∞∞∞
“Hey! There they are!” Kerry said as he opened the door for Craig and me.
I hugged my best friend and noted how his small baby bump was just starting to be visible. “Excited?”
He grinned. “Yeah.”
“What are you hoping for?”
He shook his head. “I don’t care. I’m just happy I’m going to be a papa.”
“Speaking of which… Where do you want this?” Craig asked, using his head to motion to the gender reveal cake in his arms.
“Mama left a spot for it on the table. Let me show you.” Kerry said, turning to Craig. Then, “I’m glad you’re here. Randy wasn’t sure if he was ready.”
“I’m glad he wanted me here, too,” Craig replied.
We followed Kerry through his house toward where the party stuff had been set out.
“You’ve got a lot of art,” Craig stated as we walked.
Kerry chuckled. “I should hope so.”
“He’s a fine art acquisition consultant,” I said.
“Umm…” Craig replied.
Kerry laughed. “Rich people ask me to find and buy art for them. Mostly for decoration, sometimes for investment.”
“So buying art is your job?”
“Pretty much.”
“Is that why you’re always out of town?”
Kerry nodded. “Yep. My clients aren’t just here, and I need to find what fits them. We don’t have a bunch of lighthouse or coastal paintings here, for example. I can get an idea ofwhat might work from websites. But it’s better to see things in person.”
“Where are some of your favorite places to shop?”
Kerry shrugged. “It depends. I’ve enjoyed Hilton Head recently. And Harris Cove is coming up as an emerging art market, though I need to get out there more often.”
We reached the table, and Craig set the cake box to one side so that the contents could be moved to a pedestal.
“Hello dear,” said Kerry’s mama—Sherry—as she wrapped me in a hug. “How are you?”
“I’m good. You?”
She grinned. “Excited. I’d settled into the idea that Kerry was going to stay a bachelor, so him getting mated and pregnant is a nice surprise.”
“You’re going to enjoy the heck out of that grandbaby, aren’t you?”
She laughed. “Of course.” She turned to Craig. “And who is this?”
“Sherry,” I started. “This is Craig. We’re… courting. Craig, this is Kerry’s mama, Sherry.”
Craig held out a hand, and she immediately pulled him into a hug.
“This day just gets better!” she said. “I’m finding out the gender of my grandbaby, and meeting your alpha! I’m so happy for you!”
