We all gaped at Yancy.
“But you just got married,” Chelsea said.
Yancy shrugged. “I’d like to have one or two more kids before she gets much older. I want them to be pretty close in age.”
“That settles it,” Lucy said. “We’re going to do a dinner or a brunch at least once a week until Tanya has her baby or isn’t able to. Then, we’re going to go to her house and get baby snuggles and have girl nights in.”
I grinned. “I like the sound of that. I’ve missed spending time with y’all.”
“Then, it’s settled. We’ll figure out what day and time works for everyone, and we’ll take turns picking the places. Since I picked this one, we’ll let Grier pick next.”
It was just like Tanya to take charge, but I didn’t mind. It was nice to have someone else make decisions once in a while.
“Sounds good to me,” I said.
We all said our good-byes and agreed to text each other when we arrived home. I’d just walked in the door and shot off a message in the group chat when my phone rang.
Elijah’s name flashed across my screen, along with a picture of the two of us. It was a selfie he’d taken last week when we went out to dinner. As I looked at it, I had to admit Lucy and Yancy were right. I looked really happy with him.
I lifted the phone to my ear. “Hey, Eli.”
“Hey, Brown Eyes. How was dinner?”
I walked through my living room without turning on any lights, heading straight for my bedroom.
“Fun,” I answered as I flopped down on my bed and kicked my shoes off. “I missed spending time with them.”
“I’m guessing my name was mentioned.”
“A few times,” I admitted. “Why? Were your ears burning?”
“Only a little. Did they try to convince you to dump me?”
“Nope. They said that you were welcome as long as you keep making me happy,” I answered.
There was silence on the line for a moment.
“Do I make you happy?” he asked.
I sighed. “Yeah, you do.”
“Good. That’s all that matters.”
“I wouldn’t say that. I mean, you should be happy, too.”
“Oh, I am,” he murmured in my ear.
His deep voice rumbled and brought a shiver to my skin. He didn’t sound happy. He sounded turned on.
“I can think of a couple things you could do to make me happier,” I teased.
“Oh, really? Like what?”
“Well, that first time you came to the gallery after Lucy’s wedding…I really liked what happened after dinner. That would make me happier.”
His chuckle vibrated through the phone, and I felt it all over my body.
“I miss you in my bed,” I admitted, my voice softer.
