“Hey, Mekena,” he said and she smiled.

“Hey. Where ya going?”

“I’m on kid duty, gotta go check on the babysitter. The girls are in the bar, the guys had to go do something…I forgot what, so I’ll see ya back in there.”

“Okay, thanks,” she said as he walked past her, heading out into the darkness. Walking down the hall, she entered the bar that was only feet from the back entrance. Inside, it was an all-natural design with the same homey feel as her cabin. Everything was made of wood, and the room had lots of John Wayne memorabilia hanging from the walls. When she saw Avery at a table with Baylor, Claire, and Lucy, she grinned as she headed toward them.

“Mekena!” Avery gushed, coming to her and hugging her tightly. “I was worried you wouldn’t come.”

“I told you I would,” she reminded, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, and that doesn’t mean anything,” she teased, and Mekena scoffed as she went around the table, hugging everyone.

“So glad you could stay on the grounds with us! Do you love your cabin?” Lucy asked as she leaned on the table.

Mekena did the same, nodding. “Love it. It’s beautiful here.”

“I agree, I don’t want to leave,” Claire said, resting her cheek on her hand. “Great location.”

“Thank you. All Benji,” Lucy gushed and everyone smiled.

“You excited?” Baylor asked.

When Lucy wiggled a bit, Mekena’s grin grew. “Really excited, which is silly since we are already married and so damn happy, but before it was so quick and really just so Benji could adopt Angie. Now, it’s for us, and I can’t wait.” She took a breath and then rolled her eyes. “Which is silly! I didn’t even want a wedding before I met him.”

“He’s perfect for you,” Claire said, leaning into her as she beamed. “I love him dearly.”

“He is great, super great,” she said, her face bright and happy. Lucy deserved a good guy. She hadn’t had it easy from what Avery had told Mekena, but that all changed when Benji came along. He made Lucy beyond happy, and he was the greatest father imaginable to Angie. Lucy turned to her sister-in-law. “So when are you moving to LA?”

Claire let out a long-suffering breath, and everyone seemed concerned. “They are fighting me about getting out of my contract, so I might be stuck for another year.”

“Oh, no,” Baylor said, shaking her head. “Can’t you just pay back the remainder of your contract?”

“They don’t want it. They want me to carry it out and train my replacement, which sucks ’cause we were thinking about maybe getting pregnant soon,” she said, visibly upset, and Lucy wrapped her arm around her.

“Look at it this way, you guys will be super ready when it’s time to have a baby,” she said, and everyone nodded, even Mekena, who had no clue about any of this stuff. She wanted to travel first. She wanted to see the world before she hunkered down and had a baby. Well, she had to find a guy too.

That would probably be best.

“Yeah, you’re right. And you know what that means?” she asked, and Lucy eyed her.

“What?”

With a playful grin, she said, “That you and Benji have to have a baby next!”

Everyone giggled at that while Lucy shrugged. “What if I’m already pregnant?”

The laughter died. “What?” Avery asked.

“You’re kidding!” Baylor accused.

“No way!” Claire said, jumping on the balls of her feet.

Mekena wasn’t sure what she should say, so she didn’t say anything as Lucy laughed. “No, I’m not pregnant, you big dorks!” she said, and soon napkins started flying at her head. It was sweet, the dynamic and love between the four women. Lucy was the oldest of the Sinclair children. She loved her brothers fiercely, and she accepted each of their spouses with open arms, loved them like sisters. It was nice, and Mekena hoped one day she would have the same thing. They were all very lucky to have each other.

“The party is here!”

All of them turned to see Jace coming through the door with Jayden and Jude flanking him. The three brothers favored each other so much, and all were devilishly handsome. Dark hair, green eyes, and bodies that could make women fall over each other to get to them. They almost looked like a boy band, they were so handsome. And man, did they love their women. As Jace came around the table, heading for Avery, Mekena grinned happily, but her grin dropped as soon as she saw who was behind him. Within seconds, Mekena found herself frozen in place as a pair of seductive caramel eyes met hers.

Like she remembered, he was tall, big, wide shoulders and a jawline that could make a girl weak in the knees. His hair was shaved close, a line along the side with his hair brushed to the right. His face was clear of any hair, such a baby face, a face she loved to touch. With small freckles she just adored, they made his look. Gave him more character than one person could ever need. He was wearing a nice dress shirt and slacks, and Lord, he was as gorgeous as she remembered.

She had never been attracted to an African American guy before him, but then, she had never been attracted to anyone before him. He was stunning, the hue of his skin a sexy chocolate color that made his caramel eyes shine. She thought seeing him again would do nothing to her. It had been over a year. He wasn’t even a blip on her radar, but boy, was she wrong. So damn wrong because it meant everything once his eyes met hers.

As much as she didn’t want him to, Markus Reeves still held her heart.

Markus felt like he wasn’t even in the right dimension. Like he wasn’t standing in the bar of the mansion Lucy and Benji were getting married in. Like his best friends weren’t there. Like he wasn’t in his own body. As his eyes locked with hers, everything was gone; the only thing he could see was her sweet face.

She was stunning.

She had done something to her hair, the ends a sexy butterscotch color that brought out the gold flecks in her eyes. He could still recall the softness of her hair, the way his fingers tangled in it as she would grin down at him or when she was reading and he would mess with her, pulling at her hair and wrapping it around his finger. As she looked away so quickly, he was surprised her glasses stayed on her face. He noticed that she had lost weight too. Something he wasn’t too happy about, but then, she wasn’t his. He had no say in the matter. Her shoulders were thinner, as were her jaw and neck too, and she didn’t have that extra little fluff he had loved.