In the distance, she could hear the faint sound of hammering. In another month, the roomy log buildings would be finished and ready for their first set of campers. “Frankly, I don’t know how Meg does it,” she said. “Living with your perfection has to be tough on someone like her.”

Ted nodded somberly. “It’s a burden, that’s for sure.”

She smiled and gazed across the yard toward the new barbecue pit, where her parents were chatting with a slightly awestruck Temple and Max. “Being married to Panda is a lot easier,” Lucy said.

“I’ll have to take your word for it,” Ted replied. “He kind of scares me.”

“He does no such thing, but I’m sure he’d take that as a compliment.”

Ted squeezed her shoulder. “It’s good we weren’t this comfortable with each other when we were engaged, or that wedding might really have happened.”

They both shuddered.

Meg and Panda came toward them. Who could have imagined that her surly bodyguard would have turned into such an exemplary husband?

Because Meg had been a terrible influence on Ted, he planted a kiss on top of Lucy’s head just to see if he could make trouble. That backfired, however, because Lucy liked to cause trouble, too. “Your husband is hitting on me,” she called out to her best friend. “By the way, how does it feel to be his second choice?”

Meg offered up her smart-aleck smirk. “I could totally have had Panda if you hadn’t pulled your disappearing act. He was definitely coming on to me the night of your so-called rehearsal dinner.”

“Well … You did look hot that night,” Lucy agreed while Panda and Ted swapped glances that declared them both the most fortunate and the most put-upon of spouses.

“It’s weird,” Meg said. “We should so be married to each other’s husbands.”

This time all four of them shuddered.

“I’ll tell you what’s weird.” Bree came up next to them, Mike at her side, a sleeping baby tucked in the Snugli he wore as proudly as an athletic jersey. “The four of you. I’ve never seen such strange relationships. Mike, aren’t they all a little weird.”

“Now, Bree … Some people might say that about us.”

“You’re too good to be true.” Bree gave him a private smile that locked out the rest of the world.

Toby peeled away from his friends. “He’s not that good. He got into my M&M’s stash last night.”

Mike grinned, grabbed Toby around the neck, and gave his head a gentle knuckle rub without disturbing Toby’s baby brother. “You need to find a better hiding place, son.”

In the past three years, Toby had shot up ten inches, and girls had started calling the house, which drove Bree crazy. But Toby had his head screwed on remarkably straight for a fifteen-year-old, and Lucy wasn’t worried.