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Though she’d been helping Raine set up most of the day, she hadn’t been sure she’d be able to stay for the festivities. The bubbly brunette had insisted. Since Dad was feeling stable after his last lapse and her boss at Bazookas had given her tonight off to make up for Valentine’s Day, she’d agreed…but not without trepidation.
Beck and Seth would both be here. How would she juggle her time between them?
As she tried to imagine, Raine appeared in a gorgeous red dress that made her cool, pale complexion absolutely glow. By comparison, Heavenly felt dowdy in the hodgepodge dress she’d stitched together from a bolt of floral fabric she’d been saving for a rainy day, the lace she’d torn off a second-hand dress, and a pattern her mother had left behind years ago.
“I’m so excited!” Raine squealed, then clapped her hands. “And Hammer has no idea! Liam kept him busy all day, with a little help from Pike. Creating an emergency fire at his, um…office was a stroke of genius.”
Heavenly was amazed the woman had pulled off a party of this size with one of her lovers none the wiser. “He’ll be thrilled.”
Suddenly, River sidled up and raised a friendly hand to Heavenly. “Hi. Good to see you again.”
“You, too.”
Raine grinned his way. “There’s the porn star of the hour.”
“Okay, don’t remind me how low I stooped to help you, storm cloud. Every time I think of that woman, I throw up a little in my mouth.”
Heavenly frowned. If she didn’t know the whole story already, she’d be thoroughly confused. But she’d been hearing about his exploits all day.
River pulled at the back of his neck. “But just for you, I took one for the team and cozied up to Hammer’s nemesis until she admitted all her accusations were bullshit. You’re welcome.”
“Thank you.” Raine wrinkled her nose. “Now make me feel better and tell me she was a lousy lay.”
“Well, after years in Afghanistan, any sex is better than no sex, but if I had to rate her? Terrible,” he confirmed. “I don’t know how Hammer ever voluntarily fucked her.”
“Me, either.” Raine shuddered. “Watching Dean arrest her was one of the best things ever.”
“No doubt.”
“We’re never this mean,” Raine assured Heavenly, placing gentle fingers on her arm. “But this bitch deserves it for lying in an attempt to put Hammer in prison for the next few decades.”
Heavenly couldn’t disagree. “Yes, and everything ended well.”
“Perfectly,” Raine chimed. “And we’ll have a great time celebrating Hammer’s birthday, too. I’ll enjoy ribbing him about being an old man.”
“How old?” It was a nosy question, but it hadn’t escaped Heavenly’s notice that at least a decade gaped between Hammer and Raine. They made it work. She sometimes wondered if Beck’s hesitation with her had been their age difference.
“He’s thirty-five.”
And she already knew Raine would be twenty-four in June. Heavenly herself would be twenty-three in a month…
She bit her lip. “Do you know how old Beck is?”
Raine cocked her head. “He didn’t tell you?”
“We’ve never talked about it.”
“He turned thirty-six in November.”
Older than she’d imagined, but still young enough that she didn’t care. She loved every moment she spent with the charismatic doctor.
“And in case you’re wondering, Seth will be thirty-two in July.”
Heavenly shrugged. “Age doesn’t matter. I was just curious.”
“Good.” Raine took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “If Beck is dating you, he’s decided it doesn’t matter to him, either. And Seth… Well, if you weren’t around, I suspect he’d be on a plane back to New York tomorrow. But he hasn’t mentioned leaving. In fact, when he flew in this time, he brought a couple of suitcases, like he’s intending to stay for a while.”
Heavenly put a palm over her tummy, trying to calm the rioting butterflies inside. “They’ll both be here tonight.”
“Yep. And they’ll both be on you like white on rice.” River grinned. “This is going to be interesting.”
She glanced Raine’s way, slightly panicked. “What do I do?”
“You really want my advice?”
“Think twice about listening to her,” River quipped. “She’s a shit-stirrer.”
Raine elbowed him in the gut. “I am not. I just want Heavenly to enjoy the party…and be happy.”
“Is that why you left me alone to ‘make coffee’ when Seth dropped in the other day?” Heavenly returned.
The smile on Raine’s face only widened. “It worked, didn’t it?”
Heavenly couldn’t dispute that.
“You want to drive them insane?” River asked.
Did she? On the one hand, she didn’t want strife, especially at Hammer’s party. On the other, the woman in her shivered at the thought of being sexy enough to command their focus. “Maybe. I don’t know.”
“That’s a yes,” River corrected, then looked at Raine. “She needs to show more skin.”
“Agreed.” The brunette looked her over critically. “Are you wearing any makeup?”
“Just mascara and lip gloss.” The truth was, Heavenly couldn’t afford more.
