The silver bells above the door tinkled, drawing Lizzie’s attention to the customers who walked in. Instead of a hot navy SEAL three women entered. Her spirits dropped. Same as they had every time someone came into the shop today.

Mentally berating herself for being foolish enough to wish every customer was Michael, she smiled at the women as they approached the counter. It had been two days since Michael ducked out without so much as a call. Told her all she needed to know. She was on her own.

The tallest of the three women stepped forward. “Hi,” she said. “Your shop is amazing. I could smell chocolate down the street.” She rested a hand on her rounded belly. “And this little one likes chocolate.”

Lizzie smiled. “Thank you. When are you due?” She couldn’t help but stare at the woman. She absolutely glowed.

“February. How about you?”

Caught off guard, Lizzie put a protective hand on her belly. How did she know? The counter hid her from view. Mentally, she sighed. Probably because her face had blown up like a balloon since her second trimester. She doubted she glowed like her. If the woman hadn’t told her she was expecting Lizzie wouldn’t have known. There didn’t seem to be an extra ounce of fat anywhere on her.

“Christmas,” she answered.

The woman’s brilliant blue eyes lit up. “You’re due on Christmas. That’s perfect.”

Lizzie frowned. Perfect?

The blonde stepped forward, putting a hand on the brunette’s arm. “Let me explain,” she said. “This very pregnant woman is Darci Taggart. No, she doesn’t have ESP. She’s married to one of Mike’s teammates.” She put a hand on her chest. “As am I. I’m Cloe Demarco. And this,” she motioned toward the redhead, “is Reganne Stone. She’s married to Grey Stone, another one of Mike’s teammates. She’s also a pediatrician.”

Mind reeling, Lizzie let her gaze bounce from one woman to the next. All three were married to SEALs. Teammates of Michaels.

Michael had told his friends about her?

A rush of joy filled her. Only to be squashed by the memory of him walking out, not to be heard from again.

“And you’re Lizzie Lawson?”

Brought back to the present, Lizzie nodded. “Yes, I am.”

The bells above the door tinkled as more customers floated in. There had been a steady stream pretty much since she opened this morning. Then again, there were only eighteen days until Christmas. Until her due date.

“It’s nice to meet you. We won’t keep you.” Cloe glanced around the busy shop. “We would like to invite you to brunch though.”

“Just us girls,” Darci interjected. “The guys are training this week anyway.”

Training. Maybe that was why Michael hadn’t contacted her. That’s what she’d tell herself anyway.

“You’re inviting me to brunch?” Since she’d moved here six weeks ago she hadn’t had time to make friends, let alone do anything except get her shop ready and run it. She had interviewed a sweet single mom last week, she just hadn’t had time to call her back and offer her a job. It was getting to be too much trying to make the chocolates and run the counter alone. By the end of the day she was exhausted. Her doctor tried to get her to slow down and take it easy during the last few weeks of her pregnancy, but that wasn’t an option. If this business failed, she would let generations of Lawson’s down. After everything she put her parents through growing up she would not screw this up. The Lawson ladies’ legacy rested on her shoulders now.

Her mother had called last night and said she and her father were flying out the week before Christmas. To help with the shop and to be there for their first grandchild’s birth. No way would her mother miss that. Lizzie would be counting the days until they arrived. Although the decision to move had been hers, she missed her family terribly. And right now she needed her mom.

“We are. And I hope you’ll accept,” Cloe said. “We all know what it’s like to be new in town.”

The other two women nodded in agreement.

A customer cleared his throat from behind them. The line was nearly to the door now. She couldn’t stand here and chat.

“Say yes,” Darci urged.

How could she say no? She could use a friend. Or three. “Yes.”

Darci clapped her hands together. “Great. What days do you have off?”

“I’m closed on Sundays.”

“Then Sunday it is. Meet us at Demarco’s at eleven. Sound good?”

Lizzie nodded, motioning to the impatient customer standing behind Reganne. “I’ll be there.” She frowned at Cloe. “Wait. Demarco. Is that your restaurant?”

Cloe smiled. “My husband’s family owns and runs it.” She glanced around the crowded shop. “We better let you get back to work. Where’s your help?”

Probably at home waiting for a call from her for a job. “It’s just me.”

Reganne stepped forward. “Are you telling me you’ve been running this place without an assistant?”

Contrite, Lizzie nodded. “I haven’t had time for call-backs.”

The three women looked at each other, then with a collective nod, they joined Lizzie behind the counter.

“Okay. What do we do?” Cloe asked.

Humbled and so relieved for the help Lizzie handed each of them a silver box. “If you take the orders, I can package them.” She smiled her gratitude. “And thank you. You can’t know how much this means to me.”

Darci leaned in and hugged her. “We’re here for you.”

The three started taking orders, filling boxes with selected chocolates, chatting happily with the customers. Lizzie turned away, forcing back ridiculous tears. She’d never been a crier. Stinking pregnancy hormones. They were turning her into a sap.

While she wrapped bows around the boxes and put them in bags, Cloe rang them up and took payments like a pro. Lizzie didn’t even have to show her how to use the register. Cloe just smiled and reminded her she’d married into a family who ran a restaurant.

Halfway through the day Reganne made her go in the back and take a break. She even made her put her feet up on one of the stools. Lizzie tried to refuse, but the three ganged up on her and forced her to rest. When she pointed out that Darci was pregnant too, Reganne assured her Darci’s turn was next.

It actually felt good to sit for a few minutes and put her feet up. In fact, she found herself enjoying it more than she should. Although she’d just met these women she trusted them to handle her shop while she sipped a cup of herbal tea Cloe had made for her.

Reganne went so far as to take a decorative Christmas pillow out of one of her displays and prop it under her heels. Her bedside manner was impeccable. Warm, friendly, inviting. Lizzie bet she made one heck of a great pediatrician. Maybe she would talk to Reganne about becoming a patient after her baby was born.

Darci came in and sat down in the chair across from her desk. “Reganne made me take a break,” she said. “Things have slowed down for now.”

Lizzie couldn’t help but stare at her. For being seven months pregnant she looked great. Still had her figure except for her baby bump, her face hadn’t blown up like Lizzie’s and she was full of energy. Lizzie dropped into bed, exhausted, every night. And she knew her hair wasn’t as luscious as Darci’s.

“How do you manage to look so good?” she blurted.

Darci laughed. “Are you kidding me? My ankles are the size of grapefruits, my back is killing me and I feel about as sexy as a turnip.”

Lizzie laughed, surprised at how good it felt. She’d been so stressed the past eight months she hadn’t laughed much. “Well, you don’t look like a turnip.”

“Thanks. If I look as good as you at the end of my pregnancy, I’ll be ecstatic.”

Her brows shot up. “Now you’re the one who’s kidding. I look like a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade balloon.”

Reganne poked her head in the door. “Are you two resting?”

Lizzie pushed awkwardly to her feet. “We did. Now can I go back to work?”

“Actually, we’re closing early and meeting the guys for dinner.”

Her heart did a little jig. The guys. Michael, too? She hadn’t seen him since he walked out. Now she would have to see him with his friends, wishing she were part of the group. After spending the day with these wonderful women she really wanted it to be true. But, it wasn’t. Michael hadn’t stepped up. She didn’t belong in their circle.

“I really can’t close early,” she said. “This is my busiest time of the year. But, thank you for inviting me.”

Reganne blocked the doorway so she couldn’t escape. “Mike insisted we bring you. He said to drag you kicking and screaming if necessary.”

Butterflies erupted in her belly. And it wasn’t the baby moving. Michael wanted her there. Unwilling to read too much into it, she sighed. “Kicking and screaming, huh?”

Reganne smiled. “He also told us your nickname.”

She groaned. “I’m going to strangle him.”

Darci bumped her elbow. “After you do that you’re going to tell us the juicy details of how you earned that nickname.”

Lizzie shook her head. “Oh, no. Not on your life.”

Darci winked. “Then we’ll get it out of Mikey.”

“So you’ll let us close your shop and take you out to dinner?” Reganne asked.

“How can I say no?”