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asked, “How can you be so certain?”

Brianna looked at hi with her exciteet thatlap dances”

One of the twins made a small sound that aze The tere bouncing in their seats The twin in yelloaving her ar very seriously Were personalities set that quickly? Did we come into the world already so formed, so us?

Brianna unwound her legs and turned at the waist to take a coaster out of the small container of them on the side table She set her soda down carefully on it and then got off the couch How could soet this messy? She picked up some small toys off the floor and put the since vanished The twins see at theuess when you’re that young, every day is Christs to see, touch, do

Co back to the couch, Brianna stepped on a toy and cursed, then looked guiltily at the babies, ere ignoring us, focused instead on the new toys “The living room doesn’t usually look like this Proht irls, they’ll stop The twins are the first grandchildren on either side of the fa things for them We’re just out of space”

She was suddenly worried and anxious and not at all the sparkling, excited wo kids always do that to people, make them less of who they were and turn theive up what ht up to have kids? Surely it didn’t have to be that way, or I hoped not

“It is good to know that this is not typical for you,” Olaf said, his deep voice as serious as his tone

Brianna smiled in his direction, but her attention was still on the babies and the mess She picked up her can of soda and curled back up on the end of the couch, but before, her posture had been effortless and sexy Noasaround herself She sipped the soda and looked at us, but the look on her face said she wasn’t really seeing us Whatever was in her head at that moment wasn’t happy

I finally prompted her with “So you, Jocelyn, and Marcy Myers all paid for lap dances”

Brianna focused ontrouble catching up with the conversation What had just happened toI’d ask Olaf and Nicky later, but if I didn’t understand a woman’s reaction, I doubted they would be much help

“Yes, yes”—she gave a tentative smile—“it was so fun to watch Jocelyn with the dancers”

The light started to return to her eyes She sipped the soda like it tasted better than I knew it did, or maybe that was just my opinion Maybe she actually liked it I felt the saood judge One friend who liked both diet soda and alcohol suggested that I’d drunk soelse Maybe, or maybe coffee was just yummy

“Why was it so much fun to watch Jocelyn?” I asked, because the only other thing I could think to ask was if she liked to watch, but that sounded like flirting or like I’d learn things about Brianna that I didn’t really need to know

“She likes attention It brings out so in her that isI don’t kno to explain it, but she puts on a show She knew one of the dancers well enough that they had planned to have her up onstage It was so hot”

The last sentence brought back her earlier happy energy Her face and eyes were alight with the e It made me wonder if she and Jocelyn were friends with benefits or at least so more than just friends