I feel like I write something like this at the beginning of every chapter, but it's still true, so I'll say it again. Thank you to everyone for the incredibly nice comments. You guys are truly fabulous, and I appreciate your supportive words.

There's a blurb in here about Gail and Nick's first breakup. I've always been kind of fuzzy about exactly what happened there, so I hope the two or three lines that are dedicated to them make sense.

Happy New Year and thanks again for reading!

"Red or white?" Traci yelled to Andy from the kitchen.

"White." With a steady hand, Andy swept the mascara wand along the length of her eyelashes and scrutinized her handiwork in the mirror, checking for clumps. "And only half a glass," she added as an afterthought.

"Too late," Traci said, grinning as she appeared in the doorway to her bedroom with two very full glasses of Chardonnay.

"I was hoping to pace myself," Andy groaned. "The goal is to make it through the night with most of my dignity still intact."

"What kind of bachelorette parties have you been attending?" Traci scoffed. "In my experience, if the bride's not hanging over a paper bag at the end of the night, you can't really call it a success."

Andy narrowed her eyes. "I'm pretty sure you're kidding, but part of me is still kind of freaked out by what you just said."

Traci set a wine glass on the bureau beside Andy and settled herself on the end of the bed, drawing her legs up underneath her. "Don't worry. Whatever happens, we've got your back."

"Which basically means you'll make sure I get home okay, but if I look like an idiot along the way, you probably won't stop me," Andy surmised.

"Exactly," Traci said, raising her glass in affirmation. "But you left out the part where we all remember every embarrassing thing you do and tease you about it later."

"As long as there are no cameras . . . ."

"Andy, there's always a camera."

"Great," Andy said unenthusiastically, hoping it was clear that she thought it was anything but great. "So what did you do with your Mom and Leo? You didn't kick them out because of me, did you?"

"Kind of. My Mom took Leo and one of his friends to the movies. She figured we'd have an easier time getting ready without him hanging around."

"That was nice," Andy reflected, tilting her head to the left as she screwed on the back of her earring. "Hey, I keep meaning to thank you for hooking us up with Steve's flower guy. He called in a favor with one of the florists he knows, and they were able to squeeze us in. Their work is amazing and the price isn't bad. It all came together a lot easier than I expected."

"All I did was pick up the phone and beg. Steve's the person you should be thanking."

"Already done," Andy informed her. "I bumped into him at the station yesterday. I told him I owed him one for bailing us out . . . offered to clean his apartment . . . wash his car . . . bring him coffee every morning for a year . . . ."

"So what did he want?"

"Nothing. He said we'd call it even if I'd put in a good word for him."

"You've gotta admire his persistence," Traci said. "I mean, it's almost enough to make me completely forget about the stuff with Dex."

"He did come through for us in a big way," Andy pointed out. "And he's really got it bad for you. Other than the fact that he's related to Gail, there's not a whole lot working against him."

"I know," Traci agreed. With a small smile, she confessed, "I met Bailey for coffee last week."

Andy raised her eyebrows, eyeing Traci in the mirror. "Really? How did that go?"

"Good . . . I think. I don't really know him that well, but I like what I'm seeing so far."

"He's had a crush on you for a long time," Andy said.

"You knew?"

"Of course, I did. It was pretty obvious. How did you not know?"

Traci giggled. "He's got that whole 'strong, silent vibe' going, you know? I guess it just never occurred to me that there might be something underneath it other than friendship."

"Well, if Bailey's taking you out for coffee dates, where does that leave Team Steve?"

Traci sipped her wine thoughtfully. "I don't know. I like both of them, so I'm still working it out. And it was only one coffee date, by the way."

"Not an easy decision," Andy said. "They're both pretty great."

"No kidding. Just don't let me add anyone else to the list tonight."

"I'll try my best, but you can't stop true love."

"Hah. If true love is the goal, there's not much chance of finding that where we're going," Traci told her smugly.

"Where are we going, by the way?" Andy prodded. Every time she'd asked the question, it had been greeted with a vague "we'll see," and not knowing the plan was giving rise to a considerable amount of anxiety on her part. "And don't you dare say 'we'll see.'"

"All right, all right . . . . It's no big deal, really. We just thought it would be fun to keep you guessing. We were thinking about trying Ice—that new club that opened up a few months ago. They've got a huge dance floor and half-price shots 'til midnight."

"Discount shots," Andy said with a laugh. "Can't say no to that. Not to mention that we've made four arrests there in the past two weeks, so you know the place must be good."

"Yeah. The line's usually around the block. But," Traci added, holding up an index finger, "I think we've come up with a workaround."

"Which is?"

"Juliet."

"Juliet is the workaround?" Andy asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"Her cousin's a bouncer there. He's gonna let us skip the line."

"Nice." Andy nodded appreciatively as she thought of 15's newest cop. They'd only worked a few cases together, but from the little Andy knew about Juliet, she seemed fairly genuine and down-to-earth.

"She said she'd meet us out front a little after ten," Traci explained, "so whenever Gail and Chloe show up, we'll head out. The car should be here soon."

"There's a car," Andy said, looking suitably impressed.

Traci shot her a look of mock scorn. "Of course, there's a car."

"Well, now that I know the plan," Andy said, taking a small gulp of wine, "I should say thank you for not dragging me out to a strip club."

"Don't thank me," Traci laughed. "Thank your fiancé. He paid me a hundred bucks not to."

Andy choked on her wine. "Seriously?" she sputtered.

"Seriously," Traci confirmed, chuckling to herself. Her phone beeped and she looked down at the screen. "It's Gail. She's on her way up. Are you almost ready?"

"Yep. I'll be out in a second," Andy said as Traci got up from the bed and headed out into the living room.

Andy finished putting on her lipstick and tossed the tube onto the dresser. Skimming her fingers through her hair, she decided to call it good. After all, the only person she really cared about impressing wasn't even going to see her.

From the living room, Andy could hear Chloe's excited chatter mingling freely with the caustic undertones of Gail Peck. Smiling to herself at what had the promise of being a fairly interesting night, she shut off Traci's bedroom light and went out to join them.

Chloe was in the process of hoisting a large shopping bag onto the couch, and when she saw Andy, she sang out, "Are you ready for a night out with the lay-days?"

"I think so," Andy admitted hesitantly as she cautiously absorbed the impact of Chloe's unrestrained exuberance. "Did you two ride over together?"

"Um, no." Gail offered Andy her best "are you kidding me" look. With an acidic sweetness, she said, "Why don't you let Chloe show you what she has in her bag?"

"What is it?" Andy asked warily.

Without any further prompting, Chloe turned the bag upside down and dumped it out on the couch. When a plastic tiara spilled out and landed on a pile of feathers and beads, Andy shook her head emphatically, issuing a firm, "No way."

"Come on, Andy," Chloe insisted. "You've gotta wear the 'stuff.' It's tradition." Chloe dug into the pile, freeing up several neon-colored feather boas and a sash with "Bride to Be" stamped across it in hot pink letters. She bounced up and down enthusiastically, casually tossing one of the feather boas at Gail.

"Not a chance," Gail informed her, quickly stepping out of the way as it floated toward the ground and landed harmlessly at her feet.

"Who wants to wear the lips?" Chloe asked, holding up a plastic button shaped like a pair of lips. She flipped a switch on the back, and they blinked rapidly.

When there were no takers, she huffed, "Come on, guys. This is supposed to be fun."

"I'll wear one thing," Andy finally conceded, taking note of Chloe's crestfallen expression. She quickly snagged a candy necklace off of the couch, figuring it was the least embarrassing item in the pile.

"Candy necklace," Chloe commented, rallying quickly. "Good choice."

"I'll take that," Traci said, grabbing a shot glass on a string out of Chloe's pile. "You never know. Might come in handy."

"Now we're talkin'," Chloe chirped. She wrapped a bright purple feather boa around her neck and seemed satisfied. Smiling innocently at Gail, she held up the blinking lips and said, "I'll have these in my pocket if you change your mind."

Gail sneered at Chloe. "I need you to promise not to sit beside me in the car."

Laughing to herself, Traci herded them toward the door. "And we're off," she announced as she pulled the door closed behind them.

"First shot of the evening. That's what I'm talkin' about," Chloe yelled in appreciation when she saw their waitress headed toward them with five glasses balanced on a small tray.

"Line 'em up right there." Traci tapped the high-topped table as the waitress lowered the tray and slid the glasses onto the table without spilling a drop. Traci nimbly divvied them up and then raised her own glass. "Here's to getting drunk enough to give Andy the night out she deserves but not so drunk that we don't remember it all tomorrow." Five glasses were raised in unison and emptied of their contents within seconds, landing back on the table with a collective thud.

By the time the waitress returned with a fresh supply of drinks, their table was starting to attract attention from several random guys lingering nearby.

"Uh-oh. Incoming," Andy muttered through clenched teeth, smiling tightly at the sight of a blond guy in his late twenties homing in on Gail.

Gail moaned dramatically when she realized he was coming for her. At the last second, she forced an icy smile as Andy elbowed her in the ribs and hissed, "Be nice."

"Can I buy you a drink?" the guy asked, leaning casually against the table top beside Gail.

Gail raised her glass to her lips and stared pointedly at him over the rim. "I'm good, but thanks," she responded in a subtly patronizing tone that Andy recognized well.

"I'm Seth," he said, seemingly undeterred by the refusal of his drink offer.

"Don't bother," Gail informed him in a bored tone. "You're not my type."

"What's your type? I can be your type," he said with confidence, and Andy had to give him credit for his persistence in the face of Gail's rather chilly reception.

"I doubt that." Gail licked her lips and offered him a saccharine-sweet grin. "Can you be a woman?"

Dropping his eyes to a point of great interest on the toe of his shoe, Seth stammered, "Uh, no. I, um . . . I mean—"

In a show of mercy, Gail sighed. "Relax, Shane—"

"Actually, it's Seth," he clarified, scratching the back of his head as he raised his eyes to Gail's and then quickly looked away again.

"Whatever. Here's the thing . . . you seem like a decent guy. You're moderately attractive and you had the stones to approach a table full of women without a wingman. You're just barking up the wrong tree. You should try her," she said, pointing at Chloe. "She's single and looking. She'll be your type."

Looking mildly confused, Seth reluctantly switched his attentions to Chloe. Clearing his throat, he stammered, "Um, do you, uh, wanna dance?"

"Sure. I mean, why not? We're here to have fun, right?" she giggled nervously, taking a swig of her drink. "I'm Chloe, by the way."

As Chloe disappeared into the crowd, Gail said, "I think I deserve a finder's fee."

"Maybe they'll name their firstborn after you," Traci suggested. Turning to Juliet, she said, "Don't pay any attention to Gail. Underneath the rough edges, she's not as bad as she seems."

Gail glared at Traci. "Yeah, I'm just a big softie."

Andy folded her arms on the table and smiled at Juliet. "So how do you like working at 15 Division?"

"It's not too bad," Juliet admitted. "I still feel like the new kid, though."

"We all still feel like the new kid," Traci assured her.

"But it's gotta help that you've been together since you were rookies, right? You must know each other pretty well by now."

"A little too well sometimes," Andy said. "Of course, Chloe and Nick are newer and they managed to find a place for themselves, so you will, too."

"Nick didn't start out with the rest of you?" Juliet asked.

"No." Gail snickered. "He was a stray. Showed up unannounced one day and begged us to take him in."

"Gail," Andy sighed. "There's some history there," she said to Juliet, nodding toward Gail.

"And there," Gail added, pointing back at Andy.

Juliet wrinkled her brow uncertainly. "You've both dated him?"

"Yeah. Long story," Andy told her.

"Not so long, actually," Gail said. "Nick and I were together. He broke up with me and joined the Army. A few years ago he showed up at 15, and we got back together. Then, he dumped me again for her."

"Oh," Juliet said as her eyes skipped from Gail to Andy. "But you're still friends with each other and with him . . . ."

Gail seemed to be considering Juliet's question. "Would you say we're friends?" she asked Andy suddenly.

"Would you?"

"Not really."

"Yeah, me neither," Andy laughed.

Gail's phone beeped and she picked it up, smiling at whatever she read on the screen. "I'll be back."

"Look, Nick's a great guy," Andy said as soon as Gail was out of earshot. She didn't care for the tone Gail had set. From watching their interactions, Andy had her suspicions that there might be something brewing between Juliet and Nick, and she didn't want to interfere with that. "Things with Nick and Gail were complicated. I don't actually know the full story there, but they've both moved on, and they both seem happy."

"Yeah, don't listen to Gail," Traci seconded.

"What about you and Nick?" Juliet asked Andy. "What happened there?"

"That actually isn't a long story," Andy informed her. "Nick and I dated for, like, an hour. Things just didn't work out with us."

"Because of Sam?" Juliet prompted.

"Yeah, because of Sam," Andy said, unable to suppress a grin. "But Nick and I were friends before and we're back to that again. There aren't any lingering feelings there, so I hope you won't let what Gail said affect your opinion of him."

Juliet shrugged. "I don't really have an opinion. He seems like an okay guy. Beyond that, I'm not sure it really matters."

"All the same," Andy said with a complicit smile, "he really is a decent guy and hypothetically, if someone were, you know, interested, he's one of the good ones."

"Understood," Juliet said as a look of understanding passed between them. "So you and Sam . . . I've heard a lot of people saying it's about time."

"Really? They're saying that?" Andy asked, finding it interesting that anyone beyond their immediate circle of friends would actually care enough to gossip about her personal life.

"Of course, they're saying that," Traci said from across the table. "You two have been circling each other for years. It is definitely about time."

"There were a few bumps along the way," Andy explained to Juliet, "but it was worth the wait."

"Well, you two are really cute together," Juliet observed.

"Ugh. Don't tell him that," Andy said. "Sam doesn't do 'cute.'"

"Sure he does. He just doesn't realize it."

"Exactly . . . which is why it's best to keep it that way." Andy's eyes traveled from Juliet to the dance floor where Chloe was frantically waving at them. "Uh, guys, I think Chloe's angling for a rescue."

"And another refill," Traci noted as Chloe latched onto a nearby waitress and placed what seemed to be a fairly complicated drink order.

"What do you think she just ordered?" Andy asked curiously.

"By the looks of it, two Screwdrivers, a Kamikaze and a Whiskey Sour." Traci chuckled, pushing away from her stool. She turned toward Andy and Juliet. "Coming?"

"Sure. All for one and one for all," Juliet said. Downing the rest of her drink, she stood up and followed Andy and Traci toward the dance floor.

An hour later, after being elbowed repeatedly and sweated on by an overabundance of strangers—both male and female—Andy decided it was time to take a break from the crowded dance floor. Juliet had gone out front to talk to her cousin, and Gail was hovering around their table looking disagreeable enough to ward off all but the most oblivious suitors. So as one heavy techno song transitioned to the next, Andy leaned toward Traci and Chloe and asked, "Anyone want anything from the bar?"

"Wouldn't say no to a shot of tequila," Chloe announced loudly as a pair of muscular forearms slid around her waist from behind. She glanced over her shoulder and shrugged, leading Andy to conclude that her good judgment had gone down with her third Jell-o shot.

Andy eyed Chloe uncertainly. Inclining her head toward Traci, she said, "I think I'm gonna order her a shot of water instead."

"As long as it comes with a slice of lime, I doubt she'll even notice."

"You'll keep an eye on her, won't you?" Andy confirmed.

"Yeah. I'm on it," Traci assured her. "Make sure to put whatever you order on my tab, though. The future Mrs. Sam Swarek isn't paying for drinks tonight."

"Got it," Andy said, smiling appreciatively. She gave them a small wave and headed for the closest bar, weaving in and out of small enclaves of people on her way across the crowded room.

At the bar, Andy waited beside a grinning red-head in her early twenties who giggled nervously every time the bartender looked her way. Concealing her mouth behind her hand, she leaned toward Andy and said, "The bartenders here are gorgeous, aren't they? This one in particular. He's yummy." Andy decided that the girl must be just drunk enough to believe she was whispering, although her voice was clearly audible to anyone within arm's reach. The upturned corners of the bartender's lips told Andy that he'd heard her, too.

Andy smiled politely at the girl, acknowledging that she did have a point. He wasn't unappealing—tall, dark hair, blue eyes that undoubtedly worked to his advantage when women started reaching for their purses to leave him a tip. There was something about his manner that told Andy he'd probably seen almost everything that could go down in a club like Ice and most likely found humor in it as a result. He slid the girl's drinks to her, and she edged away from the bar, looking over her shoulder and blushing as she went back to the table she was sharing with her friends.

"That was embarrassing," he admitted, rubbing a hand across his chin self-consciously.

"Yeah, must be rough having random girls admiring you all the time," Andy observed wryly.

"Not as much fun as you'd think," he noted as he wiped a cloth across the silver-topped bar between them. "What can I get for you?"

"A vodka and cranberry. Oh, and a glass of water."

"Not a problem," he answered with an easy smile, glancing at her periodically as he mixed her drink. "Having fun?"

"I am, actually," Andy confirmed, noting that the guy seemed nice enough. He had the added bonus of being one of the few sober people in the packed-out club, which she found refreshing after an hour of being bumped and jostled around a slippery dance floor.

"One water. One vodka and cranberry," he said, sliding two glasses in her direction. "On the house."

Andy raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

He planted his hands on the bar and leaned on them, nodding slowly as he looked down at her and grinned smugly.

"Okay, then. Thanks."

"Josh," he said. When Andy looked at him in confusion, he elaborated. "My name."

"Oh. I'm Andy."

"You here alone, Andy?"

"No. With my friends. It's my bachelorette party," she explained, looking over her shoulder at their table, where an incredibly bored-looking Gail was examining the fingernails of her right hand. While Andy watched, a guy walked up to her and rested his hand on the back of her chair. In response, she twisted her lips into a scowl and hitched a thumb in Chloe's direction. With barely a second's hesitation, he turned toward the dance floor and immediately set his sights on Chloe.

"Your friend's got an interesting approach," Josh noted.

"She just has discriminating taste. Sifts through the pile to find exactly what she's looking for and throws the rest back," Andy said as she sipped her drink.

"Not a bad idea. A little sifting's always a good thing—especially around this place."

"I can only imagine," Andy agreed as she watched Gail's castoff approaching Chloe.

"You gonna be here for a while?" he asked slowly, leveling a questioning glance at Andy. With a smooth hand, he slipped a cocktail napkin off of a small stack in front of him and scribbled something on it before sliding it across the bar toward her. "I get off in a couple of hours . . . . You could give me a call later if you wanna hang out."

Andy looked down at the napkin, surprised to see his phone number scrawled on it in black ink. With her left hand, she slid the napkin back across the bar, aiming a pointed stare at her engagement ring.

The bartender followed her gaze and chuckled. "Come on. Don't let that stop you from having a little fun."

"You've got to be kidding," Andy said in disbelief. "This is my bachelorette party. I'm engaged."

"Let me share something with you, Andy." He smiled conspiratorially and leaned toward her. "I've been bartending for years, and you're not the first bachelorette who's landed at my bar. You know what I've learned?"

Andy forced a neutral expression onto her face. She had a feeling she really didn't want to know what he'd learned.

"Sometimes ladies like to blow off a little steam before the big day. Sow their wild oats, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, well, I don't have any oats," Andy responded flatly. If what he'd said was true, Andy really didn't like what it said about the institution of marriage. She knew she and Sam were different, though. The day she met Sam, he'd lit a match in her heart, igniting a steady blaze that had been keeping her warm ever since. And although she knew from experience that it was possible to be relatively happy with someone else, Sam was the only man who could ever make her feel truly fulfilled. To even consider being with someone else when she had him was so far removed from her reality that she could only balk at Josh's suggestion and wonder why any woman would want to spend time with another man on the eve of her wedding. Then again, she thought, people married for different reasons and maybe everyone wasn't fortunate enough to find what she had with Sam.

Josh smiled calmly and shrugged, crumpling up the napkin and tossing it aside. "Can't blame a guy for trying. Your fiancé's a lucky man."

"No, I'm the lucky one," she tossed back at him as she turned and walked back toward her friends, determined not to give Josh or anyone like him another thought.

Gail looked up as Andy approached the table. "Go save Chloe from that freak you just sent her way," Andy said impatiently. "Her judgment's clearly impaired."

"Fine," Gail huffed, "but you're coming with me."

Andy knocked back her drink in an instant and dropped the glass on the table, following Gail out to the dance floor with Chloe's water.

"Can you do three stops?" Traci asked the driver. She slammed the passenger door and settled back in the seat. Behind her, Andy and Gail had wedged in on either side of Chloe.

"Not a problem," the guy responded. "Did you ladies have a good night?"

"Yeah," Traci confirmed, looking over her shoulder at Chloe. "Maybe a little too good."

Chloe dropped her head against the seat, smiling lazily at Traci. "Was the best," she drawled.

"Thanks, guys," Andy spoke up. "Tonight was fun. I can't remember the last time I danced that much."

"Lots of dancing," Chloe repeated, sounding suddenly sad. She sighed heavily as her head drooped against Andy's shoulder.

Andy frowned. "Chloe, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Her voice cracked, and she let out an unmistakable sniffle.

"Are you crying?" Gail asked in a voice dripping with unconcealed disdain.

"No," Chloe whimpered as the tears started to roll.

"Stop the car," Gail said suddenly. "I'm walking the rest of the way home."

"Not a chance," Traci piped up from the front seat. "You helped her get this way, and you're gonna help me get her home."

"It's not my fault she's a lightweight," Gail grumbled, slumping against the door and pulling her phone out of her pocket.

"It's not Gail's fault," Chloe sniveled. "I miss Dov. All night I was dancing inappropriately with strange men, and I just kept thinking that I should've been dancing inappropriately with Dov," she blubbered. "I thought he'd come around eventually, but it may never happen. And that means," she sniffed, "I'm gonna be by myself forever. Like one of those women who never marries and dies alone."

Andy chewed on her bottom lip to keep from smiling. "You mean a spinster?"

"Yeah, a spinsterer," Chloe choked out before succumbing to a bout of hiccups.

"That won't happen," Andy assured her.

"It's a possibility," Gail muttered without looking away from her phone, "if I kill her right now."

"How was your night, Trace?" Andy asked abruptly, hoping to shift Chloe's focus to something that involved fewer tears.

"Not bad," Traci said in a guarded tone. Andy had seen her talking to several guys and had personally witnessed her collecting at least two phone numbers.

"You got some digits . . . ." Andy teased her.

"Yeah. I'm not sure if I'll call either of them, but it was kind of fun to be the hot, single girl without a kid at home for one night. Helped me forget about my own man troubles."

"Boo hoo," Andy laughed. "Two men want me. Whatever will I do?"

Behind her hand, Gail coughed out, "Go with the detective."

"Well, for tonight," Traci said firmly, "I'm gonna go home, put on my flannel PJs and snuggle up with my little man. And just to be clear, that's Leo."

Gail's phone beeped and she glanced quickly at the screen, producing a small smile in response to what she saw.

"Tell Holly hi," Andy said from the other side of the backseat.

"You don't know it's Holly," Gail said. "I happen to know a lot of people."

"You're trying to tell me it's someone else?" Andy countered.

"Yeah, okay. It's Holly. You're right as usual." Gail rolled her eyes as she typed a quick response.

"What's going on with you two anyway?"

"Nothing's going on. She's in California, and I'm here. End of story."

"Except it's not, and you know it," Traci insisted.

"I don't do distance," Gail told them.

Andy looked at Gail from across the car. "Then why have you been texting with her all night long?"

"She's coming into town for the wedding, and I told her I'd pick her up at the airport. That's all."

"That's a lot of texting just to coordinate a simple airport pickup," Andy noted, waggling her eyebrows at Gail. "Sounds interesting . . . ."

"Well, it's not."

"Jus' emit it," Chloe mumbled. Her eyelids were half-closed, and her head bobbed against the back seat each time the driver hit a bump or a pothole. "She's coming to see you, Gabe."

Gail scowled. "Who's Gabe?"

Andy smiled faintly at the exchange, turning her head to look out the window. When she realized where they were, she leaned forward and tapped the driver on the shoulder. "Can you stop, please? I need to get out here."

"Why?" Traci asked as the driver pulled over. Then, taking note of their surroundings, she groaned, "Lame."

"I just wanna see him," Andy pleaded.

Traci's response was unequivocal. "Andy, you can't finish off the night at home with your fiancé."

"Says who?"

"Says everyone," Gail said. "You're staying at Traci's."

"She's right," Chloe murmured. "S'a rule. Can't go home after the bachl'rette party."

"Besides," Traci said, "I told Leo you'd be staying over, and he has big plans for the two of us to take him out to breakfast."

"Be serious, Traci. It's two-thirty in the morning. Leo won't even know I'm not there, and I promise to come by tomorrow to hang out," she said, preparing to sweeten the deal with ice cream if necessary.

Traci sighed loudly. "Fine, but I'm picking you up for breakfast."

"What time were you thinking?" Andy asked uneasily, eyeing her watch.

"Noon. Maybe one o'clock."

"Oh. I should be up by then. Call me when you're ready to go," Andy told her as she threw open the car door. "Thanks again. I had a really great time tonight. We shouldn't wait so long to do another girls' night."

"'Night," Chloe said drowsily. She slumped against Gail, receiving an immediate shove in the other direction.

"Tell Sam we said hi," Traci called as Andy slammed the car door and began the short walk home.

Andy slipped into the house, allowing the door to click into place behind her as a heavy silence welcomed her home. Light from outside filtered through the front windows, elongating the shadows that stretched across the floor and ceiling. For Andy, the heady stillness of nighttime had always brought her a sense of calmness, almost as if the interlude between one day and the next provided its own protections from the outside world. At night, she could just relax, choosing to disregard her daytime worries if she felt so inclined. And more recently, she could enjoy her nighttime existence with Sam, which made the time even sweeter.

As she crossed the living room, Andy smiled to herself, tugging off her shoes and shedding her jacket along the way. Sam had left their bedroom door partially open, and she was able to slide through without being treated to the imposing creak of the hinges in the otherwise quiet house. Slowly, Andy approached the end of the bed and took in the sight of Sam. In the midst of a tangled mess of sheets and blankets, he was sprawled out on his back with his arm slung across his eyes, giving one the impression that he'd gone to war with his bed linens until finally, he'd passed out from the exhaustion brought on by the struggle. With an amused expression, Andy made a quick decision to sleep in her shirt and tossed her pants aside. Gently, she pressed one knee into the mattress before embarking on a catlike ascent up the bed in an attempt to be as unobtrusive as possible. Her progress was fast and smooth, furthering her goal of slipping into bed unnoticed. As she curled into Sam and slipped an arm across his chest, she yawned happily at the thought that she was exactly where she wanted to be.

From behind Sam's arm, Andy heard a grunt, followed by a muffled, "Hey."

She raised her head and looked at him as he dropped his arm. "You're awake," she observed in surprise.

"Unfortunately," he mumbled in ragged voice. "How was your night?"

She pulled herself up on top of his chest, resting her head on her hands and staring at him happily. "It was good," she sighed. "Missed you, though."

"It looked like you were having a pretty good time."

With a relaxed smile, Andy said, "Traci told me she sent you a picture."

"She did," he confirmed, reaching over to his nightstand and sliding his phone into his hand. He quickly flipped to a picture and held up the phone for Andy to see. She squinted at the screen, seeing herself on the dance floor in the middle of a pack of guys. When she returned her gaze to Sam, he was wearing a dry expression that clearly communicated how much he did not love the picture.

"That's the picture she sent you?" Andy laughed, leaning down and kissing him briefly on the lips. Examining the screen, she explained, "That was a group of soccer players in town for the weekend. Jake, Bill, Ryan and um, Marshall?" As she said each name, she pointed to one of the faces in the picture. "Nice guys."

He responded with a "hmph." In his eyes, Andy saw the faintest glimmer of doubt, and she knew that as much as he might pretend otherwise, a part of him had been bothered by the idea that she might be out having a good time with other men.

"Sam, I'm kidding," she assured him quickly, rubbing his chest for emphasis. "Those were just some guys who jumped into the frame when Traci was flashing her phone around taking pictures on the dance floor. I don't even know who they were, and I didn't dance with any of them. Truthfully, all night long I really just wanted to come home and see you," she confessed, adding, "Traci says I'm lame."

"You are," Sam said quietly as a vague smile appeared, "but luckily, I kind of have a thing for lame women." He ran his hand along her cheek, sliding it into her hair and pulling her toward him. Kissing her once and then again, he rubbed his lips over hers in a gentle teasing motion, all the while flipping open the first few buttons of her shirt.

"What's this?" he asked suddenly, fingering the candy necklace.

Andy looked down at her chest and wrinkled her nose. "Chloe showed up with a big bag of stuff that she expected me to wear. It was either this or a pink feather boa."

"Wise choice," he agreed, rolling the candy between his fingers. "So what's the deal with this thing? Men have to eat the candy off of the string?"

"Yeah. That's the general idea."

"So how many guys had a go at it?" Sam asked, squinting in the dim light as he inspected the string around her neck. "I see a few gaps here."

"None."

"None?" he asked skeptically. "McNally, you're telling me no one offered to eat your candy?"

"Oh, there were offers," she assured him, walking her fingers up his chest. "I just told them my fiancé was the only man who was allowed to suck candy off of my neck."

"Why are so many pieces missing?" he challenged her, sounding unconvinced.

"It was a long night." She shrugged. "I got hungry."

Sam shook his head and leaned forward, snagging the necklace between his teeth. "Not bad. Citrusy," he noted as his head sank back into the pillow.

Seemingly mollified by her explanation, he slowly rolled her over onto her back and returned his attentions to her shirt, snapping open the last few buttons. When he undid the last one, he let his eyes roam over her exposed skin. With a flick of his hand, he parted the shirt and peeled it back, skimming his knuckles down her side and across her abdomen with a predatory gleam in his eyes.

Leaning down, he applied several hot, moist kisses to her lips before undertaking an unhurried progression down her neck. When he grazed her shoulder with his teeth in passing, Andy lifted her head off of the pillow and looked at him. "Did you just bite me?" she laughed.

"Just a small nibble," he whispered. "Won't even leave a mark." He raised his head and looked down at her shoulder, grimacing slightly. "Well, maybe a small one." He brushed his lips across the tiny red mark. It was barely visible but there nonetheless, like a monogram applied to something cherished and valuable.

Andy wrapped her arms around his upper back and gently tugged him down to her. Automatically, he responded by smoothly shifting his efforts to her mouth. As his lips closed over hers, he tightened his arms around her possessively, and Andy felt the muscles in his upper back contract beneath her hands. He seemed to be reassuring himself, and her, that they were solid and unbreakable and that no man but him would ever touch her again. It was an assurance Andy was happy to give him because she felt the same way. She locked her legs around his waist and drew him in even closer.

Against her lips, he muttered, "No more bachelorette parties. No more Marshalls, Ryans or whatever the hell they call themselves."

"Only Sam," she breathed out in a dreamy tone.