It was just the touch of his hand. He didn’t even need to rise. A kind gesture. She looked down at his hand, still holding hers, and then into his eyes. She smiled when she saw the familiar twinkle there. All he did was smile back and release her hand as she took several steps toward the kitchen. Maybe it was the wine making her horny but his touch had seemed more than a courtesy. He hadn’t said anything to her but his gentleness had spoken to her nonetheless.
She came to a stop at the kitchen island, when she caught sight of Grace and Teresa standing side by side against the kitchen counter. They were watching her with satisfied grins on their faces, exchanging a casual high five.
Grace pushed off from the counter. “What can I get for you, Gwen? More wine?”
“Sure,” she replied, handing Grace the glass. “What are you two looking so self-satisfied over?”
Teresa sipped her sparkling grape juice and giggled as Grace poured Gwen’s refill. “Grace, you sure this stuff is nonalcoholic? I’m feeling very giggly.”
Grace handed Gwen her glass and chuckled. “No alcohol for you or Rosemary tonight. I’ll bet what you’re feeling is all the loooooove in the air tonight. People in love, having babies, getting married…falling in love. It’s all the pheromones, I’ll bet.”
“Who’s getting married?” Gwen asked as she took another sip, wondering if Grace was right. There was something warm and fuzzy about the night and her general mood.
Grace smiled. “Remember Camilla O’Neal from The Dancing Pony?”
“Of course.”
“She’s marrying Quinten Parks tomorrow morning, and then Ethan is performing her bonding ceremony with Quinten and Ben Lawrence right afterward.”
“Ben and Quinten? That’s fantastic news! I had no idea.”
“They’re pretty discreet,” Teresa said. “Camilla’s new club, The Twisted Bull, just opened up about a week ago in Morehead. They’re flying out to a mountaintop retreat in Colorado for their honeymoon right after the ceremony.”
“That’s not the only news, though. Camilla recently found out she’s an heiress and that she’s expecting twins.”
“Holy mackerel! That girl’s been busy since the last time I saw her.” Gwen leaned back against the kitchen island opposite of the two women as they took up their earlier positions facing the living room, watching all the activity. “So what were you two talking about earlier, looking like you’d both won a wager?”
Grace sipped her wine and peeked around Gwen’s shoulder and looked about ready to preen, she was so pleased with herself. “Oh, we were just discussing Chris Potter’s woobiness.”
Teresa glanced at Grace and snorted in a very indelicate, un-Teresa-like fashion. Grace took her glass from her and sniffed the contents before handing it back to her with a giggle as Gwen replied, “Woobiness?”
Grace nodded and leaned closer. “Do you remember having a stuffed animal or maybe a blanket when you were little that went everywhere with you? That was your woobie—your comfort item. I had a blanket as a little girl, and Rose Marie has this floppy brown teddy bear that Jack gave her when she was newborn. She can’t sleep without it. I hardly dare take it to wash it. Well, Teresa and I believe that there are some men, several in this room in fact who have very strong woobie factors.”
“Woobie factors?”
Teresa nodded, appearing absolutely certain. “Woobiness. Exceptionally good at comforting, very protective, great huggers.”
“All our men are good at that but there are some who stand out in the crowd,” Grace said, looking around the room.
Suddenly curious, Gwen glanced quickly at the large group standing in the dining room. “Like…who?”
Grace and Teresa glanced at each other, and they moved closer. Teresa said, “Adam and Angel are both woobies.”
“Big-time,” Grace said with a faraway look in her eyes.
“Most of the woobies are the really big guys. Angel is not as big as Adam, by quite a bit, but he towers over me. And when he holds me…”
Grace nodded and whispered, “The world can’t touch you.”
Teresa peeked around Gwen’s shoulder and looked around the room. “Richard Warner is Maya’s woobie. Look how he holds her.”
Gwen looked over to the dining room where Maya Warner stood chatting with her three husbands, Kendall, Richard, and Boone, and two of Grace’s husbands, Ethan Grant and Adam Davis. Gwen noticed that Maya stood in the circle of Richard Warner’s arms leaning against him as he rested his backside against a wall. His hold on her was gentle, not possessive. As the conversation continued, she turned and rested her cheek against one of his pectorals and put her arms around him and squeezed. Richard unconsciously kissed the top of her blonde head before adding to the discussion.