“Of course, she doesn’t have plans,” I volunteer when the cat seems to have stolen my bestie’s tongue. “Right?” I say, giving her a nudge in the shin with my foot.

“No.” There’s an unmistakable tremor to her voice. “We don’t have plans.” She takes the offered envelope from her daughter. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” His cheeks are rosy, and he’s fidgeting like a little boy. You could cut the sexual tension between these two with a knife.

“There’s four tickets in here.” Liz’s eyes widen.

“Yeah. You could take your mom or…”

“Or him,” I volunteer, unable to stand another minute of this awkward exchange. “How convenient. It’s the night before we head back to Nashville.”

“That is very convenient.” Trudy can’t hide the joy from her face.

“Frank is coming?” Annabelle rushes over to hug his leg. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Princess. But only if your mom says it’s okay. She might have someone else she wants to take.”

“Liz,” I straight growl. “Put the man out of his misery, for God’s sake.”

She shakes herself from a stupor. “Yes.” Her throat clears. “Yeah. That sounds like fun. We’d love for you to join us.”

A Cheshire grin splits his face. “Great.”

The two stare at each other, making eyes until the rest of us reach the point of damn near losing our dinner.

“All right you two,” Dane finally says. “Get a room.”

Annabelle perks up. “What’s that mean?”

“What he means,” Liz answers with a dark look at Dane, “is that you two”—she points between her kids—“need to get to your rooms so Santa doesn’t miss us.”

“Wait!” Daddy jumps up with a fire I haven’t seen from him in quite a while. “Let’s give Sammi and Lyle their gift first.”

“Oh, yeah.” Liz blows the hair out of her eyes. “Go ahead, Mr. Wayne.”

“Well, we know how crazy it’s been making the two of you, not knowing if bean is a girl or a boy…”

“So,” my mother-in-law Grace pipes in, “we got you a 3D ultrasound here in town for the day after tomorrow.”

“But—” Liz cuts me off when I start to thank them, “the tech is under strict orders not to tell you, because the other part of your gift is a gender reveal party and celebratory baby shower!”

“This is amazing.” I start to tear up and Lyle grabs my hand, squeezing it tight. “When’s the party?” I ask, starting to panic, because I don’t know how long I can wait, especially knowing someone else will know the answer I’ve been so desperate for.