Allie slowly came into consciousness. The mattress was so soft she had a hard time getting out of bed. At least her own secondhand mattress gave her a good excuse to get up in the morning: lower back pain.

Leticia and Anthony had met her and Mark at the door last night. They wore matching pajamas and huge smiles—as if an unexpected overnight guest wasn’t an inconvenience.

Looking around at the cream-colored walls and white trim, the giant sleigh bed, and the ornate dresser, Allie doubted the arrival of a woman in a moth-eaten bathrobe and threadbare slippers was all that special in their lives, but they were gracious nonetheless.

Leticia whisked her away from Mark before she had a chance to say good night. A shame. She’d enjoyed talking to him on the ride over. The way he looked at her, like she was just a normal person and wasn’t a giant step away from his kind, was nice. He may not see the differences between their lives, but she certainly could.

Perhaps his obtuseness was because he hadn’t been to the diner or walked her neighborhood. He treated her like she was special. He believed she was no different than him. But she was.

She knew it.

The rest of the world knew it.

Mark was just a nice enough guy that he didn’t see social levels. She liked that about him. Really liked that. If he ever did come to the diner, he’d probably sit down with Jack and talk baseball, or ask Selina about José, or even spend time with José while he colored in the corner booth.

She scrubbed at her face to force herself awake. Mark was not coming into the diner anytime soon. Mark had probably gone home—happy she was someone else’s problem this morning. Fighting the sense of loss, she got up to get ready.

The shower was a whole new experience since the water sprinkled down from above like a gentle rain. The bathroom was stocked with beautiful-smelling soaps, lotions, and body oils, all coordinating in scent—magnolias. Quickly towel drying her hair and putting on her second-best pair of jeans and a peasant shirt, Allie went in search of her hosts.

She found them in the kitchen. Leticia was sitting at the bar, slicing strawberries, and Anthony was making waffles, biscuits and gravy, and sausage on the other side. They made the perfect picture of domestic bliss, touching at every opportunity and teasing one another while they worked.

“Morning.” She waited in the doorway, uncertain and shy like a kid on the first day of school.

Leticia waved her into the room. “Buenos días.” The words rolled off her tongue like silver bells. She motioned for Allie to take seat next to her. “Do you like waffles?”

“You bet.” Waffles were on the menu at the diner. However, diner waffles didn’t look at all like these golden-brown, crispy beauties covered in whipped cream and fruit.

“How’d you sleep?” asked Anthony.

“Like a princess. Thanks for taking me in.” A princess, she mused. Living in a place like this could sure make a girl feel like one. In time, she might actually believe she wasn’t cursed with bad luck. Except that, for her, the ball was officially over.

“Me too,” said Mark as he waltzed in.

“You’re here.” The burst of happiness she felt at seeing him showed on her face, and she didn’t care. She’d thought he was gone and he appeared out of nowhere. The fairy tale continues.

Mark was much more comfortable being here than Allie. He stretched his arms above his head, giving Allie a peek at his flat stomach. Flushed and heady with the attraction swirling inside, she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away. Mark caught her looking, and a slow, infectious smile spread across his lips. Now that she was looking at them, those lips were pretty nicely formed too.

“We’re glad to have y’all,” replied Anthony. “Help yourselves.”

He waved the spatula over the counter, where platters full of food, bowls of fruit, a stack of waffles, and a chalice of orange juice waited.

“This is wonderful. You didn’t have to go to so much trouble on my account.” Allie picked up a plate.

“Anthony loves to cook. We both grew up in large families, and with my family in Peru and his on the coast, we miss having big breakfasts.”

“I can come over every Sunday if you’re making biscuits and gravy,” joked Mark. He gave Anthony a shove.

“Please do,” Leticia replied. “You too, Allie. We’d love to have you again.”

Allie selected a waffle. “That would be lovely, thank you.” Where had that come from? Lovely? She didn’t use flouncy words like that. Princess syndrome was kicking in.

“Let me help you with that.” Mark put a hearty dollop of whipped cream on her waffle.

Allie laughed. “Thanks, but I like a little waffle with my whipped cream.” She went to take the spoon from him to scoop off at least half the whipped cream, but he didn’t remove his hand and she ended up wrapping her fingers around his. His chest brushed against her back and she fought the urge to lean against him. Letting go, she set her plate on the counter before she dropped it.

Mark shifted and his chest brushed against her shoulder, making her heart jolt. “Here, we’ll do this.” He spooned berries, peaches, and banana slices on top and then added another waffle. “Better?”

Allie stared at the odd sandwich that was almost as appetizing as the man who created it. She bumped him with her shoulder. “You know what? I think it is.”

They gathered around the table and said grace before digging in.

“How are you doing, Leticia?” Mark asked, pointing his fork to her basketball of a tummy.

“I’m looking forward to sleeping on my stomach again—I can tell you that.” Leticia popped a blueberry in her mouth.

“Like you’re going to sleep once the baby’s here. I didn’t sleep for the whole first year after Chloe was born.”

Leticia coughed on her blueberry. Anthony took her hand, moving his thumb back and forth across her knuckles.

Allie turned from the tender scene, focusing instead on her breakfast. Mark had mentioned he had a daughter and she could probably find out all about the girl with one quick Google search. But she kind of liked getting to hear about her through Mark—the information would be intimate and personal.

She momentarily wondered if the disclaimer statement she’d signed yesterday applied to this morning too. Not that it mattered to her if the agreement held or not, because she wasn’t the type to go running to the press. But Mark mentioning his daughter in such a casual way did matter to her, because it showed he trusted her—at least a little bit—like a friend. She tucked the thought of being friends with Mark into a side pocket so she could pull it out and examine it later. Being friends with the superstar was an intriguing concept. Not because such a friendship would mean seat warmers and scented body soaps, but because friends watched out for one another. He’d done that last night and she vowed to return the favor by guarding his privacy.

Leticia sank in her chair. “I hadn’t thought about not sleeping when she was here.”

Allie didn’t like the look of discouragement on her beautiful face. “Have you thought about a nursery?” She hoped to focus on the fun parts of having a baby.

“We did.” Anthony nodded to Leticia for her to explain as he gathered up a third of the sausage from the serving dish. He probably had to eat a lot of protein, being an athlete and all. Allie checked Mark’s plate and saw just as much meat. She bit her cheek at the thought of him eating to feed his muscles. She really needed to stop thinking about those.

“Do you want to see it?” Leticia asked hopefully.

Allie nodded. Her hand went to her stomach. “I think I’m done here. I shouldn’t have attempted Mark’s waffle tower.” They all chuckled.

Mark’s touched her elbow and his laugh lines appeared. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

“Ooooooh.” Allie hugged her middle and bent forward. “Give me at least four hours.”

“You got it.” He winked.

Was he kidding? Surely he wasn’t suggesting they would still be together in four hours. That was just plain silly … and impossible … and absolutely wonderful.

“Go on with ya,” Anthony encouraged. “We’ll take care of clean up.”

“Thanks, love.” Leticia kissed his cheek and motioned for Allie to follow her down the hallway. Allie did, her feet moving away from Mark but her mind mulling over his comment. He must have been joking.

Leticia opened the door and motioned for Allie to go in first.

Two steps in, Allie was accosted by the dish-glove yellow walls and the neon blue carpet. She stared at the floor. The carpet was actually blue. Whaaaat? The body of a giraffe covered one wall, the neck and head cut off, like the artist had forgotten what he was doing and up and left in the middle of painting. An orange and green blanket hung over the edge of the crib fitted with dark purple sheets.

“We hired Hugo Francois to do the design.” Leticia turned in a circle in the middle of the room, a slight frown marring her model-perfect features.

Was he high?

“He’s done nurseries for Will Smith and Tom Brady,” she added.

“You mean you didn’t pick any of this?” Allie asked to be sure. She didn’t want to hurt Leticia’s feelings, but dang. The room was ugly.

“I didn’t lift a finger. Hugo did all the work.” Her perfect brows drew together.

What a relief. The room’s psychedelic motif didn’t match the rest of the house. The poor baby would have nightmares, or grow up to be a diabolical scientist or a circus clown. “So he dictated the colors … and … and you hate it, don’t you.”

“I don’t love it,” she replied diplomatically.

Sign this woman up for the UN. Allie laughed, which made Leticia laugh too.

In the middle of her laughter, Leticia started to cry. Soon, she was laughing and crying at the same time. “Everyone raved about what a genius he is—I didn’t dare tell them he’s crazy.” She continued to blot at her dripping mascara.

“Here, use this.” Allie handed her the orange blanket.

Leticia hesitated.

“You can’t make it any worse.” They laughed again and Leticia swiped a large black mark across the middle of the quilt.

Allie ran her hand over the walnut wood. “This is a beautiful crib, though.”

“That’s my favorite part.” Leticia stepped beside her.

“Close your eyes and picture a blanket to go in this crib.”

Leticia did so.

“What color is the blanket?”

“Mint green.” A note of hope lit her response.

“There you go—you need that mint-green blanket.”

“I don’t know.” She looked around. “Baby Magazine is coming to take pictures in three weeks. They’re expecting Hugo’s work.”

“Honey—nobody is expecting this.” Allie twirled her finger by her temple.

Leticia held her stomach as she laughed. “It’s awful.”

“I know!” Allie swiped at the corner of her eye. “Let’s get out of here.” She shooed the still chuckling Leticia out. “We’ll just shut the door and you can have Hugo arrested for defacing your home.”

Leticia giggled. “A headless giraffe—really?”

“I heard animal prints are in this year,” joked Allie, which had them both holding their sides.

They entered the kitchen like that and found Anthony wiping down the waffle iron. He did a double take. Crossing the room quickly, he pulled Leticia into his arms. “It’s good to hear you laugh.”

“Don’t worry, no animals were harmed in the making of this joke,” quipped Allie.

Leticia swatted at her. “Stop it. You’re going to make me go into labor.” She leaned into Anthony, who kissed her hair. She fanned her face, flushed with happiness.

Allie enjoyed the shared moment.

Mark came up behind them, entering from the hallway. His hair was just-showered wet and he smelled like pumpkins and cinnamon. Maybe his bathroom had a difference soap theme than hers. She liked it on him, though. “Are you ready to head out?” he asked.

Allie shook her head, subconsciously never wanting to leave her new friend and their beautiful home, but she managed to croak out a “Yes.”

“Are you sure?” He shook his head and then nodded, teasing her.

“No. I hate to leave, y’all have been so nice. But I guess every great story has to come to an end.”

Anthony slid his arms around Leticia’s middle from behind and rested his head on her shoulder. “It’s been great having you.” He gave Leticia a little squeeze.

“I have a bag of bath soaps and salts for you.” Leticia patted Anthony’s hand. He released her and she headed down the hall, punching Mark in the arm as she passed.

Mark sheepishly rubbed his bicep. His rather beautiful bicep.

“What was that for?” Allie asked.

“I accidentally gave the bag she sent for you last night to George and his … date.”

“Oh.” Allie didn’t have a chance to ask when he’d seen George because Leticia came back in with a gift basket.

“This is the magnolia line, the same stuff that’s in the guest bath.”

The matching bath products were wonderful. “I loved them.”

“Magnolias smell great on you,” Mark added.

“You can smell the lotion?” She sniffed her arm.

He leaned in. “Only when I’m close.”

Allie was suddenly overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with his nearness, with the sheer mass of him. His shoulders were broad and rounded, and running her hands over them would be a treat. “Hmmmm.”

Anthony cleared his throat.

Allie was helpless to halt her embarrassment—mortified that she’d totally checked Mark out in front of his friends.

Her friends.

After this morning, she’d count the Greens as more than just acquaintances. For a while, she’d forgotten that Anthony was a baseball star and Leticia was a Peruvian model. They lived in a big house and drove nice cars, but they were just people. People who made mistakes like letting a tripped-out designer have free rein over their nursery, but people who could laugh at themselves too.

After exchanging hugs and cell numbers and promises to keep in touch, Allie allowed Mark to guide her through the house with his hand on her lower back. The sensations he created with a simple touch were enough to send her mind into a fuzzy place. Within that fuzz, she believed that she belonged right where she was, with Mark, hanging out with their friends on a Saturday morning and not in her soon-to-be bug-free apartment.