“How you and Lawr are of their loins, I’ll never know,” Robin replied.

Since I agreed with this statement, I had no comment.

But at hearing it, I looked through the room to find Lawr standing talking with Jake, Jake’s son Conner and Conner’s girl, Sofie. Conner had his arm around her and was holding her close. She was comfortable there. Safe and content and happy.

They’d survived the first year of college apart and now Sofie was down in Boston with him.

Although Junior and Alyssa were happy she got into a good school, during a mani-pedi session prior to her move south, Alyssa had declared, “If my girl comes up pregnant her freshman year, it’s gonna suck, seein’ as I’ll have to help raise the kid because her dad’ll be doin’ life for killin’ the kid’s baby daddy.”

I didn’t want to think of these goings-on, so I didn’t. Auden was dating. Ash was still with Kellan (who could now drive, which meant car dates, which in turn was driving Ash’s father ’round the bend) and my daughter was also dating (serially, she’d been out with four different boys since school started, all this impatiently awaiting Joe asking her out, something she hoped he would do, something, being tight with Auden, he wasn’t doing).

No, I absolutely did not want to think of these goings-on.

So, I didn’t.

Whatever happened, I’d survive. So would Mickey. That had been proven beyond a doubt.

Instead, I watched my big brother’s eyes move around the room, catch on the woman beside me, and warm.

Robin and Lawr were no longer dating. Robin and Lawr were now an item.

It was serious.

They couldn’t make any big moves since her oldest was in college but her youngest was still a junior and she didn’t want to be far away. They had to wait a couple of years before she moved up to Santa Barbara to be with Lawrie permanently, but that was the plan. Now, every other week, she was up there with my brother and it was working.

Splendidly.

I knew it would and, of course, rubbed that fact in at every available opportunity.

Like right then, when his attention shifted from Robin to me and I assumed a superior look to which he shook his head, his lips twitching, and turned his focus back to Jake.

“Gonna steal her.”

I jumped slightly at hearing Mickey’s murmur and turned just in time for him to slide my glass of champagne out of my hand and set it on the table.

“Of course,” Josie murmured.

“If I wasn’t taken and you weren’t seriously taken, as evidenced by the proceedings,” Robin said to my guy. “I’d want you to steal me.”

My best girl liked my guy.

And I liked this.

Mickey gave Robin a smile, and I gave Robin a fake glare as he took my hand.

While he was moving me toward the door, I felt a hint of chill and glanced my mother’s way to see her aiming that chill at me as Mickey pulled me into the main restaurant.