Hope shaded her eyes and followed the direction of my gaze. “It certainly is. Not that I have to worry about that for a while.” She stroked her belly the way pregnant women do, only she didn’t look pregnant.
My eyebrows shot up. “Congratulations.”
She smiled as if no one could say that to her enough times. “Robyn’s classes might help me with childbirth. I’ll need all the muscle I can get to push out Tak’s child.”
She and Mercy both laughed, and I guessed it had something to do with Tak’s size or personality.
I looked past her to the field in the back where a stunning white horse was grazing, her tail swishing back and forth. It tugged at my heart, as my own mare would love a pasture like that. Poor thing. All this noise. Between the music, hammering, and saws, she must have been itching to go for a run.
“You’re a quiet one,” Hope said while leading us up the steps. “That means you have a lot on your mind, doesn’t it?” She smiled over her shoulder before we turned down the back hall.
We passed a resplendent kitchen that was half the size of my house. I marveled at the stunning wooden beams of the ceiling and gorgeous Spanish tile. Down another hall that cut to the front of the house, we passed a staircase before entering an enormous living area.
My fingers grazed the leaves of the fake trees on the right as I was awestruck by the room’s size.
Hope gestured to the stunning stone fireplace on the right wall. “Tak and I worked on that ourselves.”
“It’s beautiful,” I said, realizing that was the understatement of the century. Who builds their own fireplaces?
People who have living rooms this big, that’s who.
Brown leather couches faced each other, and I stood behind the recliner while admiring the fireplace. I noticed a large grey sectional in the right corner, behind the fake trees that formed a privacy wall. The television was the biggest I’d ever seen.
“Bear and I love having movie night,” Mercy said, leaning against the back of the sectional. “Especially old movies.”
On the opposite side of the room were expansive windows that overlooked the front yard. They even had room for additional seating. When I turned around, I peered through an archway that led to another room.
“We plan to make that into a game room.” Hope wound her hair up into a bun. She was so poised, and I admired her reserved and no-nonsense demeanor. “There’s much to do around here and no rush. Would you like a tour?”
I had to shut my mouth before I started catching flies for real. “Not today. I don’t have much time.”
Then my brain fired up.Was that rude? Am I supposed to say yes? No one’s ever asked me to tour their house.
She gestured to a room on the right of the fireplace. “We practice yoga in here since there’s no foot traffic. We tried using the spot by the windows, but someone was always coming in and slamming the door.”
As if to prove her point, someone walked in and slammed the door.
The pink-haired woman who’d just come in unzipped her shorts and yanked them off right in front of us. But she had onstriped leggings, which I guessed were her workout clothes. “Am I late?” When she stripped off her T-shirt, revealing a sports bra, I realized I wasn’t dressed appropriately for yoga. Even Mercy had changed into a pair of leggings. I scrutinized my outfit.
Hope noticed. “I have some harem pants you can borrow. Some of the poses won’t work in a skirt. It’s just us girls, but if someone walks by one of those windows?—”
“Andsomeoneisalwayswalking by the windows,” the pink-haired woman complained. “Virgil acts like he’s never seen a woman before, but he never joins us. The mind boggles.”
Mercy toed off her shoes. “Virgil likes to be in the middle of everything. He’s as harmless as a fly.”
“A naked fly,” the woman added. “You get used to seeing everyone naked in a pack, but Virgil takes it to another level. I’m Melody, but my friends call me Mel.”
Melody had a lean physique with feminine features and freckles and seemed like a tomboy.
“Cecilia Talius,” I answered.
“Finally, more female energy in this house. Shall I get the wine?” she asked Hope. “I think a new addition to our group calls for a celebration.”
Mercy snorted. “Y’all can count me out. I have to drive Cecilia back to the bookstore when we’re done.”
“I wouldn’t mind a drink,” I admitted quietly. “What kind do you have?”
“I’m not exactly a wine connoisseur, but how about the white stuff?”
