I snorted a laugh. “Okay, puppy. Introduce me to everyone.”
He made a face, doing a terrible impression of a scowl. “Puppy? Come on. I’m at least a fully grown standard poodle.” Leaning in, he growled beside my ear, gnashing his teeth. “They invented thoseBeware of Dogsigns because of me.”
“Oh, really? Should I be scared?”
“Nope.” He dipped his head and nipped lightly at the corner of my jaw, his stubble rasping my skin. “I only bite when you ask nicely.”
Was this flirting? It felt an awful lot like flirting. Then again, it had been a while. Ben could have just been being his usual crazy, friendly self.
“Ben…” I pressed my palm to his forehead, shoving him back with a laugh, “I don’t remember asking.”
“That was barely a graze. It doesn’t count.” Straightening, he grinned. “Now, stop fooling around and come meet everyone.”
Sunlight spilled across the kitchen counters, the smell of coffee and muffins thick in the air, as two women chatted like they were right at home. I hadn’t known what to expect of Ben’s best friend, but it wasn’t the lush, blue-haired woman who’d turned at the sound of my steps.
Bea was stunning, and when she hugged me, she smelled like vanilla and cranberry muffins and felt like a warm oven on a winter day.
“I’m so glad Ben stopped hiding you.” She pulled back to look at me, keeping a hold on my arms. “I see why he knocked you up at first sight, though. You’re so hot.”
I sputtered. “Have you seen yourself?”
Her lips were shiny with some kind of gloss, and when they curved into a grin, she became impossibly beautiful.
“I know, right? Luckily, my husband came with kids. We get to do lots and lots of practicing with no threat of getting knocked up for me.”
She turned me toward the other—very pregnant—woman perched on a barstool, nursing a mug of tea. “This is Shira. Her husband can’t stop getting her pregnant.”
Shira’s cheeks flushed rosy red. “This is only my second,” she protested.
“So far,” Bea teased.
Shira shook her head, smiling at me. It was so soft and sincere, my heart melted a little. “It’s so nice to meet you, Mazzy. Sorry for barging in like this.”
“Please don’t be sorry.” I gestured toward the giggles coming from the living room. “I think my daughter is in heaven with your son.”
“She’s so cute.” Shira smoothed her hand over her big, round belly. There was something so incredibly serene about her, it made me want to gravitate toward her. “Jonah spends most of his time with his dad and uncles, so he’s a little rough. Maybe Katty will teach him to be gentle before his sister arrives.”
Chagrined, I crinkled my nose. “I hate to burst your bubble, but my Katty is as rough and tumble as they come.”
Ben came up behind me, his hand finding a place on my hip with familiar ease. With the other, he reached around to place a steaming mug of coffee on the counter in front of me. “Her best friend is this little hooligan named Declan. He’s a bad influence.”
I twisted to look back at him. “He’s four. That automatically excludes him from hooligan status. And if anyone’s a bad influence, it’s Katty.”
“Hmph. I don’t agree.”
Even though he’d delivered my coffee, he hovered close, his chest brushing my back, his breath ruffling loose strands of my hair. This man was more tactile than anyone I’d ever met. I wasbeginning to realize how touch starved I’d become. Sure, Katty gave me hugs all day long, but it had been years since an adult had wrapped their arms around me.
Around Ben, I’d never be short on hugs.
Or bites.
Or hand kisses.
The kids ran into the kitchen, their hands interlocked. Katty introduced me to “my cousin, Jonah,” then begged for more muffins. Before I could spring into action, Bea obliged, setting them up at the table with the baked goods, juice, and napkins.
“You have a really great village,” I told Ben.
“My village is now your village, Mazz.”
