I’d felt nervous earlier, but now that the party was in full swing, I was strangely calm. Everyone was having a great time, and, most importantly, Chloe and Reardon had been grinning and laughing the entire night.

I could do this!

That knowledge was enough to have me wishing I could grab a glass of champagne and sing from the top of my lungs. I wouldn’t do either of those of course, because first of all, I was working, and second, I couldn’t sing to save my life.

“The taquitos and salsa are running low, so I’m going to run in the back to grab the backups,” Lisa said, and I turned to smile at her. She looked totally perfect in her T-shirt that said Best Friends, and had a picture of Han Solo and Chewie on the front. When she’d initially asked if she should wear it, I wasn’t sure if it would present the picture of professionalism I was hoping for, but then I realized having the employees dressed to go with the theme of the party was kind of fun, so I told her to go for it.

The first thing Reardon had said when he walked in was, “Whoa, love the shirt. Do they make those for men, too?” and I knew it had been the right call.

Still, I’d been more comfortable dressing in a smart pantsuit with my hair pulled back in a slick tail. I was thrilled to be officially launching my first part in my own business, and I wanted to look and feel like an independent business owner.

“Great, thank you so much.” I looked at my watch and added, “It’s almost time to start the baby shower games, then Zoey wants to sing to the couple. Is the karaoke machine inside, or still in the van?”

“Mary stowed it behind the bar,” Lisa replied, then hurried off to get the food.

I looked over to where Mary was setting up the game table. I’d tried to keep the games all gender neutral, since it was a co-ed shower. We also only had a few games, since it was more than just a baby shower, so I didn’t want that to be all of the focus.

Mostly, it was a party to celebrate all things Reardon and Chloe, and I couldn’t be happier for them.

Watching them, talking and laughing with their guests, Reardon’s arm around Chloe’s waist, while her hand rested on her belly, protecting the child they’d made together, it made my heart sing and my eyes fill.

I was so very happy for them, but I was also envious.

I want that. The fiancé, the baby, all of it.

“What are you thinking about?”

I cleared my throat, hoped my eyes weren’t shining with obvious tears, and smiled at Dillon.

“I was thinking about how awesome Reardon’s pin is,” I lied, even though I did think it was totally awesome.

Dillon chuckled.

When Reardon had arrived, Dillon had pinned it to his shirt. It said, I am the father, and had a picture of Darth Vader on it.

“When I saw it, I knew it would be perfect for him,” Dillon said, watching his cousin with a smile “So, boss, what’s next?”

“Dillon, seriously, you don’t have to keep helping us. This is a family event for you, you should be enjoying yourself.”

Dillon had been helping me out all night. Each time he finished a task, he came and asked me what he could do next. It was really sweet, and helpful to have a man around to lift some of the things that it would take two of us women to lift.

“I like helping you,” he replied. And, really, how could I say no when he put it like that?

“Well, we have the Pin the Padawan on the Preggo game, Star Wars Quote Matching game, and the What’s in Your Phone game. You can pass around the What’s in Your Phone questionnaire, and remind guests to fill out the Words of Wisdom cards for Reardon and Chloe.”

“Sounds good,” Dillon said, then stopped a few steps away. “And are there prizes for these games?”

“Of course,” I answered with a smile.

“And can boyfriends who help out their girlfriends, but don’t actually work for her company, play these games and win said prizes?”

My heart stuttered at the word boyfriend and skidded to a halt when he called me his girlfriend.

“Oh, yes, of course,” I managed, hoping my voice sounded collected and not as scattered as I felt.

“Yes!” Dillon said, then winked and walked toward Mary.

I pushed thoughts of Dillon and me into the corner of my mind, promising I’d spend time wrapping my head around the fact that my dreams were coming true and we were actually together later. Because right then, I needed to grab the mom-to-be and get started on the games.

An hour later, after a fierce battle, Reardon had won the Luke Skywalker Funko Pop, Zoey had won the Limited Edition Star Wars Monopoly game, and Jed had won the complete Star Wars DVD collection.

Jed was one of the guys’ friends, who they’d met when he began doing construction on Gabe’s house a few years ago. He seemed like a really nice guy, although I didn’t know much about him. But I’d learned tonight he was very competitive, when he and Serena had gone head to head during the What’s in Your Phone game.

“Congratulations on your win,” I said to Zoey, who was laughing at something Gabe said. “Are you about ready for your song?”

Zoey nodded and said, “Yeah, Shane is actually going to do it with me, since none of these losers would man up. Maybe I should make this one sleep on the couch tonight.”

“Ouch,” Gabe said when she hit him in the stomach with the back of her hand on the word loser. “You know I hate to embarrass myself, Zo, and you also know I can’t hold a tune. Please, don’t take my sweet, sweet lovin’ away from me.”

Zoey laughed out loud at that and asked, “Cheese and crackers, how many shots did you and Shane have?” She turned and informed me, “Shane’s got a bit of stage fright.”

“Ah,” I said, looking over their shoulder at Shane, who was tending bar and shooting nervous glances at the stage. “I’m sure you both will be great. I’ll go make sure everything is prepped and ready for you.”

“Thanks, Laurel. Oh, and I wanted to tell you, this is a great party. Sooo perfect for them, great job.”

I smiled happily at the compliment, then went to go set up the mic.