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but it’s just that. I’ll let you know if we elope.”
    “He’d better be good to you or he’ll have a bucketload of ladies raining punches down upon his head.”
    “He’s like eighty billion feet tall. I kept looking up and then up some more.” Jules knew she was blushing but if you couldn’t be giddy about a new boy in town with your best friend, who could you do it with?
    “Thank heavens you’re not prone to overstatement.” Gillian said this soberly until they both laughed.
    “We chose a cake, Mister Brown.” Gillian turned to Adrian, who paused, his amusement softening into something else. Something so intimate and raw between the two of them Jules was nearly embarrassed to see it.
    He took her hands and kissed her fingertips. “Can’t turn back now, English. There’s cake to be paid for. Also my reputation is at stake. Imagine what people might do if they thought you had taken advantage of me.”
    Gillian blushed and Jules loved her friend very much right then. Her happiness was so well deserved. She and Adrian really were perfect for one another. And then there was a small twist of envy. Just a little.
    Jules wanted that too.
    She sat forward. “I should go before you two embarrass me with all your fast and modern ways.”
    Gillian’s eyes widened and then she laughed. “You’re having a go.”
    “Totally. But still, I’m trying a new cinnamon roll tomorrow. In case you wanted to stop in. I’m making extra for Mary and some deal she’s doing in the afternoon.”
    She stood and walked to the door. Her bags were waiting there for her neatly. Adrian and Gillian trailed behind. Miles had disappeared into the garage out back to practice with his friends.
    Gillian reached out to squeeze Jules’s hand. “You guys are really doing well. So fast out of the gate too.”
    “It’s only been two weeks but yes, it’s smooth so far, which is nice. It’s not hard to work with Mary or Daisy. My business is up. Mary’s business is up and Daisy sold two pieces last week.”
    “I like that Delicious is kicking butt.”
    Delicious was the name of Jules’s group of friends. Four women who were very different on the outside but who were close as sisters. Each artistic and vibrant in her own way. Loyal to the bone.
    Adrian hugged Gillian to his side. “I love that you guys call yourselves that. Also, Levi is an art hog. I’m going on record with that. I wanted one of her large pieces for the new house and he used his relationship with the artist to get around me.”
    Levi was Daisy’s boyfriend. He also happened to be an art collector, an ardent admirer of Daisy’s art and the most breathtakingly alpha male Jules had ever met. Daisy was a lucky woman, but it must have been tiring to manage a man like that.
    “Commission something. That way she’s making it for you from the start. That’s what Cal does.”
    “You’re brilliant, that’s what you are, Jules.” Adrian grinned and hugged her before Gillian did the same.
    “Love you.” Jules squeezed Gillian’s hand.
    “Love you right back. I’ll see you soon. Thanks for making my cake for my wedding. I like that. Makes me feel like I’m totally surrounded by love.”
    “Stop that or you’ll make me sniffly.”
    But, as she drove home, she realized Gillian had been right. Getting married at her new home with her soon-to-be husband, surrounded by people she loved and who loved her, the food by Mary, the cake by Jules, the rings designed by Daisy. Hell, the music would be all Adrian’s friends and apparently Miles too. A family affair. Like it should be.
    •   •   •
    Every night before she went to sleep, Jules meditated. She knew some of her friends thought it was loopy, but it worked for her.
    Jules was not a naturally patient person. She could run toward bitchy sometimes. Meditating helped her manage her life, gave her time to reflect each day and think about the next. That appealed to the planner living inside her.
    Her life was