"Absolutely." His grin was full of charm, and his gaze was affectionate, making the bond between brother and sister evident to anyone who happened to see the two together.

"You've been trained well," she replied sassily. "Now, there's champagne and a dessert table, and soda if you prefer, so please enjoy whatever you'd like while you're browsing."

Joel frowned. "What, no beer?"

"Funny, but Cameron asked the same thing, as did Steve." She put her hands on her slender hips and shook her head in mock distaste. "Now come on, Joel. Does this look like a beer kind of joint to you?"

He chuckled in amusement. "Okay, I get your point." He glanced at Lora. "How about something to drink?"

"Sure. I'll take a glass of champagne."

"Me, too," Mia added with a persuasive smile.

"Two glasses of champagne, coming right up," Joel said, and headed over to the bar that had been sent up for the evening.

"Your designs are absolutely amazing," Lora said, once Joel was gone.

"Thank you." Mia beamed, basking in the compliment, and rightly so. "I have to admit, it's such a thrill to be able to open my own gallery. There was a time when I thought my designs would never see the light of day, let alone have people purchasing them."

"They're unique and gorgeous. All of them," Lora told her, then looked back at the one with the exotic fairy. "Though I do have to say that this piece is my favorite so far."

"I just finished that one a few days ago." Mia seemed to consider the jewel-toned design with a fresh perspective. "It was probably one of my most challenging designs I've ever done. Piecing together the shards of glass for the fairy's wings was a true nightmare."

Despite the complaint, Lora could tell that Mia loved what she did and was happy with the end results of this "Midsummer Dream."

"You know, I can't help but think that you look so familiar to me," Mia said, studying Lora through inquisitive eyes. "Have we met before?"

"I don't think so." If they'd been introduced in the past, Lora would have remembered someone as vibrant as Mia. But she did get that do-I-know-you question every once in a while, due to where she worked. "Unless maybe you've been to The Electric Blue? I'm a waitress there."

Mia snapped her fingers. "That's it! That's exactly where I've seen you before, though I have to admit it's been a while since I've been there."

"Too busy working on your designs?" Lora guessed.

She flashed a nice sized diamond solitaire encircling her left ring finger. "That, and The Electric Blue isn't quite the place an engaged woman should frequent." Her gray eyes took on a mischievous sparkle. "But I have to say that I did enjoy myself at that bar immensely when I was single."

"Ahhh, there she is." A tall, good-looking man with sandy blond hair and a charming grin approached the two of them, with Joel walking beside him. "No wonder I couldn't find you. You've been hiding out in this corner over here."

"I'm not hiding," Mia said, and took the glass of champagne that the man handed to her, while Lora thanked Joel for hers. "I'm just enjoying a conversation with Joel's… client." Mia slanted her brother a sly glance that said she didn't quite believe that their relationship was that simple. "Lora, this is my fiancé, Cameron. Cam, this is Lora."

Once the introductions were made, confusion creased Cameron's brows as he glanced back at Mia. "Did you say that she's a client of Joel's?"

Joel jumped in to explain the situation, but it was obvious that Mia had her doubts. Those expressive eyes of hers made it clear that she was wondering what the real scoop was when it came to her and Joel. Unfortunately, their relationship had truly reverted back to a platonic business arrangement and it didn't show any signs of changing back to something more intimate anytime soon.

Cameron gently touched Mia's arm. "I hate to be rude and steal you away, but there's someone I want you to meet."

Mia smiled at her fiancé. "Oh, okay." Then she transferred her gaze to Lora. "Don't be a stranger. Stop in at the gallery anytime. Oh, and I give a nice discount to family and friends."

"That's good to know. Thank you." Lora took a sip of her bubbly champagne, finding it incredibly nice of Mia to extend the discount to her, as well. "I'll be sure to bring my best friend by soon. She'll love your artwork."

"Wonderful." Mia waggled her fingers at them as she walked away with Cameron. "I'll see you two around."

"She's a little whirlwind, isn't she?" Joel said, chuckling and more relaxed than Lora had seen him in days. "Here one minute, gone the next."

"I really like her."

"The feeling is definitely mutual," he said, and smiled. "By the way, I saw my brothers and cousins when I went to get your champagne. Come on, and I'll introduce you to them."

His hand came to rest at the small of her back again as he guided her around the various partitions to the other side of the gallery, where it was more crowded. Guests were gathered in circles, talking and laughing, while others mingled from group to group to visit with everyone. Joel led her toward a fairly large cluster of people, and that's when she was introduced to his large family as a client-including his two brothers, Scott and Alex, his three male cousins, and all their spouses. The Wilde men were similar in looks, with their thick black hair and gorgeous blue eyes, and after a round of handshakes and friendly hellos, she felt quite overwhelmed.

She latched on to a familiar face standing next to her, Ashley St. Claire, who was married to Joel's older brother Scott and managed the hotel where Lora worked. They chatted for a few minutes, then Ashley glanced at the other women in the group.

"Come on, ladies," Ashley announced, "let's let the men catch up while we indulge in a bit of retail therapy. We need to make sure we keep Mia in business for a long time to come."

At the mention of retail therapy, the men let out a collective groan, and the women just laughed.

"That sounds good to me," Alex's wife, Dana, said with a grin.

"Me, too," Chayse added, and made a big deal of batting her lashes coquettishly at her husband, Adrian, in an obvious attempt to soften him up. "Since we're supporting Mia, I take it I can buy whatever I want?"

All the men stared expectantly at Adrian, knowing that whatever his answer, it would set a precedent for their wives, too.

Adrian exhaled a deep breath and smiled down at Chayse. "You go right ahead and buy whatever your heart desires, sweetheart."

Another round of deep groans echoed from the other men, the mingled sounds echoing their disappointment in Adrian's response.

"Thanks, man," Alex said dryly, and slapped his cousin on the back. "You just gave all our wives carte blanche, you know that, right?"

Adrian shrugged unapologetically. "Hey, I like getting it on a regular basis, you know what I mean?"

The other guys caught on immediately and nodded in agreement, then made sure they issued the same bit of freedom to their significant others.

Liz and Jill joined them, too, both of whom were expecting and appeared to be close to the same number of months along in their pregnancy.

Easy, friendly conversation ensued among all the women as they strolled around the showroom and looked at each individual design. By the time they were done a while later, Ashley had selected a few pieces of the stained glass artwork, one for herself and the others as gifts, and the other women had each purchased at least one design, too. When Lora didn't find anything she liked better than the fairy pattern, she decided to splurge and purchase the piece, but when she went back to buy the artwork, there was already a sold sticker on it.

Disappointed, but figuring it wasn't meant to be, Lora followed the women back to where the drinks and desserts were set up, which was close enough to see the men, but far enough away for the women to enjoy their own conversation. After perusing the desserts and everyone selecting a few items, they walked to a nearby lounge area, so that Jill and Liz could sit down in the two comfortable chairs and relax and rest their feet.

Jill gasped and pressed a hand to her belly, which looked to be the same size as Liz's. "This one sure is active," she said with an uncomfortable grimace.

Lora finished eating a delicious petit four and glanced at Jill, who was nibbling on a chocolate-covered strawberry. "Are the two of you due around the same time?" she asked.

Liz and Jill looked at one another and burst out laughing. Even Dana and Ashley chuckled, too, though Lora had no idea what was so funny.

"It's going to be a close call," Liz said with a sigh. "Again."

Lora still didn't get the joke. "Again?"

"Yes, again," Jill said with a nod, then went on to explain. "Believe it or not, our first babies were born on the same day."

Now, Lora understood and she grinned. "Ahhh, and you think that's going to happen this time, too?"

"Well, considering we found out that we were pregnant only one week apart from one another, it's a possibility."

"The guys are already taking bets on whose baby is going to be born first, just like they did last time," Liz said, and rolled her eyes at their husbands' antics. "Those men are so damn competitive, even when it comes to this."

While Liz and Jill talked about their most recent sonograms and what they thought the sexes of their babies were going to be, Lora casually glanced toward the Wilde men, and Joel in particular. Interestingly enough, she immediately noticed how he kept himself apart from everyone else in the group, mainly his brothers. His hands were pushed into his front pants pockets, and there was an air of reserve about him that she never would have equated with the Joel she'd come to know.