“Damn it,” someone said at her side.
She jolted, then turned to find Gallant staring into the blue glow of his phone. For a moment, she’d forgotten him.
“What? What’s wrong?”
He gritted out a frustrated sound. “It’s one of my tenants.A pipe burst in the bedroom and flooded the house. Which means I need to go deal with it. Right now.”
Her stomach quivered. Briefly, her awareness traveled to the lingerie hugging her body, but she thrust the thought aside. “Then go. We can see each other later, if you want.”
He glanced up, his expression anguished. “I’ll have to rip up the carpets and get all the water out of there, which’ll probably take all night. Even though I really, really don’t want it to.”
“It’s okay.” Her lips curled. “You go. I’ll catch a ride with someone. It’s not a big deal.”
He hesitated. “Are you sure? Can I see you tomorrow?”
“Yes. Absolutely. Tomorrow.”
“Oh, thank god.” He leaned down and kissed her with surprising thirst, considering they stood amid a bustling crowd. He tasted like wine and spice and the promise of more to come. For an all-too-brief moment, he caught her around the waist and buried his nose in her hair. “I can’t wait.”
“Me, neither.”
He gave her one last peck and arrowed away, his leading shoulder cutting through the crowd like a blade.
Aubrey lost him in seconds. She turned back, scanning for Nick, but if he’d had any desire for contact, he wouldn’t have disappeared like that. He must need solitude. Not... complications.
A small hand clamped around her arm. “Aubrey!”
She pivoted and was immediately pulled into a hug by Megan Shimamoto, whose belly pressed against her, an unexpected combination of firmness and give.
“Wow.” Aubrey pulled back. Megan haddefinitelypopped in the past few weeks. “Look at your bump!”
“I know.” Megan’s grin rivaled the sparkling floats. “It’s kind of a relief, actually. People have stopped wondering whether I’m overloading on Halloween candy and have started holdingthe door for me, instead. And someone asked when I was due the other day. Which was surprisingly awesome.”
Aubrey chuckled. “You look adorable.”
Megan did a little spin. She wore a green maternity sweater and leggings with shearling boots and a knitted pom-pom hat. “Don’t I?”
“Yes. And this parade! You should be proud. Look at you, making things happen.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you.” Megan gripped her hand. “But... you didn’t come alone, did you?”
“No. Gallant was here, but he had to go.”
“Oh.” Megan’s mouth thinned. “Well, come on, you’re with me now. Let’s go get some cider? I haven’t seen you in weeks, and. . .”
Megan chattered on. Aubrey let herself be tugged along, then sipped from the cup she was handed. Megan greeted half the people who passed, thanking them for this, asking about that.
Aubrey hid her smile in her drink.
“Hey, how’re you getting home?” Megan piped up, in between chats.
Aubrey glanced around. The crowd had thinned. Empty cider cups rolled across the asphalt while stars twinkled overhead, an icy bluish-white. “I’ll probably just walk.”
“What? No. It’smiles.”
“It’samile.” Aubrey chuckled. She tossed her cider cup into a nearby trash can. “Of which I’m perfectly capable.”
“No, no. We can’t have that. What if you freeze? What if you get lost?”
