“I didn’t ask.”

“Just wondering how much I’ll actually be designing, or will I be trying to please a wife.”

“Does it matter?”

Lucy scoffed. “Nope. Yeah, between four and six is fine.”

“Party. I’ll put it in the books.”

“Fabulous, but make sure my Sunday is free.”

“Yeah, I know,” she said and then the phone went dead.

Lucy was curious about her new Saturday appointment, but instead of waiting for the info to come up on her calendar so she could stalk the guy, she decided she needed to call her mother.

So, obviously, she called Avery instead.

“Hey!” her sister-in-law said, sounds of sweet baby Ashlyn in the background.

“Hey, what’re you doing? You busy being an awesome mom and songwriter?”

Avery laughed. “Actually, I just got done cleaning poop off my shorts. Ashlyn had an accident. Explosive one.”

“Ew. Don’t miss those days. Got time to chat?”

“Of course, missy is going down for a nap and then I gotta work some. My goal of selling to Ed Sheeran before the year is up is slowly but surely diminishing.”

Smiling, Lucy leaned back in her chair. Avery had been writing a lot lately and selling like mad, but of course, the girl was wanting to sell to someone who really didn’t buy. “He writes his own stuff, babe.”

“Yeah, yeah, but I’m gonna get him, you watch. I’ve got four months to do just that.”

“Chase those dreams!”

“You know it,” Avery agreed and Lucy listened as she slowly shut the door. “So, have you talked to Baylor?”

“No, but I talked to Jayden and things aren’t looking good.”

“Yeah, she was telling me she thinks she’s gonna retire before they tell her she won’t be able to play anymore.”

That broke Lucy’s heart. “Man, that sucks. She wants it so bad.”

“I know,” Avery said sadly. “I hate it for her, but your mom is happy. You know how she worries.”

“Yeah.”

“And she wants them to have a baby.”

Lucy scoffed. “Of course, she does. If she had her way, everyone would be pregnant.”

“I think it’s coming for Claire and Jude.”

Lucy shook her head even though Avery couldn’t see her. “No way, Claire is too busy. I think it will happen when her contract is fully up. She still has obligations and shit. Who wants to be pregnant around a bunch of burlesque dancers?”

Claire was a big shot burlesque dancer and choreographer in Vegas. That girl wasn’t getting pregnant; neither was Baylor. It had surprised the hell out of everyone when Jace came home saying he and Avery were pregnant. They were both so young, but they were doing well. Way better than Lucy ever did when she was their age with Angie.

“True, I kinda want someone to get pregnant.”

Lucy laughed. “Why?”

“So Mom will stop calling me! I love her, I do, but man, she calls me all day to check on Ashlyn.”

Lucy smiled. Her mom could be very suffocating, and with her baby moving to Florida with his wife and baby… Yeah, she wasn’t handling it well. “Yeah, sorry about that. I call a lot too. Do you want me to stop?”

“Please, never. It’s just different with Mom ’cause she wants to know about Ashlyn and Jace, and then about me. And I’m like, Mom, we seriously do nothing but hang out on the beach and work.”

“She misses you guys. We all do.”

“I know. We miss you guys too,” Avery said sadly, and Lucy crossed her legs, rocking back in her chair. “But Jace is soaring on the Panthers. They are doing so well.”

“I know, I’ve been watching.”

“I don’t know how you do it, watching all the games. I sometimes forget to put Jace’s on if we aren’t there.”

Lucy smiled as she shrugged. “Years of doing it. Guess I’m a pro.”

“Guess so,” she agreed, her voice happy. “How’s Angie loving hockey? Jace said she was killing it, and we just love the pictures you guys sent.”

“God, yes, she loves it. She’s only gone twice, but she’s awesome and enjoys it, so that’s good.”

“Yeah, Jace said something about a Benji? I thought Shea Adler was the coach?”

Why did butterflies go off in her gut at his name? Man, she needed to get that under control. “He’s an assistant coach. He plays with Jayden on the Assassins.”

“Oh! Okay, cool. She’s taken to him, from what I heard.”

“Yeah, I’m kind of nervous about her going to Rick’s. I’m sure he’s gonna have a lot to say.”

“Fuck that dude. He’ll be okay,” Avery bit out. Rick didn’t have any fans in the Sinclair family.

“Yeah, I just hate arguing with him.”

“Jace told me about the recital.”

“Bullshit.”

“Yeah, oh well. Only eleven more years.”

It was a bittersweet thing to think, but it was true. While she didn’t want her baby to grow up, she sure as hell didn’t want to deal with Rick anymore. “Yeah.”

Silence fell between the two, and as it had been for the last twenty-four hours, Lucy’s mind went to Benji. Would she defend him if Rick said anything? Or would she ignore Rick like she tried to do most of the time? Another reason why she couldn’t ever even think of trying to date Benji—it would be cruel to subject him to the vile person Rick was. He’d run the other way. Yeah. It wouldn’t work. She would be setting everyone up for failure.