"Well, you should know your husband does talk about you. Not really gossiping when I don't dish on my own wife, though." It was very hard for Dakota to keep a straight face. But he managed through sheer force of will.

He reached over and grabbed her wrist gently. "Ali, it's okay. From what I heard, all you girls had a good time. From scaring stork clerks on down. It's nice to see everybody happy. There's no good price tag on that to say too expensive. I was just teasing."

Then he slowly withdrew his hand. He might have broken some cardinal rule about touching an Alison Blaire. He would take the punch to the nose if it made her feel better.