a counselor to talk about the shit that messed me up. I think the key to a relationship with men like ours is to communicate. To not be afraid to tell them what you want and how you want it. Whether that’s sex or anything else. I didn’t talk to Decker enough, and it almost ruined us.”
Zoey bit her lip. “Mark is one of the nicest guys I know. He hired me to help his neighbor out.”
“Where’re you sleeping?” Caite asked.
Zoey knew she was blushing, but said, “In his bed.”
“And where’s he sleeping?” Piper asked.
“In his bed,” Zoey repeated.
“Right,” Caite concluded, sitting back and putting her feet up on the railing of the deck. “It’s not pity, and he likes you.”
“She’s right,” Sidney agreed. “There’s no way he would set you up in his bed and crawl in there with you if he didn’t want your relationship to be serious. It’s not how our men are wired.”
“I agree,” Piper said. “He could’ve put you in his guest room.”
“He offered to sleep there himself, but said in no uncertain terms that I’d take the master,” Zoey admitted.
All three women smiled and nodded their heads. Caite leaned forward and held up her wine glass. Zoey tapped it with her own. “Welcome to the club, Zoey. We’re thrilled to have you.”
“What are you toasting?” a deep voice asked from behind them.
Zoey startled and almost dropped her wine glass. She turned and saw Mark standing there with his sweatshirt in his hand.
“To friends,” Caite said easily.
“Ah, cool. Zoey, I thought you might be cold,” Mark said as he held up the sweatshirt.
“Oh, thanks. I am a bit chilly.”
He grinned and handed her the sweatshirt and held her wine glass as she pulled it over her head. It was huge on her, but she didn’t care. It smelled like Mark, and other than him holding her in his arms, nothing could make her feel more relaxed than being surrounded by his scent. “Thanks,” she told him as she reached for her glass.
He relinquished it, then surprised her by leaning down and kissing her temple. He turned to the others and said, “Don’t get too drunk, ladies. Piper, I’m holding you responsible for making sure they can still walk in another hour.”
Piper rolled her eyes. “Whatever. We’re not doing shots of Jägermeister out here, you know. It’s just a little bit of wine.”
Mark eyed the empty bottle on the railing, and the one next to it that they’d just opened. “Uh-huh.”
“Oh, shut up,” Caite said. “And shoo, would ya? We’re talking women stuff out here.”
“I’m going, I’m going,” Mark said. He ran his hand over Zoey’s hair before turning and heading back inside.
“Oh, yeah, you have nothing to worry about, girl,” Sidney said once Mark had left.
“Most of the time I think so too, but then days go by without him touching me even once, except for when we go to sleep. And I get paranoid,” Zoey admitted.
“Bubba’s one of the good guys,” Caite reassured her. “He’s doing what he thinks is right and honorable. But believe me, one of these days he’s going to break, and when he does, it’ll be glorious.”
They talked for another forty-five minutes or so until the children wandered out of the house and onto the deck. Their show had ended and they were bored…and crabby. Not long after that, the party seemed to naturally break up. Everyone said their goodbyes, and Zoey was thrilled when all the women exchanged numbers with her and told her to call anytime, and that they’d be in touch.